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My words were cut off as my own shadow swirled up to press against my mouth. The feeling was strange, like both water and fabric over my lips.
“I was not done speaking, my dear,” Lucina said, her voice lowering dangerously.
Wyatt stared in wide-eyed horror at the shadow that clung to my lips. Like me, he was probably thinking of how easily the shadows had torn the revenant apart.
“My sister Heline has chosen a separate path to mine, causing trouble and dabbling in things we gods should be above. An entire mortal war has begun. Not only that, she’s decided to play with the little mating connections you people hold dear. It appears my time of isolation is at an end. If she will not stop meddling on her own, then I must step in.”
My shadow slid away from my lips, returning to the forest floor. Heline was causing trouble? That made no sense. Why would the moon goddess cause trouble with the fated connections?
“Heline?” I asked, dumbfounded. “Not her acolytes and priests?She’sthe one who’s been screwing with the fated mate connections?”
“Indeed,” Lucina said with disgust and disappointment. “Such a simple thing to stay out of, yet my older sister seems to have grown bored with the status quo.”
If Heline had truly fucked around with fated mates for the last few decades, it would make sense that things had been going bad for years. We absolutelyhadto find Heline and find out what the hell was going on.
“Since you’ve pleased me by guessing my truth,” Lucina said, “I shall help you destroy the mad one.”
“Why didn’t you destroy him before?” Wyatt asked. “If you’re a goddess, couldn’t you have swatted him off this island at any time?”
Lucina shrugged. “Mortals don’t understand the view of the gods. Many things have happened andwillhappen. Mortal life is short, and things tend to work themselves out without our interference. I had assumed this hybrid creature would eventually go away, but now I see that things have come to a head. To avoid a greater, long-lasting disaster, an example must be made. I shall step into the fray, but only under one condition.” She held up one long, slender finger.
“Uh, and that is?” I asked.
“That Bloodstone be left in peace as a place for me and the darkness to remain in undisturbed isolation.”
If the show remained off the air, I had no idea why anyone would ever want to come back to this place. That meant if we were successful, it was a promise we could keep. I opened my mouth to agree, when I suddenly remembered what Eli said about getting off the island. Adarkforce surrounded the island, preventing any of the creatures from getting out.
“Wait… are you the one keeping all the beings on Bloodstone from getting out?” I asked.
“Of course, dear. My minions are those that creep in the darkness. This place was created as a refuge for them when they become too dangerous to reside in the world of light. When the mansion fell, the creatures here would have attempted to escape. I increased my entrapment wards to maintain control. Once the mad one is dealt with, I will make it easy for you and your friends to leave Bloodstone. There is no dark in you, and as such, no reason for you to remain here.”
“What’s the plan, then?” Wyatt asked. “How will you help us?”
Lucina smirked at him. “I’ll be there when you need me.”
“What does—”
Before Wyatt could finish his question, Lucina’s robe of shadow burst off her, and she devolved into a swarm of bats that rushed away into the jungle, leaving us alone.
Wyatt stared off after the last of the bats and shook his head. “It fucking worked? How the hell did we do that? We have a goddess on our side now?”
“I know,” I said, grinning like an idiot.
As determined as I’d been to find her, I had assumed the Shadowkeeper would be much more difficult to entice into helping us. With her agreement, we were no longer hopelessly outmatched or stranded. We had a fighting chance now.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” I said. “I’m sure Zoe will try to stay close to the entrance to let us back in, but if we don’t hurry, someone will ask why she’s hanging around so long.”
Hands clasped, Wyatt and I began the hike back to Haven. Lucina’s presence must have terrified any creatures in the vicinity, because he jungle was much quieter than it when we’d set out. We still had to skirt a group of feral tiger shifters, but otherwise, the return trip was comparatively mundane.
“There’s something I didn’t have a chance to ask her,” Wyatt said after we’d been walking in silence for half an hour.
“What’s that?”
“When I found her the first time behind that waterfall, she spoke to me. Said I was apawnin her sister’s game. I had no clue what that meant or who her sister was. But now that I know it’s Heline, I wonder what the hell she meant. I don’t want to be a pawn. Even the thought of it pisses me off.”
I couldn’t argue with that. Our lives were supposed to be our own, and we should be able to do what we wanted. We had free will. The idea that Heline had not only been screwing with big things, but taking time out of her day to mess with Wyatt and me directly was equal parts irritating and terrifying.
The trees ahead of us parted to reveal the fake rocky outcropping that concealed Haven. Zoe was waiting for us, and beside her stood a very angry Eli.
