“It will dissolve,” I decide, glancing down at his face. I smooth back his hair as the Matron studies me.
“Your familiar, you say?”
I eye the tattoo on his chest, the ebony ink peeking through the gaps in blood and crushed lavender.
“I see the mark,” she says in an obvious tone.
“What are you asking?”
She arches a brow, her eyes roaming over me.
“Simply making an observation.” She moves toward the woodencupboards, dipping her hands into a basin of water and wiping them on a towel. “Come. The body must be left alone now.”
“I’m not leaving him.”
“If you want to have a shot at this working, then you will. The spell needs room to breathe. And that room does not belong to the living. We petition Death now. Give her a moment to consider.”
She pulls back the curtains and waits with expectant eyes.
With one last look back at Zadyn, I follow my friends out.
86
SERENA
7 DAYS
He’s just in the other room,I keep reminding myself while the Matron fixes us some tea. The warmth of the mug is surface-level, doing nothing to ease the ice inside my bones.
“Very clever—the ring.” The Matron eyes Marideth, a thin layer of pride coating her tone.
“I thought so.” Marideth gives her a wry smile.
“You are my blood, aren’t you?” She chuckles. “Well, won’t you introduce me to your young friends?”
“This is Serena Avery, Prince Kai Triori of Vod, and my mate—Dover Hallister.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, my lady,” Dover says, on his best behavior.
If I wasn’t still sick to my stomach over the events of the last few hours, I would laugh at his sudden propriety.
“Tell me, child,” the Matron says, “was it worth it? Seeing the world in exchange for leaving this behind?”
“I would have never met any of them if I hadn’t. I would have never found Dover. I was never meant to stay here, Grandmother.”
A brief silence falls.
Then the Matron asks, “Did you ever find her?”
Mar’s shoulders sag the slightest bit. “She was already gone by the time I arrived.”
“Mother—” A pretty female with auburn hair pushes through the door.
The resemblance is uncanny. She stops short when she sees us. Mar gets to her feet and approaches her.
“Hello, mother.”
A slap rings out, and Mar’s head whips to the side.
