When the door swings shut, Eloise and I are the only ones left in the war room. I turn to her and grip her shoulders, knowing that my next command will be the most difficult to execute. But being a true leader requires sacrifice. The same sacrifice I’ve asked Undaku to make for Stygarde.
“Cassius is waiting for you,” I tell her. “It will take two days for our troops to fully deploy as I’ve ordered. Weapons and tents will have to go by rabble beast. Food and medical, too. New Stygarde will be distracted with readying their response. You have an opening. Use Phantom. Are they strong enough?”
Her eyes go vacant for a moment, and then she nods. “Yes. They are recovered.”
“Good. Take Cassius and the antidote. Be careful not to trip Nevina’s wards. I will meet you in southern Zephrine as soon as I am able.”
She searches my face, clutching the bag containing the potion vials to her chest. “I won’t let you down.”
“The only way you could ever let me down is if you leave me, Eloise. Promise me you will keep yourself safe and return to me. Use Cassius. He is the finest shade warrior I have ever known.”
She nods enthusiastically. “I will return.”
“Good. Because there is nowhere on Tenebris or Earthor in the bowels of the underworld that I won’t come for you, Eloise. If you are captured or die, I will let this world burn, drop all my responsibilities to my people and to my kingdom to come for you. Do you understand? It is all I can do to give you my blessing. You don’t want the blood that will be shed on your hands if you don’t return to me.”
Her hand rises to cup my cheek, and I swear I see fire burning in her eyes. “I will return to you, Damien. If there is nothing but magic holding my bones together, I will return.”
Our lips join in a deep, bruising kiss that is far too short, and then she is gone and I am left staring at the map, at the figures that represent my world and its people, as the room grows painfully, ominously quiet. I give myself time to draw one deep breath, and then I move.
35
Hell is for Children
Eloise
“There.” Cassius points to a valley of thick forest freckled with towers of red, stony rock formations. From the air, it reminds me of Arizona, if the red rocks were surrounded by the redwoods of California. Nothing exactly like this exists on Earth, although somehow it feels familiar.
I land Phantom on one of the stone towers, and the dragon crawls us down to the forest floor. “Where are we?” I ask.
“They call this Souviette Valley, the place for remembering,” Cassius says.
“What’s to remember?”
He points at the side of the rock we just climbed down. The stone is carved in waves as if by the wind or water, although that seems impossible, considering the trees here are enormous and loaded with leafy branches.Any wind or water strong enough to carve stone would also be strong enough to take down the trees.
“A long time ago, this valley flooded. A river to the north marks the edge of the valley. It overflowed, the force of it tearing the forest out by the root. The flood carved these rock formations.”
“It would take thousands of years for water to carve this deep.”
He nods. “Yes, it did. It was before my time. Before my father’s time.”
I look up at the stars through the dense branches, trying to wrap my mind around that.
“When the floods came and knocked down all those trees, the nuts, seeds, and pollen of the plants sank to the bottom, and the decomposing bits of all that greenery built up over time into a rich, wet mash. Eventually, the rains stopped and the water ebbed, and when the trees and shrubs sprouted again from the silt, they grew back stronger and faster than ever.”
I try to picture the tree in front of me as a sapling and can’t. It’s as wide as I am tall.
“The people of the west considered rebuilding homes here. But the elders of the community found an orchid among these trees that they hadn’t seen in a lifetime, one they’d thought was extinct. They use that orchid to make a tea that helps ailing mothers give birth. Few medicines can treat shades. To be sure, there are only a few occasions we need medicine, especially if we are well-fed. But childbirth is rare and dangerous for our kind.”
“Oh. I didn’t know.”
“The orchid was viewed as a gift from the goddess. And it was decided that this forest, this ancient place ofremembering, would be left intact, in case it held other memories, other gifts. Other than being used for recreation, it remains untouched and protected.”
“It’s beautiful,” I say. “How does it help us get the children back?”
He takes the bag of vials from Phantom’s saddle and slips his arms through the loops so that he’s wearing it as a backpack. “This valley is the closest western point to the castle. Remote and difficult to navigate. Nevina wouldn’t bother enchanting this area to detect your presence. Even if she tried, the flora here would likely break down her spell in a matter of days. But we’re not far from the castle. I should be able to slip in without detection.”
He gestures for me to follow him, and I do. But when he breaks into shadow, I’m left behind. He forms again at my side. “Why aren’t you following?”
