Page 167 of Devoured

And I understand. I do.

It doesn’t make it hurt any less, however.

“If I know anything, Vanessa, it’s that you and I will always fight.”

My brow pinches as I try to glower at him. I try—but I can’t. “You promise?”

“Yes. I promise.” And then he leans down, and his lips brush mine. Soft. Gentle. A mortal sort of kiss. Between one heartbeat and the next, it’s over, and he draws away.

“Calix—”

“I know, Vanessa,” he says, dropping his hand. “Me too.”

And I don’t get to say anything else. I don’t get to cling to these last seconds with him. I don’t get to fall to my knees and beg him to stay.

A door creaks open across the field, and sapphire eyes find mine in the darkness. Lyra smiles as if she has no idea what she’s interrupting. “Oh, Vanessa. There you are.” She glances at Calix, twirling her dagger between her fingers. “Mind if I borrow our beloved purple-eyed wolf?”

“Of course.” Calix bows his head and steps back. Steps away. His gaze doesn’t leave mine. Even when he leaves, he’s still watching me. I’m still watching him.

“Come on.” Lyra hooks her arm through mine. “This won’t be the last time you see Calix Severi. You only need to blossom a little first.”

She pulls me inside the castle, toward the Realm of Superiority’s forest. The magic of the realm has returned in full, and the forest is unlike anything I’ve seen before. But even it isn’t enough to distract from the ache in my heart and the grief rushing through my veins.

Calix is leaving. Everything is changing.

55

VANESSA

YOU WERE SURPRISED TO SEE ME.” LYRA PERCHES ON A massive toadstool mushroom, the foamy fungus bouncing under her weight. She crosses her legs, and waves of silky black hair fall down to her waist. Her body is no longer gaunt. Though her skin is still mottled with scars, most of the trauma her body endured because of Cora has eased with time. The tattoos along her brow—the constellations—glitter even in the darkness. “You really didn’t think I would survive.”

As usual, she speaks at me. She doesn’t ask questions; she already knows the answers.

“I heard you scream. It sounded like you were either dying or being tortured. When I didn’t see you again… I assumed the worst.” I eye the surrounding forest warily. Mushrooms burst from every surface—from the trunks of massive oaks and the mossy ground—and glow with cerulean bioluminescence. Stardust dances through the tall canopy of flourishing leaves and branches. A small pond on our left boasts a toad far larger than any I’ve seen before. Its sporadic baritone ribbits throttle the earth.

And I realize we’re deeper than I expected. I’m so far inside the forest I can almost spot the tips of thatched roofs through the woods. I think I spot chimney smoke too.

All this time, and the faeries were controlling our access to their ancestral home. They closed it to punish Cora, just as they restored it to offer us hope.

All this time, and their magic, their precious enchantments, weren’t that far away.

A glass butterfly lands on my finger, its wings refracting moonlight and sparking a rainbow around us. I watch in silence as it studies me before flying off, weaving through the trees, and landing on the tall, lean body of a faerie a hundred yards away.

“I am sorry I couldn’t tell you the truth, Vanessa. The tapestry of life can be so fragile.” Lyra sets her dagger beside her, on the mushroom, and wipes her palms on the wispy train of her dress. A delicate sapphire gown embellished with gemstones and woven with silver thread. “However, I believe you know something about that, don’t you?”

“What?” I ask, not following her train of thought.

“Tapestries. The fragility of fate. The threads of life.” She blinks at me, an all-knowing smile spreading across her face. “I tried to tell you—I couldn’t be honest about everything. Sybil and Cora Severi were both dangerous. I had to lie when I could. When the stars allowed me to do so,” she clarifies, glancing at the sky.

“You knew about me? About my powers?”

She looks at me for a moment. Then she leaps to her feet and takes my hand. “Come. Let’s walk together. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the freedom to roam.” She tugs me close, her skin cool against my own. “I know you’re sad about everything that’s happened, but we have a lot to discuss. This night is one in a millennium.”

I stiffen, my feet rooting to the forest floor, but she pulls me forward. She walks us under willow trees and around glistening silver ponds. “Why?”

“I shared with you, on that very field where everything was to fall apart, that oracles aren’t allowed to influence the future.” She pats my hand. “But the faeries have gifted me this one night to answer any questions you might ask. Though, I must warn you, not everyone wishes to hear their future. You must carve your own path in life, make your own choices, but with a little sway…” She hums faintly. “Once a fortune is read, it can be very hard to fight.”

“I don’t want to know my future.”