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Theloneus let out a great sigh. “You’ll have to forgive him. He fell in love with a mortal not all that long ago, and he still hasn’t recovered from losing her.”
My chest tightened. My throat worked, though I could barely swallow past the lump that had formed there in the space of a breath. “How long?”
Pity filled his brown eyes. “Since she died? Just shy of a century.”
All the air still lingering in my lungs leaked out. Emerson was living my nightmare, and it brought the reality of my situation with Never into even sharper relief.
But it was already too late for me. It wasn’t as if I could stop loving her.
My heart twisted in my chest.Love.I just had to think that cursed word, didn’t I?
He reached out and clapped me on the shoulder, ripping me from my troublesome thoughts. “We should be able to help with the demon, though every exorcism carries some risk for the host.”
It took me a moment to come back to myself and process his words. “You’re still willing to help?”
“Of course. The shadow bit might make things tricky, but the principles of the spell should remain the same.”
His answer offered me hope, limited though it may be. If we could get the shadow away from the boy, I could ensure Never and Matty’s safety by returning the creature to the Nassa. That, at least, would buy me time to figure out what the devil I was going to do with her.
“What’s your price?” I asked. Everything had a price.
“The truth.”
“What truth is that?”
He cast his gaze across the rooftop and across the city before it found its way back to me. I was powerful in my own right, but there was no denying the echo of endless ages that swirled around a primordial being. He folded his arms over his chest. “Tell the girl the truth about her blood. She has a right to know.”
“What good will that do?” I shook my head. “When she dies, she’ll end up in the Alius, whether she knows the truth now or not, won’t she?”
His nod was barely perceptible.
“Then why should I ruin her time here with that knowledge?” Especially when I had no intention of letting her die. Period. I just wasn’t sure telling anyone that part of my plan was a good idea.
“It’s a cruel place, Atlas. Worse even than this world during its darkest years. Souls that aren’t expecting to end up there rarely fare well.”
All I could do was stare. The human world in its darkest years was a thing of legend, and I’d witnessed only a sliver of it.
“I see your wheels turning. Whatever plan you might be working on, make sure you’re also preparing to lose her. That is the way things always end for humans.” His expression turned almost fatherly. “If you truly care about her, prepare her for her fate.”
My blood was racing, filling every cell in my body with anxious energy. The idea of Never winding up trapped in the Alius clawed at me, laying everything inside me bare. Maybe she did deserve to know, but I hated the thought of robbing her of her beliefs surrounding death, even if I didn’t yet know what they were.
But none of that mattered, did it? I would tell her the truth. If that was the price to save her brother, I would pay it.
No matter what else happened, I would find a way to bring her to my world. Even if that meant tearing a hole in the veil and laying waste to every being in the Alius who stood in my way until I found her.
She was mine, and nothing in the universe would keep from her for long.
“I will tell her.”
He nodded once. “Do it quickly. The longer the shadow controls the boy, the harder it will be to separate them.”
A cool wind ruffled my hair, but when I turned my head to let it wash over my heated face, I was once again standing in the still air of Never’s apartment.
Emerson was there, as I suspected he would be, with Never staring him down with so much fury it was a miracle the man didn’t burst into flames.
He cast his gaze my way. “I see why you chose her.” His lips tipped up in a sad smile.
She whipped around, relief washing some of her anger away. “What the fuck was that?” she demanded, even as she closed the distance between us. She stopped just out of reach, like she wasn’t sure if I’d want her to come any closer.
