He sits up. “You don’t remember?”
“Remember what exactly?” I feel around for my wine but don’t find it. Something flashes through my mind—slitted eyes and a blade.
I sit up, my skin going cold. “Wait.” I clench my eyes shut and terrifying memories rush in a torrent. “Wait.” I open my eyes. “He killed you.”
Chastain weaves his fingers together. “Yes. Cenet.”
“And then …” I try to remember. “And then I tried to escape, but then—” I swallow hard. “He killed me, too.”
“Yes,” he says gently.
I jump up. “Is Gareth all right?”
“I don’t know.” He stands, too, and peers around.
I look, too, and realize we’re not in Cranthum at all. People stroll the lanes below us, and in the distance a verdant forest rises. Beyond that, a snowy mountain range. “What is this place?”
“I think,” he leans over and looks down at the busy street. “I think we’re in the Glowing Lands.”
I put a hand to my face. This can’t be right. I didn’t have enough time. Not with Gareth. “I have to go back.”
“There’s no going back.” He runs a hand through his hair.
“Therehasto be.” I take a page from his book and start to pace. “A way back. Come on, let’s think.”
“Beth—” He reaches for my elbow. “This is the end. This is where we all go when it’s over.”
“I can’t accept that. Not when Gareth is still on Arin. What if he’s hurt?” I shrug him off and keep pacing. “I have to get back to him.”
“You think I don’t want to return to Silmaran?” He leans over and braces himself on the roof ledge. “OfcourseI do, but can’t you feel it?”
“Feel what?” All I feel is pissed that I got myself killed like a fool.
“In here.” He stands and taps his chest over his heart. “Complete.”
“You feel complete?”
“Yes.” He takes in a deep breath. “I do. I know Silmaran will meet me here when the time is right. I’ll be waiting. But yes—” He smiles. “I feel my work is done.”
“That’s great and all. But I don’t. I feel like if I don’t get back to Gareth, I’ll start scratching my skin off or begin testing the limits of this whole afterlife thing.” I peer over the side of the roof and wonder if the fall would kill me. I whirl and hold a finger up. “Maybe if you die here, you get to go back to Arin?”
He crosses his arms. “I don’t think that’s how it works.”
“But you don’tknow.” I keep staring at the street below. “I could just jump, you know?”
“Seems like a bad idea.” He lies back down on his divan and smiles up at the warm sun. “You really don’t feel it?”
“No!” I throw my hands up.
“Maybe it will come in time.”
“I don’t have time. I have a mate that calls me his filthy Xalana, spanks me when I’m bad, fingers me in unusual places, and tells me I’m his beloved. These are not things I’m ready to give up!”
“Straight-laced Gareth does all that?” He whistles. “Who knew?”
“You’re not helping,” I huff.
“I’m sorry. It’s just that I feel so … content.”
