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She’d been scared before, but her experiences had mostly included being spooked. Now, with the rising heat, and the swirling smoke? For the first time she was genuinely afraid.
They reached the bottom of the landing. Melody could barely see the openings into the other rooms now. The house was being consumed, not only by flames, but by a churning, rolling chaos. The smell of the mist was back again too, thick and heavy and electrically charged.
“OH!”
Pain shot through her foot as she stepped on something — a hot cinder maybe, or something else. There was no time to look. Lucus was practically dragging her over to the double doors, pulling her along through the ash and smoke.
He pulled open one of the doors, and Melody’s heart leapt into her throat…
The mist was right up against the house now.
“It’s here!” she shouted, glancing left and right. “It’s all around us, Lucus! We can’t get out!”
She was still looking for an escape — an avenue through the mist maybe, or a break in the fog — when Lucus grabbed her. He turned her so that she faced him, squeezing her shoulders tightly.
“You can get out,” he said. “But you have to go now.”
The roar of the flames was getting louder. Melody looked back at him in confusion.
“Go where?” she cried. “There’s nowhere to—”
“Into the mist.”
Her entire body went stiff. She cocked her head as if she hadn’t heard him correctly.
“But… But you said—”
“The fog will take you,” Lucus shouted over the noise. “It’ll take only you. You’ll be safe in it.”
“Since when?” she yelled back.
“Since always,” he smiled.
Why the hell is he smiling?
Melody locked eyes with him, trying to delve into his mind. She didn’t get far. There was worry and concern, but also relief… even pride. Lucus was smiling because he knew she’d be safe. And to him that’s all that mattered.
He pointed, and Melody looked down. Slung low between her breasts, her pendant was glowing again, as it had before. This time it was brighter and hotter than ever, throwing off a beautiful, pulsating violet light.
“This will protect you,” said Lucus, closing his hand around the Heart of Isolomara. He held it up between them. “This is why you can go.”
She swallowed hard, past the lump in her throat. All at once she realized what he was saying.
“And what about you?”
His smile broadened, though it seemed more forced now. His expression was bittersweet.
“Evermoore has me,” he said with a sigh. He shrugged.
“No!”
Lucus immediately shook his head. His eyes hardened. “You don’t understand,” he said. “You don’t belong here. I do.”
“Come with me!” shouted Melody. “This place can’t keep you! It can’t just—”
“I wish I could,” he smiled. “But that’s not how it goes.”
She glanced down at the amethyst, beating with a life all its own. Beating like a heart…
