I shiver.
“Here.” He wraps me in his cloak then takes my hand. His fingers tighten as if he needs to touch me as much as possible to remind himself I’m real. “Any ideas what the wood would want? Aside from a soul.” He smiles and it sparks something in me. The movement in my chest has taken on its regular rhythm, but his face makes it falter a beat.
“I have an idea.” Sorin follows my lead as I walk to the edge of the Wicked Wood. “I need a blade.” I glance at his back. “Or an arrow.”
He pulls his quiver, handing me an arrow without question. Ruse nuzzles my side as I slice the arrow along my palm.
I’m okay, girl.
She doesn’t believe me but doesn’t argue as I cut the line just a little longer. Gritting my teeth, I let my blood pool in my hand. “Here.” I wipe the arrow on the grass before handing it to Sorin. “You need to do the same.”
His face pales, but he does as I say, slicing a long line down his palm until it’s also full of blood.
“So do we just drop it in?” Sorin looks as though he might faint and I almost laugh.
“We bury it, give it back to Mother Gaia. Back to the earth.” There’s one spot in the forest that has yet to crumble so Sorin and I settle at a birch, dig a small hole at the base of the tree before dropping our blood in and covering it with dirt.
The tree groans, swaying from side to side. Its branches, long and spidery, thrash against the oncoming Plague magick, but for the first time since being near these woods, I don’t feel afraid. Our hands clasp together, stinging where they’ve been freshly cut. The memory of our past lives floating in my mind.
A storm, a crown, and a bargain made.
“We need to go, love.”
My toes dig into the soil, eyes transfixed on the darkness spreading through the woods. Sorin tugs my hand. With a final glance at the woods over my shoulder, my breath catches as three figures emerge, hand in hand, heads thrown back in laughter, before they disappear into the wind.
Usingthe amulet has become much too easy, and I start to understand how this type of power could become intoxicating.
We arrive back at the Jade Guild just as the rain begins again. Alaric and the pups were there, waiting. As if they knew we’d be back.
After changing into fresh clothes, Sorin packs a small bag with the last of the larder items. I stand in the doorway, watching as he assembles, disassembles, and reassembles the bag again. He scratches his brow and closes his eyes for a moment.
“Need some help?” He jumps at my voice then quickly relaxes as I wrap my arms around his middle from behind him.
“No,” he says, dropping the bag onto the table, “but sleep would probably do me good.”
“Dying is exhausting.”
He spins me so my face is in his chest, his chin resting atop my head. “I don’t think I’ve ever been that scared before.” His lips brush against my hair before he tilts my chin with my thumb.
“I was scared too. Thought for certain I’d never see this dimple again.” I press up onto my toes and kiss it which makes him smile more. “Will you tell me what happened? One day, when this is all over.”
He closes his eyes and I regret asking until lips meet mine for a gentle kiss. “I’ll tell you. I promise.” He strokes my hair, warming my chest. “I can’t believe you were my wife before,” he whispers against my ear. “I’ve never felt so relieved.”
“Relieved?”
He smiles before kissing the tip of my nose. “When we met on the river, I told you a piece of me snapped into place. And the longer we were together, my love for you became overwhelming. All-consuming. But it was mad, wasn’t it? To love someone so fiercely in such a short time.”
I dig my fingers into his back, letting my head rest against his chest. Finding comfort in the movement of his heart. In the movement of mine.
“But now it all makes so much sense,” he says. “My soul belongs to you, yours to me, and I have never felt so whole.”
A tear runs down my cheek, but Sorin dries it up with the tip of his finger. “There is still so much to be done.” My chest tightens thinking of all that’s left to do. To right the wrongs that have been done to Teravie. To ensure our bargain with Mother Gaia is paid.
“The Mother entrusted us to keep Teravie safe,” he says. “If She believes in us enough to rebirth our souls, I believe in us too.”
After finally organizing the bag enough for his liking, we meet Ruse outside.
“Are you sure it will transport us again?” Sorin asks, earning him a scowl. He laughs and begins to say something about how much he missed that face but I cut him off.
