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She could feel the magic in her now. Not just hers—but his. Placing her hand over where she could feel his presence inside her, she pulled. Hissing in pain, she ripped the iron crystal out of herself. It wasn’t a large wound. She’d heal.
The arrow had been far, far worse.
Tossing the little piece of bloody metal to the grass, she stood between Mordred and the dying demon. “Are you happy now?”
Mordred was slow to get to his feet. It was clear she had just injured him. Well, she was too pissed to care. And he had shot first, after all. “The deed is done, Gwendolyn. Stand down. We will discuss this in private.”
In private?
Oh.
Right. She’d forgotten about everyone else.
Standing at the edges of the clearing were other elementals. Lady Thorn, Galahad—and many others she didn’t recognize, of every shape and size and type. They all blended into a weird menagerie. And they were all staring at her.
She clenched her fists again. “Go away. All of you.”
“It is too late to save him,” Zoe said gently from where she was floating.
“I could ask you to heal him, but I won’t.” Gwen shook her head. “You probably wouldn’t, even if you could.”
The Gossamer Lady’s silence told Gwen that she was right.
“Go away. All of you. This isn’t a fucking play being put on for your entertainment. Let him die in peace.” She didn’t know where she got the balls to boss them all around. But seeing as she had just chucked Mordred across the clearing, and could command all elements, she figured that gave her a little bit of a leg to stand on. “Now!”
One by one, they obeyed, disappearing into whatever mist or smoke or vines they used to travel. All of them left, until only Mordred remained. He took a step toward her.
“You too.” She glowered at him. “Go away.”
Mordred stopped. Nodding once, he turned and did just that. She figured she’d have to find him later, and they’d have a lovely fight about this. But now wasn’t the time. Because there wasn’t any time left.
In the silence left behind by everyone’s exits, she could hear Grinn’s ragged, labored breathing. Tears stung her eyes again as she turned to face him. He was lying down, his head on his paws. She walked over to his head and sat down beside him. “Were you lying? About the volcano?”
“Yes. The magic dies with me. He wins.” It was clearly hard to speak. “Now shut up and let me die.”
Shutting her eyes, she didn’t bother fighting back her tears. She let them run down her cheeks, unchecked. She sat there beside him in silence for a moment. “I—I could try to help you. Maybe I can remove the magic of Avalon, so you can go home.”
“Do not dare try. Let me die in peace, girl. I do not need you making matters worse.”
They sat in silence for a long moment. “I…I hope you get back to hell. To see your family.”
He didn’t reply. She didn’t expect him to.
“If—if you do, if you do go home, please…I don’t know, send me a letter, or something.” She wiped her nose with the back of her hand, sniffling. She knew she shouldn’t care about him. She knew he was a genocidal, egotistical, hateful monster.
But she did care.
She cared a great deal.
“I know you hate me. But I’m still sorry,” she whispered. “Sorry I wasn’t—I don’t know, a better friend. Or—or—” She didn’t even know what she was trying to say. “I’m going to miss you. I guess that does make me a stupid girl.”
She sniffled again, staring up at the blue sky, dotted with clouds. It was starting to get dark, and the clouds were tinged yellow and orange by the setting sun. It was beautiful. It felt wrong. Wasn’t it supposed to be raining when things like this happened?
Grinn shifted.
Wordlessly, he placed his head in her lap.
She choked back a sob as she rested her cheek against the top of his head, and gently petted the fur of his neck.
