“Yes.”
“There’s a void like it that is almost two billion light years across. We call it Hollow’s Void because it ate the matter in that area of the universe. It ate almost two percent of ouruniverse before we were even aware of it.” Darcy pales even as his determined expression tells me he’s about to do something extremely dangerous. “The only powers in the universe strong enough to banish it are the collective powers of the Avatars, because you get us together and we can channel an incarnation of the universal force of magic. That force has the power to banish it.”
“Is the magic talking to you?” MawMaw asks, curious.
Darcy nods with a grim frown. “It’s giving me the history of The Hollow.”
MawMaw blows out a relieved breath. “We thought it could be The Hollow behind this. The” —she makes a rumbling sound— “is the first real proof of our theory.”
“Why is the insect thing proof?” I ask, flashing back to seeing my sister with a stinger through her chest.
Darcy’s hand in my hair tightens again, grounding me away from that visual. “That monstrosity you killed is a creature that only exists inside The Hollow. That’s why I said it was impossible, but if it’s here, then more than likely The Hollow is, too, and we gotta banish that fucker again before it eats more of our universe. We’ve barely recovered from its last meal.”
“So we need Bellamy and Santanos, and we need to find The Hollow?” I clarify.
MawMaw smiles sweetly at me. “You were always such a smart boy. You still planning to graduate in the spring?”
I reach over and take her hand in mine. “Of course, but I don’t think I’ll be coming back to the farm. Darcy’s my mate; I’ll be sticking with him.”
“Of course, dear,” she agrees, squeezing my hand. She returns her attention to Darcy. “Are you all immortal? I know Bellamy is, but is Santanos?”
“Yes,” Darcy responds tensely. “Unlike his parents, who weren’t.”
MawMaw shoots him a chastising frown. “There wasn’t any real need to kill them,” she sighs. “Well, you can’t take anyone against The Hollow that isn’t immortal. Are you going to give my grandson your Kroner?”
Darcy tenses even more, body going still, hand pulling my hair tight as he seethes for a few long seconds. “I cannot.”
MawMaw’s eyebrows rise to her hairline. “He is your mate,” she says, as if that’s enough.
I wrap my arms around my mate and pull his attention away from her. “I don’t know what a Kroner is, but whatever it is, I don’t need it,” I assure him, holding his eyes with a hand on his sharp chin.
Darcy’s eyes blaze with fire. “I would give it to you, Peach, if I hadn’t given it away already.”
“I don’t even know what it is,” I remind him and peck a kiss to his lips. “I’m not losing anything.”
“You’re losing everything,” he corrects me. “It’s the gift of immortality that every immortal is born with to give to their mates.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” I hug him close. How painful would it be to have given someone the gift of immortality for them to abandon him. “I’m sorry you went through that, but it’s ok. I don’t blame you. It’s hard to wait for thousands of years before finding your mate.”
Darcy trembles in my hug, but when he pulls back his eyes are blazing with fiery anger. “I didn’t give it away because I couldn’t wait. I was owned. I gave it away so that my owner couldn’t have it.”
“Who did you give it to?” MawMaw asks, angry. “We can pull it out of them.”
Darcy shakes his head, pressing his lips into a thin line. “No. We’re not doing that. I hate the man, but we need him to be immortal if we’re going to banish The Hollow.”
Understanding dawns on MawMaw’s face. “You made Santanos immortal?”
Darcy’s eyes flare with fury. “It was better than Lilith.”
I think my lover needs a break. “MawMaw, I think I need to get Darcy home. We’ll call you later, if that’s ok?”
MawMaw blinks a couple of times, smiling sweetly. “Of course, darling. Call me if you need anything at all.”
I smile back. “I will,” I promise, then call out. “Baby, I need to take Darcy home.”
The flink appears on my shoulder, chittering excitedly as they wrap me up in their arms, winding their tail around Darcy’s wrist.
The atmosphere disappears for a moment, then with the thunder of teleportation, we appear in the living room of a well appointed home. A glance out the front window tells me we’re back in the city and in a brownstone neighborhood. A short Asian man appears in the doorway, holding a cleaning cloth. He appears completely nonplussed by our arrival.
