“I don’t think so.”
He kicked a rock at the top. It was a long way down, and I didn’t think either of us had the energy to make it in one piece right now.
“I don’t suppose you have any belaying equipment lying around,” I said.
Suddenly, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me behind him. “Someone’s coming.”
We crouched behind the rocks and listened. About twenty yards away were voices.
“Can you see who it is?” I whispered.
He shook his head, leading us around the corner so we weren’t spotted. “We should go. We can come back at night.”
I hesitated. If there were people here, that meant there had to be something out here to find, right? I wanted to follow them. I inched closer, crouching down in the rust-colored dirt.
The voices sounded closer now. In the distance, I could make out black outfits of some sort. Black leather sandals and black cloaks, and a low, whispered murmur like a chant.
Max’s voice took on a sharp edge. “Cella, come on. We can come back at night.”
I bit my lip. “We’re so close,” I whispered, but something about the low voices, like some demented Gregorian chant, sent gooseflesh raising on my arms.
“It’s them. It’s the brothers, the Order of Autumn, please, Max, we’ve got to—”
Max pulled me back. “All the more reason to come back when we’re not outnumbered twelve to two. Come on,” he said, heading back up the trail.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Receive Not a Swallow in Your House
The clouds had moved overhead at last, pregnant with moisture, such a dark gray they were nearly black. Returning to campus, I felt shaky and unsteady, like I was standing over the precipice of a steep drop.
“You shouldn’t have stopped me,” I said, anger shaking my voice. “We could’ve followed them and seen where they were hiding it. Now what? We go back and just hope we find the spot again in the entire canyon?”
Max shook his head. “Don’t do this, Cel. Not now.”
“They did something to Aaron, Max! Intimidated him, scared him, God knows what else.” I shut my eyes tight. I couldn’t let myself imagine what else.
I was terrified and frustrated. A million other emotions were all swirling around me, and I couldn’t keep them bottled up anymore. “We could have had them.”
“And what if they found us?” he said. “We were outnumbered. Even with Magic, we would’ve never gotten out of there. I suppose you’d like to go and leave me behind again, but guess what, Cel? Even if you don’t think you need me or anyone else, sometimes you do need people. Especially if you want to take on a whole group—”
But something was at a breaking point. I’d swallowed my feelings this entire time here with him, shoved them into this tight little box to not dredge up things better left buried. Now I was sick of holding them all in. And with the revelation that I was unbound, neither of us knew where we stood. We were afraid, and I could feel it all, swirling around us.
Tears seeped from my eyes. He turned toward me, his eyes widening. “Cel?” Suddenly, we were too close. The heat of his hands was on my face, cupping my chin, holding me all together.
And I felt so stupid and embarrassed at the tears sliding down my cheeks, but I just couldn’t do it any longer.
“Of course, I fucking need you,” I half-laughed and half-sobbed. “I need you every second of every day. But I’m terrified to need you. I don’t want to need you, but I do all the same.”
And I guess that was all he needed to hear because then his warm lips were on my freezing mouth. His hands tangled in my hair and clutched my waist like I might fly away if he didn’t hold me tightly enough. I leaned into him, hands running up his chest, drinking him in.
Tears rained down my cheeks, but for the first time in what felt like forever, something actually felt like it made sense. Our Magic hummed together, reunited at last, and I felt so safe, so warm, so right.
Then he pulled away. “I can’t.”
What?“We’re two halves of a freaking Magical soul, Max. We’re meant to be together.”
He shook his head and walked toward the cliff at the edge of the parking lot. Behind the clouds, the sun was setting over the horizon, and it lit up the canyon with flecks of gold. But all I felt were the coming shadows and the chill from the storm clouds overhead.
