“You make it sound so simple.”
A male scream turns both our faces toward the door.
“I’m afraid our time together grows short, Eloise. As I mentioned, I’m not supposed to be here. But the witches on this planet are extremely powerful, and they will help you if you ask.”
“Oh, sure. All I have to do is ask some strange witch to usher me into the Darklands so I can beseech a goddess to free my ancestors. What could go wrong?”
More yelling comes from the hall, this time closer. A thump from the hallway rattles the walls. Nathaniel sweeps the tarot cards from the floor, his nostrils flaring. “Good news. I believe your rescue has arrived.”
“My rescue?”
He returns the cards to his pocket. Two puffs on his pipe, and he blows a smoke ring that gets bigger and bigger. Symbols form around the edges as it hangs in the air. “If anyone asks you, I was never here. Paragon has no interest in warring with the elves of Tenebris.”
“Wait! I have so many questions! What if I need you? How do I find you?”
He looks at me and gives a shallow smile. “I’m afraid you can’t, darling. I wish I could stay for you, but this is not my world, and in my position, I’m not even supposed to be here. But I can smell your power in this bloody room, Eloise, and if you’re anything like your parents, you will figure this out.”
He spreads his hands, and my eyes widen as a portal opens in the ring of smoke.
“Please, can’t you tell me anything more? You’re my only link to my parents.”
He shakes his head. “I am not that link. The link you have to them, have always had to them, is still there. It’s simply blocked. Your only hope to fix what ails you is Thanesia.”
I huff. “Great. So all I need to do is find a witch who will help me die, stay dead long enough to walk some road that will likely hold who knows what sorts of challenges, and convince a goddess to reconnect me with my magic.”
He smiles brightly, his brows lifting. “Brilliant! You’ve got this. You’ve got the blood of a dragon after all.”
The sounds of fighting in the hall grow louder. Nathaniel bows his head and steps through the portal. With a wave of his hand, he closes it behind him.
Boom. I duck as the door flies in and skids across the floor. Damien steps into the room, an enormous broadsword in his hands, horror overcoming his features as he registers the blood in every corner of the room. The blood that covers me.
I reach for him. His shadows wrap around me, and then he lifts me into his arms. I grip his neck, and he runs.
34
Mate
DAMIEN
“What took you so long?” Eloise whispers into my ear. Her voice is pitifully weak, and her body sags in my arms.
I leap over one of the many bodies of elves I killed to reach her. Their dark-blue blood splatters every wall, but I feel no remorse for the slaughter. Not after what I saw in that room when I found Eloise. “Little bird, I met an unfortunate adversary and ended up unconscious for a few days. I came as quickly as I could. Is this blood all yours?” It’s everywhere. In her hair, down her limbs. My hand holding her feels the still-tacky remains of it on her arm.
“Yes.”
I growl and move faster toward the door that leads to the room with the balcony. “Do you need me to stop?”
“No. I’m not bleeding anymore. I’ll be okay.”
“Good. Because we don’t have long before—” A door behind us slams open, and sunlight pours into the hall from behind me, scorching the parts of her that aren’t blocked by my body.
She screams and tucks herself into a ball, tighter against my chest. I fly through the doorway and kick it shut behind us, locking it quickly. It won’t hold them for long, but I don’t need long. In three strides, I am through the glass doors that lead to the balcony.
“Hang on.” I rearrange her in my arms so that she’s clinging to me, arms and legs wrapped around my torso. “Don’t let go.”
We’re on the fourth floor. She looks over the edge at the huge drop. The chasm between us and the trees is much too far to jump. Tucking her face into the side of my neck, she nods that she’s ready. Considering what she’s been through—considering how long it took me to get to her—her trust in me is something I do not take for granted.
A boom comes from behind me, someone attempting to break down the door. I don’t waste another second. Bounding over the edge, I shoot my shadows toward the highest tree branches. Hooked on, we drop, then swing toward the forest.
