"Please," I whispered, almost like a prayer, unsure of who was listening.
My hand began to move, writing out a scene in which I pulled all three of them into my room here. As I reached out with my powers, a sense of connection enveloped me. It was as if a thread of energy extended beyond the confines of the walls around me, and I felt myself falling fully into the alternate world.
“Alexandra!”
Elwin’s voice made me want to cry in elation, but as I looked around and noticed Kylo and Lucien missing, I asked, “Where are they? Are they okay?”
Fear roared up from my stomach to latch around my heart like a vice grip.
He pulled me to him, holding me tightly and murmuring over and over, “They’re okay. Breathe.”
It took a few moments of hearing those words repeatedly to calm the voices in my head telling me the harpies had killed them.
“Okay,” I breathed out as I pulled back to look up at him. “Is this really you? How did I manage to bridge the connection between us? I couldn’t do it in the library when we tried before.”
He grinned before pressing a long kiss to my forehead.
“I’ve been thinking about that ever since we tried it. Initially, we thought you couldn’t do it because we are physical beings now. While that is true, what I realize now is that you can’t pull the physical bodies in, but we can still connect our consciousness this way. I took a sleeping potion that Zer flew to get for me when we got back to the house and told them what happened.”
A lead weight sank in my stomach at the mention of an archangel.
“Ariel,” I rushed to say, “is she okay? She looked like she was in bad shape.”
“Yes. Raph healed her to the best of his abilities, but her wing will need a bit of time to regain its full function. Apparently, the archangels’ healing is the most effective on non-divine beings. But enough about us. Where are you, Alexandra?”
I let out a heavy sigh and gestured at the room around us. “This is the only bit of the place I’m being kept that I’ve seen. Helen already paid me a visit, so I'm definitely with her, and I assume Zeus is lurking somewhere nearby.”
His face contorted to one of confusion. “Why are they keeping you in such a nice room? Have you been able to sense the curses at all?”
“No I haven’t been able to sense the curses,” I began before pausing to figure out how to drop the bomb about the plans Helen had for me here. “Things have escalated a bit here, though. Pandora and I were able to discuss the curses and the gods for a while. While we thought we had an idea of how I could ensure I lived by revealing that I knew my value to both parties, it turns out Helen and Zeus have already made up their mind on what to do with me.”
Oddly enough, I said the last bit with a little too much enthusiasm as I tried to soften the blow, making Elwin stare at me like I was happy about what I had learned. And maybe that I suddenly had five heads too.
He deadpanned, brow arched. “And what’s that?”
I grimaced before murmuring, “Kill me tomorrow.”
Chapter 20
ALEXANDRA
Elwin’sbright green eyes held a captivating intensity that could light up even the darkest of moments. However, the storm of emotions brewing within their depths only added to the ominous energy of our situation.
His brow furrowed as disbelief and anger contended for dominance on his expressive face. The corners of his lips tightened, revealing the depth of his distress as I watched him attempt to process my words. A clenched jaw was the only warning I got before he yelled, “Why the hell didn’t you tell me that to begin with, Alexandra? Asking about all of our well-being is a waste of the precious little time we have to fix this!”
I flinched, feeling his ire for the very first time leaving me somewhere between shocked and alarmed. In my heart, I knew he was reacting to his fear for me and wasn’t truly mad at me. He was mad that he didn’t have any solutions. The man who always had an idea, who could put all the pieces together of a situation before anyone else, didn’t have a foot to stand on this time, and he was furious.
“Elwin…” I started, lifting to a hand to rest on his chest, but he yanked away from me, choosing to pace back and forth.
He’d never retreated from my touch before, and it stung.
His fists clenched and unclenched, a mixture of frustration and helplessness radiating from him. Each step he took echoed the rhythm of his racing thoughts, mirroring the thunderous storm that raged both within and around us.
Though his anger wasn’t directed at me, I couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness for causing him this pain. His love for me was evident in the way he struggled to find a solution, his mind racing through possibilities as his green eyes desperately searched the ground as he tried to puzzle out an escape from the cruel fate that Zeus had ordered.
Finally, he came to a halt. As he lifted his head, my heart shattered as I watched the pools of tears reflecting back at me in his eyes begin to stream down his face.
His voice was thick with heavy emotion, breaking as he said, “Alexandra…I-I don’t know what to do. We need more time. The archangels know where these gods reside, but they have to wait for clearance from the Thrones to enter that domain without starting a war. If we fly into there tonight before getting clearance, anyone there is allowed to kill us on the spot. Rag said he expects the clearance to come in the morning.”
