Knowing damn well I’d take it for what it was—a threat.
Twenty-Two
Gray
“Wish.”
The word arrived with a gust of winter wind, buffeting my face.
“Wish. Wish. Wish.”
I didn’t know who’d spoken it; only that it was meant for me. I could feel it in my bones, just like the strange compulsion that pushed me onward through the snow, despite the ache in my limbs. The mountain was imposing, the summit still hidden in the clouds, but I couldn’t stop—not until I reached the top.
There was something I needed up there—I was certain of it. Something that would help me find the gateway. Help me get back home.
I had to trust it.
Protective gear now covered my body, but the bite of the wind still stung, and my face was bare. Where I’d once felt the heat of Liam’s kiss, now there was only frostbite. My hair, which had been wet from the beach when I’d arrived, was frozen into icy dreadlocks that clicked as I walked.
High on a pass blanketed with snow and ice, I took another step forward, my boots crunching on the surface. I’d already been climbing for hours, battling the frigid temperatures and thin air that hurt to breathe, but I was so, so close.
“Wish. Wish. Die, wish.”
The words were clearer now. Sharper. But I still couldn’t decipher their message.
I scanned the skies for signs of more demons, but saw only the falling snow, swirling and gusting, settling on the mountaintops around me like frosting on a cake.
“Wish.”
I had to keep walking. The summit loomed above. Snow and ice stung my face, but I pushed on, one foot in front of the other. Breathing was nearly impossible at this altitude; it felt like trying to suck air through a cocktail straw. For every step I took, I had to stop a moment to catch my breath.
Just one more step,I told myself.One more.
A wave of dizziness washed over me, but I couldn’t stop. I was so, so close.
One more.
I don’t know how many times I said it before it was actually true. On a steep, rocky slope slick with ice and snow, I scrambled up the last hundred feet on all fours, finally punching through the cloud cover and hauling myself up onto the very top.
The summit itself was flat and open, and much larger than I expected—about the size of a basketball court. In every direction, a thick blanket of clouds stretched as far as the eye could see, broken only by the jagged peaks of other mountains. I wondered if there were other climbers reaching their own summits. I wondered what they’d find.
“Wish.”
A flash of silver in the snow caught my eye, and I crouched down to investigate. Sweeping away the snow at my feet, I revealed a slim silver dagger, it’s sheath decorated with jewels.
I picked it up for a closer look, but I already knew what I’d find. It was Sophie’s dagger—the one she’d left me to activate the blood spell protecting her book of shadows.
It warmed in my hand, beautiful and elegant. I was sure this was the object I’d been sent to retrieve—it felt right, and a sense of completion washed over me.
But why? Why did I need her dagger?
The wind stopped, everything around me going absolutely still and silent.
I felt like the very last person alive.
In the absence of all other sounds, the voice that came again was loud and clear.
“You die, wish.”
