“Nothing, here,” Octavian said, securing his sword to his belt. “Except cause a reaction in you. And that’s what we need. That’s what allows you to become the bridge.”
That was about as clear as mud.
“Last night,” he went on, “when you were screaming and writhing in pain in front of our house, I felt something. The veil between our worlds was thinner. I couldfeelTherador for the first time since we were banished here.Youwere doing that. You were opening the door between our worlds.”
“I don’t remember that at all,” I protested. How was I supposed to do it again if I had no memory of it?
“You don’t have to remember.” That was Alastor, who’d been very quiet until now. “If our theory is correct, and you are truly of both worlds, you just have to open yourself up to the essence of Therador. Your body will respond, but it’s that very response that creates the bridge—both your world and ours, linked through you.”
“In other words, you’re going to have to experience quite a bit more pain.” Radven didn’t sound especially troubled by that. “The worse it gets, the closer you are to sending us home.”
Thatwas clear, at least.
I didn’t want to endure that pain again. Once was more than enough. But as Radven had been so kind to point out, the other option was death. And who knew how long we had until those Tendrils showed up again and finished the job?
“Okay,” I said. “Tell me exactly what to do.”
14
The Bridge
ThemomentIagreedto help them once and for all, things seemed to happen very quickly.
Octavian took the relic from my hands and draped it across the top of my head. Apparently it was some sort of headpiece, meant to sit upon the crown with the chainlike “arms“ dangling down across my hair—which certainly made a lot more sense than it being a metallic sea creature.
“We don’t know how much exposure it will take,” Octavian rumbled, his big fingers gentle as he adjusted the headpiece on my hair. “We might have to drape your entire body with things from our world.”
“Or just dump a bunch of Nectar on me.” It was meant to be a joke, but out of the corner of my eye I saw Radven turn and dart across the room as soon as the words were out of my mouth.
Octavian’s eyes were still on me, and when he was done fiddling with the headpiece, he placed his large hands on my shoulders, locking my gaze with his. He didn’t even have to utter a word—I knew what he was going to say from look in his eyes.
“I’ve made up my mind,” I said. “I’m doing this.” And then, because I was genuinely starting to wonder, “Don’t you want to go home?”
“Of course I do,” he said immediately. “But…there is always a price to these things. I’d pay it myself a hundred times over, as would my brothers, but instead, it’s fallen upon you. It doesn’t feel right, laying that burden on someone else’s shoulders.”
“She’s made her choice.” Radven had reappeared with a small cask stuffed under his arm. Apparently he’d gone straight for the Nectar after all. “And we’ve made ours.”
He nodded toward Alastor, who’d come up on my other side with a book in his hands. I recognized it as the one he’d pulled down from the shelf last night—the one with the hidden compartment inside.
Octavian noticed it, too. His eyes widened. “Brother…”
“Nothing in our possession carries more essence that this,” Alastor replied without looking at Octavian. “And if she breaks the curse, it will return with us anyway.”
He opened up the book. Inside, tucked carefully in a bed of black velvet, was a medal of burnished gold. Or perhaps an amulet of some sort. It was round, about as large as my palm, and delicately etched with strange, intricate patterns. Along one rounded edge, three multi-faceted green gems sat in a row.
No, I thought, tilting my head.Not green…more like gray with hints of yellow.And when I tilted my head the other direction, they looked almost blue.
Alastor lifted the amulet carefully from its soft cradle, then took my hand. Before he placed the amulet in my palm, he looked into my face with his dark eyes.
“I am trusting you with the most precious thing in my possession,” he said, in a tone that suggested more of a threat than actual trust. For the first time, though, I saw a true crack in his stately, intimidating façade. In his dark eyes, beneath the entitlement and authority, there was something almost vulnerable.
He placed the amulet on my palm, curling my fingers around it. The moment it touched my skin, a shock traveled up my arm, and I let out an involuntary sound halfway between a gasp and a whimper.
“Marigold…” Octavian said, but I shook my head fiercely, teeth gritted against the pain. I’d made my choice, knowing full well there would be pain.
And I could already feel it, rippling across my skin in waves, building beneath the surface in quakes and trembles.
“J-just do it,” I managed to spit out. “Do it-t all.” The faster this was done, the faster the pain would stop. My knees were starting to shake, and the vibrating in my skull was making the backsides of my eyes throb, and it was only getting started.
