“No.” Niko’s voice is rough, raw. “No, absolutely not.” He pushes himself forward, like he means to get up, but I’m already there, grabbing his shoulders and forcing him back down. He’s shaking with fury. Or fear. Probably both.
“Stay down,” I tell him, firm but quiet.
“She’s not doing this,” he spits, looking directly at Evangeline.
Evangeline hasn’t moved. She stands in the middle of the room like she’s not really there. Like she’s watching from a distance. I want her to scream, or at the very least rebuke Lady Thalia’s words. Anything but this quiet acceptance she possesses.
“I didn’t say I would,” she murmurs.
“You’re thinking it,” Niko says.
Evangeline doesn’t deny it. Finnick flies over to her, hovering just inches from her face. “You can’t go,” he says.
“I won’t let her go,” Niko growls.
“Neither will I,” I echo. The words are out before I canstop them, but they are true. She will not sacrifice herself to this well. Not even to save Niko. I don’t give a damn if I’m deciding for her again. “There has to be another way. This can’t be our only option, Lady Thalia.”
Evangeline finally looks at me. Her eyes are wide but not afraid. Just tired and resigned. “It’s not up to you.”
“You’re not—” I take a breath, having to curb my anger. “You aren’t dying for us. We’ll find another way.”
Lady Thalia closes the book with a snap, causing Evangeline to jump back. “There might be another option I just read about. A tonic. Something to suppress the curse for a short time. But it’s only temporary and might not even work. It has to be poured directly into the well.”
“We’ll take it,” Niko says immediately.
“It won’t stop the curse, son,” she warns. “It might buy us more time.”
“Good. Then we have time to find a real solution. Anything other than my mate sacrificing herself. Ender didn’t bring her here to die. She’s not dying for me,” Niko continues. “Not for anyone. For as long as I breathe, I will make certain of that.”
“You’re both assuming Iwantto die,” Evangeline says quietly, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. Every part of me screams to reach out for her, but I stay rooted next to Niko. Her voice doesn’t rise, but it cuts deep. “I didn’t say that. However, whatever happens, it’s going to be my choice. My choice isn’t to die, but I will do what I can to save those I love.”
Evangeline stares at Niko before her gaze falls to me. Niko’s face softens, looking upon his wife with love sopure, I can’t look away. There is so much she’s not saying, but I see the despair written plainly across her face. I would do anything to take that away from her.
I want to go to her, hold her, dosomethingto ground her back in her body, but I don’t. I can’t. She’s standing too still. Like if anyone touches her, she’ll shatter. She’s barely hanging on as it is, and the first tear that rolls down her cheek nearly puts me into a fit of rage.
“We try the tonic,” I say at last, definitive. “What do you need?”
“Five days,” Lady Thalia says. “Rare ingredients. But I can make it. I’m certain I have most of what I need, and what I don’t have, I’ll find or substitute.”
“And then what?” Finnick asks. “Someone still has to deliver it to the well.”
“I’ll do it,” I say immediately. “If it’s just a delivery, I’ll go and come straight home. I can take?—”
Before I can finish, Lady Thalia shakes her head. “The well won’t accept the tonic from you.”
“Then Finnick will go?—”
“Oh no,” Finnick says, already backing up. “I am far too pretty to die.”
“He can’t go either.” She shakes her head. “According to what I read, the person who administers it must be human. That leaves Evangeline.”
“No,” Niko snaps. “Absolutely not.”
“She can’t,” I say at the same time. “There are guards, and I doubt they would leave the well unprotected. You said there were Nephilim, Evangeline. How many?”
“A dozen,” she says. “Maybe more. They look coordinated and ready for battle.”
“I don’t want to send her any more than you do, but if we want a chance at slowing the curse, then this is what must be done. If nothing happens, Evangeline and the rest of the kingdom’s lives will be in danger. Doing nothing will mean certain death. It is also her choice,” Lady Thalia reminds us, and I have to grit my teeth from snapping at her.
