My chest constricts when I read her simple question.
I will come for you the moment I can.
And Sunny?
She looks over her shoulder to the male behind her. I pretend the softness in her gaze that is no longer present when she looks at me doesn’t feel like a knife to my chest. He brushes his nose against hers and speaks, but I can’t see enough of his mouth to make out what he’s saying. I do notice Briar’s eyes widen in horror when she jerks back to examine him, so I very much doubt whatever he said is welcome news.
When she finally turns to face the mirror again, there’s a wet sheen in her eyes.
I will have to stay until after the Undertaking. I won’t leave Sunny alone, and he has to stay.
What about me?echoes in my head, but I don’t allow myself to voice it. I don’t need to ask why he needs to stay. He’s next in line to be the alpha of his pack, and leaving could risk that, but I didn’t realize that would stop him. In reality, my only thoughts of him were about keeping Briar safe, knowing therewas someone with her that we could trust. It was naive of me not to consider his importance to her, or maybe it was my mind’s way of protecting myself from realizing I’ve already lost part of her.
The part that was never yours to begin with.
The shifter wipes his hand across the stone in a bid to erase it faster before writing.
I want her wherever she is safest, but I will not risk the ire of the gods by leaving and not competing in the games. I know their tricks.
He cocks a brow at me as if implying he’s lumping me in with their group. I don’t care to defend myself. It seems he knows what the gods are actually capable of, and he doesn’t want to risk his ties to Briar being severed any more than I do.
“If you’re going to just sit there staring, let me talk to her.” Kage reaches for the tablet.
Can you get away to talk every day? What time?
Maybe, but they barely have any clocks here. Isn’t that crazy? I never know what time it is.
What is your schedule like?
Gym, food, training, food. We spend most of the rest of the time in our room.
You need to eat more than twice a day! Is it freezing there?
Briar rolls her eyes at the fact that he’s telling her to eat more. I don’t remind the demon that twice a day may be all she’s allowed. I know for certain he will relive this moment in his head over and over when he isn’t looking at her, and it will dawn on him then. She nods before putting the tip of the quill back on the stone.
The next hour is filled with all of us exchanging easy questions just to keep talking. I don’t say any of the important things I want to tell her, like how much I miss the way her skin smells and how I would give anything to hear her voice and touch her again. When her eyelids start to sink lower, and she begins yawning over and over, I finally give her permission to close the connection between the mirrors, but only with the promise she will open it again tomorrow whenever she can. I’ll wait in my room all day, because there’s no chance I’ll risk missing her until I know her schedule better.
I place my hand on the glass, fighting the urge to see if I could push through the connection. If I were still a god, it would be easy, a simple transfer of matter, but I’m not certain I could do it in my current state, and I am fairly certain the wards around the Ivy would prevent me from traveling that way as well.
Briar’s expression softens when she sees me lift my palm to the glass. For a heartbeat, I think she’s going to ignore the gesture again, but then she sinks to the floor, getting as close as she can to the mirror, and mimics my pose. My heart thunders in my chest. I know I’m not breathing right, but I can’t do anything about it either.
“I’m sorry,” I mouth, hoping I have the chance to prove how sorry I really am to her at some point.
Her lips pull into a sad line before she replies, “I understand.” I wasn’t expecting her to absolve me. I don’t deserve that, but I wasn’t expecting the stab of pain from her acceptance either.
In a blink, she’s gone, and I’m left staring at myself. My first thought is to shatter the fucking mirror and everything in this room, but I keep a tight hold on my temper until I know I’m not going to destroy my only means of communication with her and half the school.
When I finally stand, Kage is bent over in the chair with his head in his hands, massaging his temples. “I don’t think I’ll make it to the Undertaking. Not like this.”
I want to be mad at him for feeling sorry for himself, but I don’t have it in me. The demon is the only thing that saved me from myself, and I owe him the same in return. “You will make it, Kage. We both will because we have to. When we know she’s safe, we can explore our options.”
He lifts his face, allowing me to see his troubled purple eyes. “Our options?” he questions, wondering if I still have a death wish too. The problem is, I’m not sure myself, so I don’t bother answering him at all.
MOROS
Briar is uncharacteristically somber when I trace the rune I had to learn to open the scrying mirror in reverse on the glass. The image of the other room and the other males is replaced with a normal reflection the moment I lift my finger. I’ve heard of such relics, but I’d never used something of the sort myself. The pack prefers to communicate in person, but I see the necessity in this situation, where being face-to-face isn’t possible.
Briar exhales a shuddering breath when the connection closes. I’d been nervous about the meeting, worried about seeing her interact with her other mates, and selfishly concerned something between us would change after she spoke to them,but I think seeing her so closed off and uneasy while communicating with them was probably harder than if she’d been elated to see them again for the first time. Her pain was and still is evident in her features.
