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“Yes . . .”
“Don’t they have powers that deal with life and light?”
He squinted. “What are you thinking?”
“What if I could bring her back?”
Eric’s countenance dropped. “It’s just a theory, and I don’t know exactly how that would work, especially since she died by the curse.”
“But, what if?” I was desperate to cling to the last shred of hope I had.
“Sorrel, I don’t know if it’s possible.”
“You’re the one who told me I could heal myself. What if I can heal my mother?”
He sank to the floor, at a loss for words.
I paid the naysayer no attention and placed my hands under my mother’s silk blouse, trying to see if I could feel anything. To see if I could tell where the problem lay, like I had many times with the people I’d made elixirs for. I closed my eyes, focusing, but all I felt was a void. I pressed harder, willing myself to feel something, anything. I thought about my father and the light. I had flashes from when I was unconscious from being poisoned. There was a light. It had come from my heart. I couldn’t find it. Tears of frustration poured down my cheeks.
Eric placed his hands on top of mine. “Sorrel.”
My name on his lips felt like a key that opened a door to my heart. I could feel the light swell in my chest. The more I focused on Eric’s touch, the warmer I felt and the more I felt the light expand. I tried pushing it into my mother; instead I felt my cheek and abdomen tingle. The exhaustion that had plagued me over the last day seemed to disappear.
“Your cheek,” Eric whispered, “is healed.”
My eyes flew open, and the light dissipated. My focus was solely on my mother, who still lay lifeless. “Why can’t I heal her?”
Eric gathered me in his arms, and I sobbed into his chest.
“It’s all my fault,” I cried.
“Shh. It’s not your fault. The curse took her. I think it orchestrated all of this. We’re just players in its game now.”
“Why? To what end?” What had I done to deserve this? I tried to use my gifts for good. And I loved mortals. It wasn’t my fault my ancestors had started some holy war.
He stroked my hair. “I don’t know, but no matter what, it’s going to be a happy ending for you. I promise.”
“You can’t promise that.” I wasn’t sure I would ever feel happy again. The life I loved so much in Riverhaven was over, and the only family I had was gone. And soon I would part with Eric, and though it confused me to no end, the thought of leaving him hurt my soul.
“You need to trust me. Can you do that?” he begged to know.
My head said absolutely not, while my heart shouted the opposite. It said some other things too. I touched my healed cheek, and the voice in my heart beckoned me to remember how Eric’s touch had played a part in my healing now and after I had been stabbed. Vague recollections were flashing in my mind. Mostly I saw Eric in them. “Eric, why didn’t I bleed to death?”
His heart pounded double time against his chest. “I don’t know how to explain it. When I was using my energy to stop the flow of blood, your energy grabbed ahold of mine, and the combination of the two healed you.”
Words my father had spoken to me slammed into my chest. Light, earth, and dark all need each other. I wasn’t sure exactly what that meant, but this my heart knew: “I trust you, Eric.”Chapter Twenty-SevenEric
Together they decided to give Elizabeth a water burial. Eric would use his power over the water to make sure she was buried deep in the depths of the ocean. While they waited for dark, they made preparations for Sorrel’s departure the next day. She would fly to Lisbon like her mother had intended for her, under a new name—Genoveva Ferreira. Her mother had originally wanted Sorrel’s name to be Genoveva, but her father had insisted she be named Sorrel. He’d said it was an old family name. At least it made Sorrel smile that her mother had finally gotten her wish.
To Eric’s relief, Elizabeth was well prepared for these situations. Not only did she have the needed passports and visas for Sorrel, she also had several thousand dollars in American and euro bills as well as a credit card in Sorrel’s new name. Sorrel would leave bright and early and take her mother’s car to the airport. Eric planned to be long gone by then. As soon as they buried Elizabeth’s body and Sorrel fell asleep, he would leave and destroy his book.
Knowing he had only hours left with Sorrel, he stayed as close to her as she would allow. She seemed to be more comfortable around him since owning to the fact that there was more to her than she even knew. It wasn’t like she was giving him a repeat of their one and only date, but she at least let him hold her hand and didn’t shy away from him. He would take what he could get, though he longed to take her in his arms and kiss her until they were both breathless. He wanted to touch her silky skin and, if he was being honest, make love to her. It would be the perfect parting gift. He knew it was out of the question. Not only would it be in poor taste, in light of Sorrel mourning for her mother and everything else she had lost, but it would be deadly. And he refused to let his death be because of a selfish act.
