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Add to the list a reminder that my father is also a murderer. Fun gene pool I come from.
“And how did they use it?”
Walter stops walking, and I turn to face him. Brows drawn together, he stares off past me for a moment before shifting his silver gaze to my face. “Truthfully, I do not know. What I do know is that they would reach out and press their palm to the chest of their victim. Power would immobilize their target moments before it burst into flames. Almost as though the Fire Fae were burning them from the inside out. I suppose their power works similar to ours.”
“And how does yours work?”
He taps a finger to his temple. “We imagine what we wish our power to do, and there it is.”
Side-by-side, we continue walking. Overhead, there are no birds chirping, no sounds of water rushing. Truthfully, there is nothing but Wally and me.
“How long do you think we will be in here before we find our way out?”
Wally shrugs. “The Veil changes. With each new soul brought through, it grows larger. We could be walking for days, or—” Trailing off, he gestures to yet another shimmering area. “Mere hours.”
“That’s it?”
“It is. This one will be slightly more painful,” he explains as he holds out a hand. “Shall we do it together?”
I hesitate. Not because I think he will hurt me. No, I’m far too logical to believe that after everything he’s done, but the man reaching for me is no longer the same one I knew. The same one I trusted.
And taking Walter’s hand feels a lot like forgiving him. Which I’m not ready to do just yet. But this isn’t about him. So I take his hand.
This is getting back to Rafferty, and if doing that means temporarily holding hands with the father who left me at an orphanage and lied to me for twenty-five years, then so be it.
His hand is warm in mine as I move up beside him. Then, with a deep breath, we step through.
The Veil pulls at us.
Icy claws dig into our flesh as a thousand needles penetrate my skin. I open my mouth to scream—but no sound comes out. Walter’s hand tightens on mine, and a moment later, I’m blinking rapidly as energy collapses me to my knees.
I breathe—deeply sucking in breaths as Walter speaks to me—or, at least, tries to. Everything he says sounds muffled like he’s talking to me while I’m underwater.
Something clashes overhead, and I’m ripped to the side. Seconds pass while my vision clears until, finally, I jump to my feet. Metal hits metal as Walter swings his blade against a massive creature. Wings like an eagle with a beak that shines as though it’s made of metal, the damn thing looks like it crawled straight out of a nightmare.
Beady red eyes stare at me as its massive head swivels my way.
Walter charges, bounding into the air and stretching out huge, silver wings. Until—blood hits the ground moments before his body does.
“Walter!” I scream, rushing toward him. I hadn’t even seen the creature swipe at him! I dodge massive talons as I race for my father. Something slithers beneath my skin, and I try to do as he said—I try to reach the power. But nothing happens.
Pain explodes in my gut, and I tumble forward to the ground, my mouth open on an agonized scream.
This can’t be happening.
It can’t be.
We were so close!
* * *
Heat blastsme as I sit up. I don’t recognize where I am, at least, not at first. Though, thankfully, the confusion doesn’t last long. “What the hell!” I yell.
Someone chuckles softly behind me, so I turn, only to see Wally getting to his feet. “Welcome back to prison.”
“So every time we die, this is where we end up?”
“Pretty much.”
