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No, upon further inspection, Jett wasn’t looking back at me. But he must’ve been able to sense that I was looking in.
A shiver of frost went down my spine.
“I was wondering when that demon was going to hold up his end of the deal,” Jett said, a satisfied smirk spreading over his lips. It was the smile he’d make ripping out my throat, given a chance. “The Moon Goddess will be pleased.”
I slammed the mirror down on the table, severing the connection. The demon…Phaidros had made a deal withJett? There was even more going on than I’d guessed. I lifted the Moon Magic Mirror against its hiding place. It sank into the glass as if the mirror was made of honey, the large pane rippling as it reclaimed the magic object.
Immediately, the room began to violently shake.
Was it the spell? No, it was bigger than this. The entire castle was shaking. Furniture came away from the walls, toppling. I didn’t hesitate. I sprinted out of the room, dodging debris on my way. I ran and ran, trying to escape the labyrinth of Hecate’s chambers. Neither she nor Cole were still in the room I’d listened in on before.
Phaidros must’ve planned for this. I had to warn them. I ran through the halls as fast as I could. The palace descended into chaos. People took shelter where they could, guards trying to evacuate civilians. When they spotted me, they pivoted, trying to guide me to safety, but I shook them off.
I desperately chased the faint scent trail of Cole.
But Cole found me first.
We collided. He pushed me back just as a pillar collapsed over the spot I was about to reach.
I glanced up at him. He caged me in his arms, my back pinned against the shaking castle wall. Stark relief was splashed over his face. The childish hope that we might be okay ballooned in my chest. I wanted to believe it so, so badly.
“Cole,” I gasped, barely able to speak, “I fucked up.”
He teleported us away before I could explain further.
We appeared in a clearing miles away. The walls around the city were nothing more than a speck in the distance.
We escaped. But Daphne, Hecate, the citizens had remained.
“We need to go back for the others—”
My words were cut off as the ground beneath us began to shake.
I looked up at Cole in horrified confusion, but his gaze didn’t reflect the questions flashing in my mind.
“Cole, what’s going on?”
There was only sorrow in his eyes when he said, “A soul for a soul.”
“What does that mean?” I demanded. “So I killed Maddox. So what? I’ve killed before.”
Cole shook his head, black hair falling in front of his eyes, obscuring those amber orbs I clung to for comfort.
“When you returned to the realm of the living, you took a life. But you’re dead, Avery. There are consequences to setting the universe off balance.”
Consequences. He’d told me even then, but it had been so easy to dismiss. I thought he’d meant consequences for stealing from him. Anger, yes, but not divine retribution.
The shaking beneath us grew stronger. It was hard to stay balanced.
“A soul must be taken in return.” His voice was somehow soft over the roar.
“That can’t be.” Maddox had tried to kill me. Had tortured Daphne. And ending that life of cruelty was calledunbalanced?
I didn’t even realize I was clutching onto him in desperation until the ground behind us opened up and Cole pulled me tighter into his embrace and jumped away. It made no difference. Now that the surface had been breached, the hole chased us easily. It advanced slowly, but the void that opened beneath the ground was relentless.
“I’m going in that?” To leave behind Daphne, Hecate, the city… to leave behind Cole when I’d only found him, the other half of my soul.
But Cole shook his head.
