She was silent until she’d pulled on her clothes, and we were both standing on the forest path once more.
“Are you okay?”
“No.” But I would be. One day, maybe Samael would help me remember what she’d taken. Until then, at least I had a way to get him back.
7
DANICA
By the time we left the seelie realm, it was getting dark. I didn’t know if time worked the same in the Middleground, but I sent Kyla home and drove toward the blue portal I’d first traveled through so long ago.
What if I couldn’t do this? What if I was merely delaying the inevitable? Was Ag right? Had I done more damage to the demons by tying myself to Samael?
It was only now, when I was alone in my car, that I could allow myself to question my decisions. That I could truly feel the terror from my choices.
It was hard to reconcile the person I’d been, just six months ago, with the person I was now.
I hadn’t known what I was doing when I completed my bond with Samael. All I’d known was that I couldn’t bear to live in a world without him in it. The power had poured from the deepest part of me, all of my instincts screaming that I had to do whatever it took to keep him alive.
Even knowing what I knew now, I couldn’t bring myself to have any regrets. I’d bought us time. Now, I had to make the most of every minute of it.
I parked next to the portal, got out of the car, and took a deep breath.
I walked straight through the portal as if I were out for a Sunday stroll. No pain. Nothing.
The last few times I visited this realm, I was with Samael. He’d brought me here to meet his dragon, and then again to meet her daughter.
Now, instead of being flown to the cave, with Samael’s arms wrapped around me, I was making my way on foot, just like I did the first time I visited, when I stole the Mistilteinn dagger from Samael’s hoard.
Vas would have flown me, of course, but I needed to do this myself.
I hesitated outside the cave, taking a few deep breaths. Finally, I took a step inside, my eyes adjusting to the dim light. Something crunched, and I slowly turned my head. Scylla was currently tearing the meat from a long bone, and she chomped down on that bone as her eyes met mine.
The last time I’d visited, Nuri had been the size of a large dog. I gaped at the younger dragon as she prowled toward me. She now towered over me. Maybe I’d been an idiot to come here without Samael.
I went still as Nuri leaned down and sniffed at my hair. A picture flashed through my mind, and my heart ached at the sight of Samael’s face.
“He’s not here,” I managed to get out. “He’s in trouble.”
Nuri lay down, her tail whipping back and forth across the ground as she glanced between me and her mother. Scylla dropped the bone and watched me, a clear order to speak.
So I explained what had happened. And then I explained what would need to happen if we were to save Samael’s life.
My voice was shaky as I finished. “Will you help me? If I can find a way to reverse the spell, will you help me bring him back?”
Scylla took a single step closer, and I forced myself to stand my ground. Then she bowed her head, a clear answer.
“Thank you,” I breathed. “I’ll be back with him. As soon as I find the sword.”
* * *
DANICA
I knew something was wrong as soon as I got back to the tower. I double-parked outside the entrance and ran toward the lobby, my lungs tight.
Bael was waiting by the elevator.
“What happened?”
