My mouth drops. “You did? Kit, you didn’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I did.” His throat clears. “Also, I locked Balores in a cell in an infrequently visited section of Hell, so I believe we’re good there.”
Relief spreads over me, my body rid of an anxious weight that had been holding me down since I learned of Balores’s obsession with me.
I squeeze his hand with unending gratitude difficult to express. “So, I’m likesafesafe?”
“You’re safe. And I promise to keep you that way.”
I settle in to let Kit tell me the full story of our time apart.
kit
. . .
Two Weeks Ago
I trailedLacy and Matthias to a cemetery, where I hid behind a gravestone, watching. I cringed as Matthias cut Lacy’s arm, feeling the pain with her. She stood in the middle of the circle as Matthias performed the spell. When he was done, nothing happened. She sank in disappointment, and I sank with her. Every cell of my being wanted to go and comfort her, tell her to give up now—I wasn’t worth it.
However, Matthias convinced her to try again—and I had to let her. I would never give up on her, so why would I expect her to give up on me?
A few nights later, I followed her to another graveyard. This time, they were joined by two other people who I didn’t know. By Lacy’s somewhat formal stance around them, I assumed she wasn’t all that familiar, either. They performed the spell as I watched, this time hidden behind a tree. A red circle around her glowed then dimmed.
There was a pause. A pull. A gush of air. A veil of darkness. Stretching, creaking, groaning, yanking, cracking, snapping. Then so much light. And water. I was submerged.
My arms flailed as hard waves slammed into my mouth. I hacked up the salt water, gulping for air as the sea sloshed around me. As I thrashed, my pointer finger stung. Even in my struggle, I noticed a bright-red line across it. Like a papercut.
I managed to get to a steady tread, my legs kicking beneath me. The sun was just coming up, making it light enough for me to see the endless water around me. I was in the middle of the goddamn ocean. I swirled around and spotted a red-and-white striped lighthouse up ahead. Okay, maybe not quitethe middle, then. I pumped my arms and kicked my feet. The tide moving inward assisted me in my struggle. Just beyond the lighthouse was a white, rocky beach resting beneath tall, chalky cliffs. I kept swimming, adrenaline keeping me going for far longer than I should have been able, until, with the help of a wave, I slammed into the beach. I crawled on my hands and knees up the land, the water still knocking into me, making me stumble. The rocks pressed painfully into my limbs.
Once the water could no longer reach me, I flipped onto my back, lying flat on the beach, the sun now shining on me, dulling the painful shiver encompassing my body. Chest heaving, I stretched my arms out like a T, and only then did I realize that I was as naked as the day I was born.
There was nothing and no one on the beach. I stared upward at the white cliffs above, knowing there was no way I could climb that. Give me enough time and I could probably jump.
Except…no. Maybe not.Did it…?
I shot up, calling out, “Hello!” in my mind, the echo confirming I was alone. I looked down. This body was familiar—I recognized that mole on my upper thigh. I pinched myself. “Ouch.” I yelped in excitement, because I felt pain! I was…there was no way…and yet…I was human. I was alive. Lacy’s spell worked, and I was…Where the hell was I?
I swung my head around. The area was familiar. The cliffs reminded me of these cliffs in England, one of my favorite places I visited while abroad. A place in East Sussex called Beachy Head. I actually loved it so much that I once told Izan I wanted my ashes?—
“Shit.”
I stood, hands on my hips, staring upward to the tops of the cliffs resting under the clear skies.
“I’m in the fucking UK.”
Izan must have gone through with it, scattering my ashes in one of my favorite places in the world. I supposed it made sense, appearing there. My body burned away in California, but those ashes were still me. When he let that last part of me go, a part of me that still had traces of my soul, this was the last spot where my soul—my completely human soul—was before I washed away into the water. My final resting place, so to speak.
My attention fell back to my body. This was new. Brand new—but also…not? My skin was shiny and clean, but…I looked at the cut on my finger. This was the papercut I got the day I died. And well, to be perfectly frank, my dick was lacking a foreskin. So, this body was new, made from magic. Or rather, created from the imprint my original body made on my soul. Which meant it was mine. All mine.
I looked around. The biggest question right now was how I was going to get to the top of those cliffs. From what I could remember, there should have been a road not too far that regularly had cars and buses traveling on it. And a pub somewhere.
But I would not get too far absolutely buck naked.
There was nothing in sight. I considered resorting to finding a big rock and hiding behind that. My head swung both ways, to the left and to the right, as I tried to decide where to walk. The lighthouse was recognizable, but these could be lining the shore. I eventually chose to turn left, knowing therehad tobe a set of stairs somewhere.
The sun was warm on my back, drying my hair, but my toes were turning blue. Crossing my arms over my bare chest, I trudged forward. The cliffs on my left side grew shorter as I went on. Finally, in the distance, I saw two exciting things. One, stairs, a silver metal structure built into the beach and the side of the cliffs. And two, a towel hanging from them.
I searched the area. It was still early, so there was not anyone in sight.
