“I can see you are all occupied,” Bahmet spoke over the chaos, pleased with himself for his success. “I do hate to ruin your fun, but it is time to leave. I look forwards to seeing how these secrets affect your journey going forwards. For now, farewell. I will see you when the bell tolls for the final trial.”
Just as it had when the trial began, the floor opened up and swallowed us whole. I folded into Arwyn, holding his body so tight in my own that nothing could separate us. Tendrils ofshadow attempted to pull us apart, but my grip was ironclad. Nothing would take me away from him.
Bahmet engulfed us in his power, like toys being thrown back into the toy box. One moment we were in his presence, the next we were back on the edge of the cliff, salt winds brushing across our damp skin, the heavy clouds concealing the beam of light that Hekate had blessed down upon us.
I looked up, still holding Arwyn’s unmoving body to my chest. Kai was there, holding Romy who was panting heavily, eyes wide and unblinking, her hands covered in deep, red blood.
She glanced down at them slowly, smiling to herself at the proof of destruction left in the wake of the trial. It had all been real… and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Because Arwyn was still in my arms, unconscious.
“Help me,” I snapped, drawing Kai’s and Romy’s attention to me. “Please.”
They didn’t need to be told twice. Putting their own suffering aside, they both got to my sides and helped heave Arwyn up until his feet dragged across the sodden floor. First, we would get back to our base and fix Arwyn’s hands… hands I still hadn’t looked at properly. I was frightened about what I’d find.
The trial might’ve been over now. We might’ve passed. But the events of The Confessing had changed the course of this game. Deep down, beneath my concern for Arwyn’s physical state, and the emotional ramifications for everyone in this coven, I knew how this would all play out.
I knew whatIwould have to do.
Bahmet wasn’t the only soul to not expose a dark secret. He had let one slip, I just wasn’t sure if anyone else but Tomin noticed.
I locked eyes with Kai, wishing I could send him a message without opening my mouth. His single sharp nod told me that he knew what I needed from him. It was an acceptance that weboth needed to speak. Soon. But first, I had to make sure Arwyn would survive his wounds. Because I no longer had anything to sacrifice in exchange for keeping him alive and out of Bahmet’s clutches.
41
ARWYN
Iexisted in pain.Iwaspain.
Fire scorched through my shattered bones, a river of hellfire in my veins and vessels. It was relentless. In those few moments of consciousness, I chose to keep my eyes closed. At the crux of the decision was my need to pretend—something I’d been doing my entire life. Pretend I was dead, pretend I no longer needed to live through suffering.
Voices floated around me. I knew I recognised them, but I couldn’t dare reply. My tongue was fat in my mouth, my throat swollen closed. The few times I opened my mouth it was to howl as my stinging became something more, a feeling I couldn’t put into words or dare describe.
Soft hands brushed down the side of my warm face. I groaned into it, knowing exactly who touched me without needing sight. I smelled Hector’s flesh, knew the print of his fingers and the soft pad of his palm.
“If you even think about giving up.” Hector’s voice broke. “I’ll find you and… and… I need you. To fight… to—I just need you, Arwyn. Please, come back.”
There was so much I wanted to tell him, but I could not attempt to reply. It was safer here, in the dark where I endured amongst the agony. After all, this was what I wanted. Wasn’t it?
I awarded myself this reality and refused to give it up yet.
“Arwyn,” Hector whispered into my ear, delicate lips brushing my damp skin. “If you die, I’ll find a way to kill you all over again. Do you hear me?”
Yes, my love. I hear you even when the darkness overwhelms me. Even when the light betrays me. I hear you, I see you, I feel you…
So much to say, and still my lips refused to move and my eyes were forged shut.
In my mind, I smiled. Perhaps my body didn’t respond like that, but I couldn’t help but glow internally at his threat. Beneath it, was love. I felt it in his tender touch, his ever presence beside me, and the emotional weight of every word he spoke.
“I love you,” Hector whispered.
For just a moment, my suffering was blanketed. Three words, that was all it took to smother every feeling inside my ruined body. Somewhere beyond the prison of my torn flesh and broken bone, I was aware that I replied. I felt my chapped lips shift, my lungs aching as I took in enough air to offer Hector the same three words he’d gifted me.
I love you.
I love you.
I love you.
I love you.
