“And from now on,” she adds, her voice still a little unsteady, “no more keeping secrets. Not from each other.”
“Done,” I agree as she finally, hungrily kisses me.
She stops only to whisper a question, and at my firm “Yes,” she pulls off my blouse, accidentally popping off one of the buttons in her haste as she pushes me against the bed.
She gasps when I start kissing every bit of her exposed skin in return, which only encourages me. I slide a hand up her leg, trailing my fingers higher until they’re slick and Meredy’s knees are threatening to give out. My necromancer’s belt drops to the floor with my trousers, helped along by Meredy, who seems determined to make me fall over before she does. The light, quick movements of her skilled fingers have me gasping at her every touch. I push her down onto the blankets on her back, where she spreads her legs at once. It seems we want the same thing, then.
I take my sweet time getting there though, wanting to memorize every part of her: The scent of her hair. The perfect arch of her spine as her body gives in to my touch. The way she makes things better—makesmebetter—seemingly without effort.
As I’m kissing up her thighs, she puts a gentle hand on my head and stops me from getting any closer to my goal.
“We shouldn’t—we don’t have time for this,” she says breathily, as if startled by some sudden realization. “What you said about the Ezorans...”
“It’s midafternoon, and we don’t meet the others until sunset,” I assure her, pushing her hand away and kissing her in just the right spot to make her cry out and give in to her desire. “This isourtime.”
After all, with the invaders nearly on our doorstep, this could be the last chance we ever have to be together like this. And if my spirit doesn’t just blink out of existence, the way all necromancers’supposedly do, I want to remember the blazing white light that is the essence of Meredy long after I’ve forgotten my own name.
When it’s my turn, and Meredy and I have traded places, her lips and fingers alone make me forget a great many things.
It’s only later, when our sweat has finally dried and we’re wrapped in each other’s arms, that tendrils of dread sink their hooks into me once more. There’s so much that can and will go wrong once I leave this bed. And judging by the reds and golds appearing in the sky for a fiery sunset, it’s nearly time to meet the soldiers and go over our plan.
But first, before I fight any battles, I need to find a bathroom.
Giving Meredy a quick kiss, I pull on a robe and open the door just enough to slip through, since she hasn’t bothered to put on any blankets or clothes. Not that I mind. I hastily shut the door behind me.
Hurrying down the hall to the nearest bathroom, the floor cold against my feet, I find myself humming Simeon’s song. It hasn’t drifted through my head in a while, but the cheerful melody suits my mood just now.
Thinking of a really good thing Meredy did earlier, I bump into someone as I round a corner. Their hands close around my throat and squeeze, hard, before I have time to make sense of who’s choking me.
Blinking tears from my eyes as I gasp for air, the identity of my attacker finally registers: Karston.
“I told you to quit singing that damn song,” he hisses, a malicious gleam in his eyes. “It makes me sound like such an idiot.”
“What? Why?” I cough, scrabbling at the hands digging harder at my throat. Gazing into his face, I see no hint of the boy I’ve come to call a friend. There’s a hard glint to his eyes, a mean curve to his lips that I’ve seen before, only not on him. I can’t quite place it. It’s hard to think with the air being squeezed out of me.
“Oh, come on, Sparrow.” Karston scoffs, his voice calm and cold as he continues choking me. “You were never this stupid.”
I know that expression. I know that tone. I know who Karston reminds me of just now.
This must be the spirit Firiel warned us about. The spirit I most feared was free.
“H-Hadrien?” My vision goes fuzzy at the edges. Not a good sign. I try to reach for my sword, but it’s not there. My fingers close uselessly over the cloth belt of my robe, and Karston—Hadrien—shoves me hard against the wall at my back.
“No blade to stick me with this time, I see.” He smirks.
“How?” I wheeze. I don’t want to believe it—I’d call it a fever dream, except I’m in too much pain to be asleep. Somehow, I’m talking to Hadrien’s spirit inside Karston’s body. As I pry desperately at his fingers, he tightens his grip.
Hadrien tried to choke me to death once before. It makes sense, in some twisted way, that he’d want to do it again. Of course, last time I had a dagger, and his hands weren’t Karston’s broader, stronger, work-hardened ones.
My only hope of surviving this time is that Meredy somehow hears us struggling from down the hall and comes running.
“Surprised to see me?” he asks, his breath washing over me and making me shudder as I fight for air. He leans closer, pressing his whole body against me and forcing my robe open in the process, like choking me is some kind of lover’s act. “And to think...” He laughs lightly, his gaze roaming slowly over the gap in my robe as his eyes slowly darken from violet to deep brown. “I used to fear you were smarter than me. Too smart for your own good. But you’ve gotten soft while I was away. You’re making thistooeasy.” His grip tightens.
Much as I’d love to spit in his face, all I can do is wheeze.
There’s no sign of Meredy, and I can’t hold on to what little air is left in my lungs for much longer.
“I’m sure you’d like to know how I got inside this pathetic boy’s body,” he continues calmly, as though we’re talking over tea. “But I’m afraid that has to remain my secret for now.” He smiles, and although he’s using Karston’s mouth, the shape it takes on—just like the shade of his eyes—is unmistakably Hadrien’s. “How lucky that I returned to this world in time to leadmyarmy against these invaders. They won’t stand a chance. I thought you might like to know that before you die.”
