Raoul kisses me on the forehead, and the warmth of his lips brings me fully back to life.
I touch my throat, remembering the teeth. My skin is smooth, unblemished, though still sticky with blood.
“Where is she?” I murmur, lifting my head.
“Philippa is gone.” Raoul’s voice thickens. “I got her off you, but if I’d been faster, you…you wouldn’t have…”
I sit up and put both arms around his neck. He’s wearing Erik’s coat and nothing else, and his skin is ice-cold. “Thank you,” I whisper. As I’m hugging him, I spot the sea god Manannan, standing in the doorway that leads to the stairs. Then I see Philippa’s naked body and her right leg lying a few paces beyond her corpse. My arms tighten around Raoul. “We need to get you warm. And I think we could all use a good meal.”
Raoul lifts me to my feet. I hang on to him, mostly to keep his attention focused on me so he won’t have to look toward Philippa’s body.
Manannan shifts his bulky form aside for three of us to access the stairs, then he takes up the rear as we descend them.
While Raoul and I were pursuing Philippa, we saw many of the shifters fleeing, escaping Manannan’s waves. I’m not sure how many got away, but I know the death toll must have been high. It’s a small relief that there are no bodies in the hallway when we reach it.
“A lot of people died here tonight,” I say. “What do you think the cops will make of it? Can we be connected to this?”
“No,” says Manannan gruffly before Erik can reply. “All the bodies will be transported out to sea, and I will wash the place clean.”
“And then you’ll join us at my lair,” Erik says. “It’s yours now, since you helped us.”
“What?” I exclaim, and Raoul says, “Fuck no.”
“I made the bargain,” Erik says calmly. “I’m happy to fulfill it.”
“But what about all your things?” I protest.
“I have the only two treasures that matter to me right here.”
“You sicken me, Cernunnos,” Manannan growls. “And I decline your offer. I have no use for a drafty basement full of human garbage.You may keep the lair, as you call it. Now be off with you. I have work to do.”
“Call me if you ever want to learn a few things,” Erik replies.
Manannan scoffs. “Not likely.”
We circumvent the gym, which judging by the smell is full of river water and dead shifters, and make our way outside by an alternate route. Once we reach the fresh air again, I turn around to see the building where we spent the most harrowing night of my life. A handful of huge letters still cling to the brick exterior, but I have no idea what they’re supposed to spell and no mental capacity for playing hangman at the moment.
“What’s the plan?” asks Raoul. “I have literally nothing, not even my clothes. And my phone is probably still in Box Five.”
“Mine is in my dressing room.” I shiver, rubbing my arms.
We turn to look at Erik, who’s unusually silent, his face illuminated by the light from his phone. He taps his thumb twice and glances up. “Our ride is on the way. We’ll meet him at the street corner two blocks east of here. We should get moving.”
***
One Year Later
The standing ovation is thunderous. So loud, in fact, that my mind goes back to that night in the abandoned gym when Manannan crashed through the doors and sent his waves in to drown the shifters of the Collective.
A knot of panic twists my stomach. It’s tiny, but it could get worse fast.
I squeeze Erik’s fingers tighter as we lift our hands, bow, and bow again.
His warm fingers hold mine securely, squeezing three times.I love you.
Then it’s over—we’re retreating, and the curtain is coming down. I didn’t have a panic attack. I made it through.
Erik leans down to murmur in my ear, “Are you all right?”
