“About time, demon,” I teased, laughter breaking through my tears.
Without a word, he slid his fingers into my hair and pulled me to his mouth, devouring me with a kiss I felt all the way to my toes.
“You two are so disgustingly sweet you’re giving me cavities,” Darius teased as he and Liam finally caught up. “Really. All of you are just conspiring to make me ill on this trip.”
“Don’t listen to him,” I told Ronan. “He’s just jealous I didn’t run intohisarms when he got here.”
“Jealous?” he repeated, his tone nearly indignant now. “You were barely conscious after having suffered dozens of broken bones and severe hypothermia. It was hardly the time for prancing across the meadow.”
Still laughing, I got to my feet, Ronan by my side.
“Good to see you, Vacarro,” Darius said, smacking Ronan on the back. All teasing aside, there was no true jealousy there. Only friendship. Only love.
Together, the four of us walked back to the Pool of Unknowing, the last rays of the sun slowly fading behind us, ushering in the cool evening.
“Why is it called the Pool of Unknowing?” I asked.
Liam glanced up at the sky, then back to me, lowering his voice. “It’s the feeding ground for the memory eaters.”
“That… sounds terrifying,” I said.
“For those not traveling on to their final resting place, yes. But for most souls, it’s a symbiotic relationship. The souls that travel through here must release the last of their earthly memories before completing their journey. memory eater demons feed on those lingering memories.”
“How do they feed?” I asked.
“They’re absolutelyterrifyingcreatures when they’re hungry,” Liam said. “Violent, vicious, incredibly dangerous. But the actual process of feeding is quite painless—pleasant, even. One must only look into their eyes, and his memories will be absorbed. The demons are then sated, and the souls are free to complete their journey, wholly unburdened.”
“But I thought that’s what the Orchard of Echoes was for,” I said.
“Not exactly. The Orchard forces souls to confront their fears and regrets. Memory eaters takealllingering memories—the terrible ones as well as the beautiful.”
“Why would someone want to give up their best memories?”
“Because they aren’t real, Gray. They aren’t needed. They are merely stories—”
“Um, guys?” Ronan said. “This is super fascinating. Truly. But we should probably…” He gestured toward the pool, and I nodded, blowing out a breath. Ronan was right—we needed to figure out how this was going to work. The faster we did that, the sooner we could all get home.
There would be plenty of time to ask about the memory eaters later, preferably from the comfort of a soft leather couch in front of a roaring fire, one of Emilio’s warm, gooey brownies in my hand.
I opened my mouth to ask Liam what I should do, but then realized I already knew the answer. The same gentle tug that had guided me through the realm called to me now, and I knelt before the stones surrounding the pool and peered inside. At first, I saw only the smooth, black surface of the water, completely undisturbed.
But soon it began to change colors, from black to deep indigo, with swirls of purple and lighter blue and turquoise, all of it sparkling with starlight just like I’d seen in my vision.
“Look!” I breathed.
Just below the surface, an archway of glowing runes appeared, pulsing bright. It looked as if someone had lain the archway on its back—as if we could dive right in and end up on the other side, safe in my own realm.
Home.
When I reached in and touched the water, my magic sparked to life, enveloping my hand in a bright blue orb. I pulled it back, and the water began to spin into a gentle whirlpool.
“Gray,” Ronan said. “The water level’s lowering.”
“It’s the magic,” Liam said. “It’s opening the gateway to her realm.”
“Incredible,” Darius whispered.
My heart sped up, my eyes wide, a sense of purpose and excitement and clarity rising from my chest, making my skin buzz.
