I startle at that statement because Roman is so matter-of-fact about it, but he continues. “When he disappeared, it seemed impossible that someone could have overpowered him. I even wondered if he’d chosen to leave.” Roman pauses. “Now that I understand his soul could be in the prison, it’s possible that he was torn apart.”
I jolt and twist to Roman again. “You mean… piece by piece?”
A dark shadow grows across Roman’s features, his arms tightening around me. “Parts of Jareth could be hidden where they wouldn’t be found. His soul in the prison. His heart and body… fuck knows where.”
“As horrible as that sounds, it matches what he told us,” Malia says, while Taniya nods.
“He kept trying to tell us that he was broken,” Taniya says. “We thought he meant emotionally, but he could have meant literally.”
“A broken rune,” I murmur. Malia kept drawing the royal rune, pulling three claws through it, and telling me it was broken. “A brokenroyal,” I say, my eyes widening. “Cut into three parts.”
“Heart, soul, and body.” Roman’s jaw clenches as he falls into a heavy silence, and now I’m not sure what he’s thinking.
Across from me, Malia appears stronger—as does Taniya—their eyes brighter, and I’m grateful that the nourishing soup seems to be having a positive impact.
“I thought we didn’t trust Roman,” Taniya says suddenly, eyeing me with her harpy’s sharpness.
Despite her wary stance, I find myself exhaling with relief. To see a glimpse of her usual prickly self means everything to me right now.
“Uh… about that…” I lace my fingers with Roman’s. “We trust Roman now.”
Resting our entwined hands on the arm of the chair, I lean toward my sisters and take a deep breath. “I have a lot to tell you both.”
For the next hour, we eat, talk, and hydrate. I tell my sisters everything I know about the prison—how it was designed to house souls, but that Arga has been using it to imprison demons. I tell them about the royals, and about the first trial that sent me into the Forbidden Lands, and I don’t hesitate to tell them about meeting Reaper, and then training and strengthening my power. I show them my nightmare power, the swirls of darkness, but make sure not to hurt them with it. I only skip over the bits that relate to Roman’s past, since that isn’t my story to tell.
Then I describe the last two trials, including Arga’s power and Esta’s death. And I talk about Koda, whose motivations are more complicated than I ever expected.
As soon as I mention how much damage Arga did to my body, Malia pushes up from where she was crouched by Temple, running her hands over the wolf’s soft, black fur.
“Let me finish the healing Roman started,” she says. “You need to be as strong as possible for this final fight.”
“No,” I say quickly, holding my hands out to stop her. “Your energy’s depleted. I need to know that you and Taniya are recovered before you—”
She doesn’t let me finish, pouncing on me right where I sit leaning against Roman. She grips my shoulders and holds on tightly and, before I can protest again, her healing energy flows into me while she whispers spells to accompany her power.
As the warmth of her healing fills me, easing the final aches in my muscles, I have the overwhelming urge to cry.
“Dammit,” I whisper. “I really fucking missed you both.”
Malia slumps now that she used so much energy, but I catch her, slipping off my seat and hugging her where we rest on the floor. She drops her head onto my shoulder while Taniya slips down beside us, her arms tangling with ours.
“We didn’t get a chance to miss you,” Malia says. “But now that I have the real you, my heart hurts. It really does, Noves.”
“We can’t lose you,” Taniya whispers. “You have to find a way to win this fight.”
I close my eyes, unable to respond. If I want to stay alive, I have to win. But winning means being trapped in Mortem as its ruler. Unless…
I can find out what happened to my father and reverse what was done to him.
I tell myself to focus first on the problem that’s in front of me: staying alive.
CHAPTERFORTY-SIX
By the time we’ve finished talking and we’ve all showered, my heart feels warm again, the same warmth I experienced at Roman’s cabin.
He conjures clean clothing for my sisters and offers them their own rooms, but they quickly drag their blankets and pillows off the beds and congregate with my demon wolves in the lounge room, piling in and pulling me into their snuggle.
It’s been a long time since we all piled in like this. Not since we were kids and our bond as a pack was still young. But I understand the need to reestablish our connection now. I need it, too. This time for healing.
