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“So… What’s the deal, then? Can you see out of it?” I steer the conversation away from my clumsy lack of balance, and let my curiosity get the better of me. When I searched his mother’s memories, he had an eyeball–anormaleyeball–when she pushed him into the prison world. So, what caused it to go white?
“Yes… sort of.” He slips off the log, landing on his feet with the prowess of a cat, then turns to wave me forward. Cringing, I peer down at the ground. I’m the one with a cat familiar–I fucking purr, for Christ’s sake–yet landing on my feet is not a trait I possess. Shoving off, my teeth clutch together as I freefall. Even though I try to bend my knees upon impact, I lose my footing and stumble into Asmo’s bare chest. “I’m starting to think you just want to touch me,” he sneers.
“Not likely.” Shoving away from him, I wipe the sweat his skin gave my palms as a parting gift off on the fabric of pants. “You could put your shirt back on, though. Just a suggestion… What doessort of being able to seemean, anyway? I feel like you either can see, or can’t. There’s not a lot of gray area there.”
“I can see. It’s just not the same. My eye is stuck in another time, so I see what the future me sees. Or sometimes, past me. Sometimes it’s not me at all. My brother and I are connected on a soul level, so I get glimpses of what he sees, or—”
“Me, because I’m his soulmate? Like the mirror memory.”
“Sure, let’s go with that. Yes, sometimes you.” he pauses, getting his bearings and turning us toward the sound of the rushing water. “I tried to scry the future, but it works differently for me and my brother than it does for you. We actually send our consciousness into past and future versions of ourselves, whereas witches like you hover in a different plane of existence altogether.”
We clear the treeline, stepping over the smooth rounded stones making up the river bed, and the rushing rapids roar, yet like static, the noise fades into the background. “I’d never tried it before,” Asmo says, slowing to fall into pace next to me. Thank the Heavens for his mercy. My legs are burning from the miles we’ve traveled today already. I could use a slower pace for a moment. “I had to know if there was a chance I’d ever make it out of this realm. Long story short, something went wrong, and now one eye is always in a constant scrying state. Sometimes I see what’s truly right in front of me, and others I get glimpses of the past or future while simultaneously seeing the present.”
“I have to ask…” I trail off, finding a place to sit for a moment on one of the rock ledges. “If you can see through my eyes, and Kai’s, you must feel like you know us to some extent. Before you met us, I mean.”
“To an extent. It’s not like I see everything. It’s hit or miss and far and few in between.”
“Do you see anything now?”
“Are you asking me to spy on your beloved prince?” His smile turns cruel as he cocks his head.
“I’m not asking you to do anything. I’m merely trying to understand.” Honestly, I’m not sure why I want to know, but if he’s seen Kai… Hearing that he’s okay, that he didn’t get hurt fighting his father would help put my soul at ease.
“It’s hard to discern what’s present, past, or future, but I have seen my brother in the last few days. Once. Your cat returned to Hell Hold without you.” Asmo takes a sip of the Elven wine in his canteen, filling his cheeks full of the dark blue hued liquid.
“Did he seem okay?”
Asmo stills, zoning out on the rapids in the river while he swallows down his drink. Even after it’s all down, he takes another moment before answering. “It’s hard to say. I don’t know how he felt or what he was thinking. I just saw your cat, bloody and collapsing in front of the castle. I know he ordered for someone to help her, because they were treating her wounds and heard him order for someone to get him a witch.”
He pushes the cork back into the canteen bottle, and shoves it into his pocket before continuing, “If it were me seeing what he did, I’d believe you were dead. And I don’t think anyone can be ‘okay’ after losing the love of their life. It takes a while to even remember that your heart is still beating, let alone to process the fact they’re gone and you’re not.”
“I hate it… Why can’t I fucking teleport? At least I’d be able to pop back and let him know I’m alive. I can’t imagine going through that… Even the very thought of a world where he wasn’t in it makes me want to shatter and crumble until there are no pieces left to pick up… When did you see this?”
Asmo looks at me from the corner of his eye, like he can’t bring himself to see the tears that have slipped through my walls, and are building in my eyes. I’ve managed to keep them from falling, but I won’t be able to keep it up for long. Not when my mind is spinning, trying to imagine what Kai must be going through.
“I saw it before you almost walked into the spider’s butt… A few days before, but before you panic, I’m not sure when my vision took place. It could happen tomorrow for all I know. The only thing I can tell you for certain is that it’s recent considering what’s happened. I don’t think she knew you went into that ravine. She didn’t turn around, and if she did later, she would’ve only found blood. I’d already taken you to the oracle’s cave and was very careful to not leave a trail the trolls could sniff out and follow.”
My chest tightens until I feel like my lungs can’t expand, like I can’t breathe. It would’ve only taken her a day or two tops to get back to Hell Hold from where we were. “How do I teleport? I need you to teach me,” I say, ushering the words out so fast they almost blend together. “Teach me! Please.”
Asmo cants his head, his eyebrows pinching together. “You’re going back.”
“I have to. I can’t let him think I’m dead for another minute. It’s bad enough he’s already had to endure it for days.”
“You don’t know that, Alice. It might not have even happened yet–”
“I do. Luri wouldn’t have needed much time to get back to Hell Hold. Please. Teach me.”
“What about your friend? We’ve come all this way. He dies tomorrow.”
My chest pulls tighter and I rub the hilt of my palm against my sternum. Suddenly I can’t breathe fast enough, nor take in enough air. I’m drowning and I’m not even under water.
Asmo’s hands latch onto my shoulders, and he dips his head, trying to meet my eyes. “Alice. Look at me.” Shaking my head, my magic and power wells build beneath my skin until they can’t hold anymore, making me itch and my flesh feel like it’s on fire. Since I lost my mortality, I haven’t had my power surge like this, and clearly my problem isn’t gone for good. My fingers spark and the veins rise around my eyes… I’m losing control. “Alice!” Power laces Asmo’s voice, somehow breaking through the fog surrounding my mind. “Breathe!” My lungs obey his command, opening up as I drag in a deep breath. “It’s going to be okay. He’ll know soon enough that you’re alive. Finn, on the other hand, is going to die if you can’t pull it together.”
Looking at where his hands rest on my shoulders, I dart my eyes from side to side. He knows how to teleport. He just doesn’t have the power to do it. My hand grips his, pressing his palm to my chest, just below the hollow of my throat.
“Siphon me.”
“What?” he breathes, rapidly shaking his head from side to side.
