I stared out at the Valley in the distance.
I sucked in a stuttering breath. “It’s not meant for me. I… Dad?”
“I’m still here.”
“I want… I want to go back. I want to see you, the family, my loves.” I turned away from the Valley and stared at the fabric of the Veil, frowning when I couldn’t see a clear way through. I thought I was supposed to just walk closer and a door would open for me.
“Your lingering has caused some… confusion,” Dad explained. He must’ve felt it from me and the plane. He had some sort of hold on me.
“Dad, you’re death-tethering me? How?”
“Not death-tethering. I’m holding you steady through our necromantic link, as Zayn is now frantically trying to shock you awake. I’m supposed to infuse my power into it to ensure it jolts you the way that’s needed.”
“But you’re not? You’re holding off?”
“Until you were ready to make your decision.”
“That must be taking a massive amount of power for you to do over that distance, and between planes, and after you just death-tethered twenty necromancers and even mass-teleported them all too.”
“It’s… a little taxing, yeah.”
Jeez.“Do it. Infuse your power for him to make the shocks necromantic.”
“Yes?”
“Yeah. I’m… I want to go back.”
I heard the smile in his voice, and the relief he’d clearly been trying to hold at bay, as he said, “See you soon, Win.”
“Soon, Dad.”
In the next second, a violent eruption of crimson filled my vision.
And then everything was wrenched away.
I sucked in a gasping,wheezing breath, jolting violently.
Blinking, I opened my eyes to see I was lying on the stone floor of the Core Chamber with Zayn crouched over me, his hands hovering over my chest.
His magic and my dad’s crimson power were sparking all over his palms, and he was about to bring them down again.
I shot out my hand and snatched his wrist. “No. It’s done. You’ve got me. You’ve got me, Z.”
He jolted, eyes shooting wide. “Win! Shit, Win! You’re here!” He snuffed out the power, then gathered me into his arms, hauling me into a sitting position up against him.
Once I’d managed to stabilize my breathing, I eased back to look at him.
“That almost-violent pink hair of yours… always a real sight to wake up to.”
“Wake up to? As if you just took a fucking nap, Win.”
“Well, I kind of did, given my nature.”
“Stop. Seeing you like that—”
“Sorry,” I said, clutching him and holding him to me. “I’m sorry. I know.”
He sank into me, nuzzling into the shoulder of my hoodie, and I smiled to myself when I heard him sniffing me.
