“I think so.”
With Uncle Raphael’s help, I get back on my feet. My skull feels like it’s splitting in two. I touch the back of my head where it throbs and sense the moisture.
“You’re bleeding,” Uncle Raphael says.
“Just a little.”
“I’m all done here. Let me see her.” King Ruel veers in my direction.
Uncle Raphael steps aside, then freezes as he stares at Adrian. His jaw slackens and his eyes widen a fraction, as if he’s seeing a ghost. I watch him go through myriad emotions in the span of seconds. He’s always kept his feelings bottled up, but right now, he’s wearing them all on his face. Adrian is also staring at him like a deer caught in headlights.
“Adrian?” my uncle finally says. “How can it be?”
“I… Do I know you?” The man furrows his brow.
“Are my eyes deceiving me?” Uncle Raphael rasps. “I thought you were dead.”
“He was trapped in the Valley of Lost Souls for a very long time,” Karl answers. “His memories are mostly gone.”
There are tears in my uncle’s eyes now. I only ever remember seeing him cry once, after my mother died. It’s clear Adrian is someone important from his past.
Karl enters my line of vision, making me forget everyone else. He takes a step toward me, then stops. His eyes glisten with yearning and regret. It’s weighing on him as well that we lost the Magna Vis King Ruel needed to break our curse. I want to scream and destroy things, but that wouldn’t do us any good.
King Ruel stops in front of me, blocking my view of Karl. “This will only take a moment.” He touches my forehead, and his powers rush into me. The throbbing pain in the back of my head slowly dissipates, along with all the other aches in my body that I had forgotten about. His healing touch takes but a minute.
“We thought we had the Magna Vis, but we lost it,” I blurt out, dipping my head. I don’t want to read the disappointment in his eyes. I have enough of my own to contend with.
“We’ll talk about that later. We must depart to Lynx at once. It isn’t safe for any of us here.”
King Ruel’s sister approaches. “The Vega army will be ready to march when you need us.”
“Thank you. But you need to watch your borders now.”
Queen Merissa raises her chin. “I’m not afraid of Maewe. Let her come.”
The Nightingales have caused too much pain to my family for me to ever warm up to them, but anyone who hates Queen Maewe as much as I do has my support.The enemy of my enemy is my friendnever rang truer.
A massive wolf appears by my side, spooking me a little.
“Don’t worry, dear. Luna won’t hurt you,” Queen Endaya says. “Hold on to her, and she will take you to Lynx.”
“I thought we were going back to Salem.”
“Yes, but we must create a new portal, and I’d rather not do it here.”
I look in Karl’s direction again and see that he has a wolf next to him as well. Cheryl and Ronan are with Castiel, and it seems Selor will take Adrian with him. I grab a handful of Luna’s fur. “I’m ready.”
A total lie. I don’t think I will ever be ready to travel this way, although the trip with the wolf is less jarring than walking the wind with a Nightingale. I keep my eyes closed, opening them only once I feel solid ground beneath my feet again.
We arrive inside a beautiful apartment with mauve-colored wallpaper and sheer drapes framing the tall windows. A few couches are set in a U formation facing a big fireplace. It feels homey and safe, but I’m overwhelmed. My body is ready to give up. I trudge to a couch and collapse onto it.
The others arrive a few seconds later, but I only have eyes for Karl. He’s standing right there, just a few steps from me, butthere’s a chasm between us, uncrossable. I can’t take the pain I see glistening in his eyes, so I cover mine and break down.
Someone drops into a crouch in front of me. Karl. I lean back, not daring to touch him. “You can’t.”
He takes my hands in his and holds my stare. “We cannot go on like this. I can’t watch you suffer for another second. I’d rather die than live unable to touch you.” He cups my cheek. “I love you.”
“If you die, I die.”
