It sank into the wild magic with a shuddering, full-bodied sigh. It wasrelieved. I could feel it in my chest, in the place where my own fragment of darkness lived.
I had a moment of sharing that same relief, then something glittering swirled above the grass. It darkened as it formed, stars flashing within its slowly solidifying shape. Within moments, the guardian from the waypoint stood before us.
“What the hells is that?” Varian hissed.
Ignoring him, the guardian looked around with its eyeless face. “The pathway,” it said. “It is complete.”
I blinked at it—her—whatever it was. She must have escaped the vortex when I let the darkness free.
“I will await our visitors.” She disappeared in a flash of starlight before anyone could speak another word.
“I thought we were rid of that thing,” Sebastian grumbled.
Crispin only laughed.
I smiled at Mistral and Gabriel. It seemed the goblin pathway would still have a guardian after all, and I had a feeling she would keep an eye on the balance of things. This was going to work.
I went to stand with the two goblins while Francis and Elizabeta started discussing future plans. Content to wait, I leaned toward Gabriel. “You never told me what you saw in the darkness.” Crispin had seen his mother’s ruined home, Mistral had seen the Bogs unraveling, and Sebastian had seen his father. I had been wondering since then what Gabriel had seen.
He pulled me against him, then muttered in my ear, “I saw a world where you did not exist.”
I frowned, since my existence had brought about quite a bit of trouble. “Was it a better world?”
“More peaceful, perhaps,” he chuckled. “But a hell of a lot less interesting.”
“What’s so funny?” Crispin asked, joining us.
“I’m sure we don’t want to know.” Sebastian rolled his eyes, feigning boredom, but soon his eyes drifted back to me expectantly.
Maybe Ihadcome in and ruined everyone’s peace. Or maybe they had ruined mine.
But hey, at least we’d never be bored.
I woke,sensing someone in the room. Someone I didn’t have a magical cord connection with. And in Mistral’s bedroom within the Citadel, there were only so many someones that could be. Why was this always happening to me?
I cracked one eyelid open, then sat up with a gasp. “Mom!”
My mom sat next to the bed. I noticed an empty coffee cup on the small side table beside her, and I realized she had been sitting there for a while, watching me sleep. She looked better than when I had last seen her, but I supposed anyone looked better without a magical blade at their throat. But she lookedrested and clean in her silk lavender top and jeans. A soft smile curved her lips. “Leave it to my daughter to bring back the pathways while avoiding all the consequences. I knew you’d figure it out.”
I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, wishing there was a second coffee cup for me. “You did?”
“It’s why I let him capture me. You drew too much of his attention and he ceased his pursuit. It was the only thing I could think of to keep you from harm.”
I blinked at her. After running for so long, she’dlethim capture her? “You could have warned us.”
A knock sounded before the door creaked open. Crispin tiptoed into the room, though we were both perfectly awake, extending a fragile porcelain teacup of coffee toward me. “Don’t mind me. Eva struggles to think without coffee though. This will make her easier to deal with.”
After I took the coffee he ran from the room before I could throw a pillow at him.
My mom laughed. “You certainly have made interesting choices.” She tilted her head. “But why did you never tell me about the darkness coming to you when you were young?”
I sipped my coffee, then said, “I see the guys filled you in.”
“About that, and about you spending most of the night anchoring darkness near each of the pathways on both ends.”
I sighed. It certainly had been a long night, but everything had gone according to plan. The pathways seemed stable, and there were no more giant bursts of darkness swallowing houses. “I didn’t tell you back then because I was a kid and it was my little secret. And I didn’t tell you now because I never regained all of my memories. At least not until the darkness brought them back to me.” I couldn’t help the slightest bitter tone to my words.
“I do apologize for that, but it did keep you safe until you were ready.”
