“What is it?” Olivier whispered back. Though his own body was almost completely engulfed by the roots, his eyes softened the moment he looked at Emilio.
“Some may forget me, but I’ll never stray…”Emilio’s voice was a thready whisper as he met Olivier’s gaze.“…For I am your beacon, and here I’ll remain.”
“You know it,” Olivier said. It wasn’t a question. His mouth lifted into a soft smile.
Dina let out a furious groan of impatience. “Spit it out, for the love of God!”
Emilio kept his eyes anchored on Olivier as the answer slipped out of him.
“It’shope.”
And just like that, the tree roots dropped away from Dina and Catherine, freeing them from the willow’s clutches. Dina let out a sigh of relief as she scooped up her daggers, peppering kisses up and down the blades. Catherine stretched her neck, wincing. A red welt had blossomed on her neck, though Emilio could see the edges already beginning to heal with every passing second. Despite the flicker of relief at seeing two more members of their group freed, a terrible panic burst through Emilio’s chest.
Olivier and Masika.
Not only were the pair still trapped, but the roots had completely swallowed their bodies, only their heads left exposed. Of the two of them, Olivier’s condition was worse. One of the roots had already begun to snake over his mouth, making its way higher and higher.
“Shit…” Catherine whispered, gaze locked on Masika. Emilio had never seen the girl look so panicked. Her fingers nervously drummed at her sides, as if she was itching to pounce on the tree roots and rip them apart with nothing but her hands. And she probably would have by now, had Dina not already proven that physical attacks against the roots were useless. “We—we need to hurry. I don’t think they have a lot of time.”
Luckily, the trunk immediately began to shift again, revealing the third, and what Emilio hoped was the final, riddle. He read it out loud, tumbling over every word as he hurried through the riddle.
“I am love’s second hand, what follows in its wake. Faded by time, but still, I take. When everything’s gone, I’m all you have left—I am the price you must pay, even in death.”His mind raced as he scrambled to find the answers.
I am the price you must pay, even in death.
Of course, death had a price. Loss. Pain. Loneliness. Suffering.
But none of those was right. Emilio knew they weren’t. And he also knew that if he guessed incorrectly, if the wrong word was spoken out loud…then he might lose Olivier and Masika forever.
But there was something about the first part of the riddle that stuck with him.
I am love’s second hand, what follows in its wake.
Love’s second hand.
And then he saw it. The answer rising inside him like a beacon of light.
“Grief.”
He didn’t hesitate as he spoke the word. He knew it was the answer. People always saw grief as a terrible, burdensome thing. The lingering darkness preceding death. But Emilio had grown to understand that grief was so much more than that. Grief was the enduring ache of love. Its agonizing reminder. Griefwaslove. It was what tethered them to those they had loved and lost—even in eternity.
Instantly, the roots devouring Masika fell away. She coughed, sputtering, breathing air back into her lungs. Emilio scrambled toward her, wrapping her in his arms, a choked laugh tumbling out of him as he pressed his hand against the back of her head. She was okay. She had made it. And Olivier—
Masika gasped, pulling Emilio’s focus. She was staring at something behind Emilio.
Someone.
Emilio spun on his heels…and then his entire world came crumbling down around him.
Because Olivier hadn’t been freed. He hadn’t been saved.
Emilio had solved the riddle, but the tree roots surrounding Olivier hadn’t relented. And not only had they remained, but they’dgrown. In a frenzied panic, Emilio shoved Benji into Masika’s arms and scrambled toward Olivier. He brushed a strand of blond hair from the other boy’s face. His eyes,his beautiful green eyes, were the only thing left of him. The roots were devouring him. Swallowing him completely.
“I don’t understand,” Dina whispered. Despite her usual bravado, evenshesounded taken aback, her voice wavering. “He solved the riddle. Shouldn’t theybothhave been freed?”
Analisa placed her hands upon her heart. Her bottom lip trembled. “I sense an end.”
“No—” Emilio choked out, pointing an accusatory finger toward the healer. “Don’t.Don’t you fucking dare start spouting that nonsense—not about him.” He turned his attention back to Olivier, hands cupping what he could of the other boy’s face. “Please, Olivier. Not now. Not like this.” Panic surged in his chest. He leaned in closer, pressing his forehead against Olivier’s with delicate care. “Please, my love. Come back to me.Come back tome.”
