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“I’m coming with you.” Paesha’s cold stare was final. “If you need help searching, I’m going. Whatever you’re after, Maiden, whatever you need.”
Her eyes searched mine for a fight, but I simply plucked a flower from the ground and pulled her out of the temple, hoping I’d never have to step foot in that place again.
“Not dead?” Elowen asked, skin turning pale as she fell into a chair at the kitchen table.
“I don’t know if it’s permanent. If there’s a way… If I can get to him. He didn’t die, Elowen.”
“But you’re the Life Maiden?” Thea asked, gripping Elowen’s shoulders to give her comfort. “And your other power is what? Gone? How could you get to Death’s court without…”
“Dying?” I lowered my voice so Quill wouldn’t hear me. “I don’t know. Orin told me his world didn’t exist without me, but mine doesn’t exist without him, either. We are bonded. I have to find a path to him. And I think it starts at the beginning.” We faced Orin’s mother in solidarity.
“He was so handsome,” Elowen said, her eyes glossed over as she lived through a memory. “My brother introduced us. He’d given me the night off from the show and let me go with this… stranger. I’d always wanted to fall in love, and I thought I had, in one night. He’d spoken of a future together. He’d promised to help me find a way out of Drexel’s new magic. He was so dark but so light, and we drank and danced, and he laughed. Gods, the way that man laughed. I can still hear it, even after all these years. And the next morning, I woke up naked. And alone. And I didn’t even care. Not when I’d got that one night of happiness. My belly swelled, and I knew Orin was a blessing from a god. A baby I might have never had, otherwise.”
I swallowed my shock. “I’m so sorry you were left alone.”
“I’m not,” she said, forcing a smile. “Because I was never truly alone.”
I paced the floor, Elowen’s story lingering in the stagnant air.
“What’s your plan?” Althea asked, eventually.
“I think I have to start with Ro. She was helping him. She knew about his power.”
“Or you start with Drexel. He seems to have Death’s ear,” Thea said.
Paesha shook her head. “I think the Maestro died when Orin cast his magic to save you. No one has seen him.”
“Pity.” I stared down into Elowen’s blank face. “I would have loved to see him fall.”
I’d seen a small bit of the destruction on the journey to and from the temple, but we’d stuck close to the Hallowed River both times we’d gone. Still, the Maestro’s death, if that’s truly what happened, felt like a robbery in the grand scheme of things, with all the heartache he’d caused. Not just to me, of course, but the pained look on Elowen’s face had nothing to do with a fallen brother. She’d lost her son. And Drexel, her own flesh and blood, had played a part in that.
I knelt before Quill, rubbing my hands through Boo’s soft hair one final time before pulling the child into a hug. “You are brave, and you are strong. Never stop fighting for what you believe in, Quilly. Do you hear me? Dreams are worth chasing, and family is worth trusting.”
She nodded, a sob escaping as she buried her face in the crook of my neck. “You’ll try to come back though, won’t you?”
I pulled away, looking deep into those stunning blue eyes. “I will do everything I can to come back to you, but I can’t promise it.”
“Orin won’t be alone, and he needs family, too,” she said, swiping a tear. “But I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you, too, kid.”
I closed my eyes the second she wailed and flew into Paesha’s waiting arms.
“Hey, Quilly,” Paesha said gently. “Don’t worry. Things have a way of working out, right?”
Quill nodded, still staring at Paesha as if she’d never see her again. I thought Paesha would argue the point, reassure her she’d be back by nightfall, whether I was there or not, but she didn’t. Whatever goodbye the two of them shared, it wouldn’t come with promises from Paesha. Maybe she worried about what was to come and didn’t want to leave Quill feeling abandoned if neither of us made it back.
Paesha had taken Quill in when she’d been taken from her mother’s incapable hands and placed into Drexel’s. And though she’d still have Thea and Elowen, the child had already experienced more loss than she ever should have. It was hard to say goodbye to her, but for me, it would have been harder to stay here if there was any chance I could get to Orin. To save him from whatever Death had planned. I only hoped my path forward brought Paesha back to that child’s arms.
Death was hunting something, and if he’d taken Orin the second he learned of his power, who knew whether this realm would survive or if it would fall if someone didn’t stand in the way. I knew leaving was the right choice for me. And I knew Quill would have the others to watch over her as I chased my husband’s captor.
“I’ll see the library fixed. And maybe we can move through the cities and rebuild,” Thea said, her voice shaky as she held Elowen’s hand, who’d lost all sense of the world the second she’d remembered her night with Death. As if a spell had fallen over her and she couldn’t wake from it.
“Just take care of yourself and the others.” I chanced a glance at Elowen so Thea understood. “No spotlights. Stay under the radar. The clock tower, should you need it, has some jewels. There’s more in my father’s castle. I’d make that my first stop in case the others get the same idea, now that there is no king and no law. Call in the rest of the Syndicate members and build a stronghold here, Thea. When Paesha gets back, recruit where you can. Don’t worry about the outside world until you have yours well in hand.”
She nodded. “I’ve got this. I promise. I’m stronger than I look.”
Paesha moved to my side. “You’re looking pretty fucking strong from where I’m standing, sister.”
