“Mom?” I rasp, the word weirdly not foreign on my tongue.
Thorne’s gaze travels over me, a softness in his eyes that threatens to make me think the worst, but before he can say anything, a voice comes from above my head.
“I’m here, sweet girl.” Her hand lands on my shoulder, and I exhale.
“You did it, Elodie. You shattered The Sanctum. Hell, you did more than that, you took down the entire Vale.” My father’s voice zips through the air, making my eyes widen further as disbelief takes hold.
I was half sure the darkness took me because there was nothing left of me, but it seems absorbing every ounce of magic in that damn dingy basement was actually effective.
“It’s done?” I croak, my throat burning, but I need the clarity, and the uncertainty that gathers Rion’s eyebrows together is enough of an answer.
Pressing my palms into the ground beside me, I startle when I feel the soft grains of sand. Confusion rattles inside of me, but I continue to push up until I’m sitting. Everyone but Kael moves to give me space, while he draws closer to me.
He cups my face, his hand roughagainst my skin, and it offers me a moment to actually take him in. Blood is splattered across his face, drying into the tips of his hair, and his eyes are dark and veiny, but his teeth aren’t elongated. He looks exhausted, relieved, and worried all at once.
“You and your mother did the unthinkable. The Vale is gone. Completely. But all that does is bring us one step closer to another evil.” He grimaces, and I instantly understand what, or ratherwho, he’s referring to.
“Where are we?” I ask, and he offers me a gentle smile, but it’s Thorne who answers.
“When The Vale shattered, it threw us out as a scrambled mess across…” His gaze leaves mine to glance around us, his brows knitting together with uncertainty. “I don’t even know where we are, but there is sand.Blacksand and a torched, derelict town with a few scattered hotels, half buried under ash along the backdrop of inactive volcanoes.”
“That’s oddly specific,” I mutter, taking Kael’s hand before he tugs me to my feet.
I sway in his arms, casting my eyes on the land around us, and it’s slightly concerning how accurate Kael is. A canvas of black and golden sand glistens along the shore to my left, while steep black mountain tops envelop the skyline to my right. Thesun sits nestled just behind them, casting a golden glow across the sky, but it doesn’t warm me. If anything, it fills me with dread.
As if sensing the heaviness settling over me, Ocean appears in front of me, all but shoulder-barging Kael out of the way so she can place her hands on my arms and hold all of my attention.
“Kael’s mom got word that Jude knows. He’s on his way, probably lurking somewhere in the shadows already, but the only person known to be with him is Professor Grimm. There’s no certainty on what other allies he may have, if any, but he’s coming, and we’re not leaving.”
“It ends here.” Three heavy words come from my father, and I peer over my shoulder to take him in. “We’re not running. We’re not cowards, and it’s high time he paid for his sins.”
My mother nods in agreement and I suck in a deep breath.
It’s now or never.
Kill or be killed.
Sink or swim.
It’s one cliché phrase after another.
Regardless, it all means the same. Death is coming for someone; I just have to hope it isn’t for me.
“What’s the plan?” My words are met with a mixture of blank stares and furrowed brows.
“There isn’t one,” my father admits, his lips set in a thin line. “We lost the minimal resources we had when The Vale crumbled. There are a few of us here, but the others… we don’t know where they are.”
“Who?” I ask, needing more than that.
“My parents are in New York, along with the others we saved from Jude’s prison. You would think he would want to go after them, but he’s intent on finding you,” Kael breathes, the pain evident in his voice, and I nod.
“Then we need to do something more than just wait here on the shoreline. We need to take cover, create a little fort or something,” I insist, and Rion nods.
“I’m ready to roll out when you are, Petal,” he insists, reaching for my hand, and I offer it willingly, letting him tug me to his side as he strides toward the closest building.
It almost looks like an abandoned hotel or something as we approach, all white-washed and quiet. The pool is drained, the bottom filled with debris, but we effortlessly bypass all of that for the closest door, which sits ajar.
Silence greets us as we step inside, the hallways dark and dingy without any lights on, but I take stock of who is actually here.
