“You must go into the noxite mines for the answers you seek,” Whale Spirit said. “But be warned. Reaching your destination will not be easy. There will be traps along the way. But should demigods as yourselves work together as one, you will conquer these obstacles and uncover the truth.”
“The mines...” Ava mused to herself, before turning to me. “Charlie, that must be where the next key is! That means—”
Ava cut off as the magic filling the room dissipated. Whale Spirit was gone.
“Wait, no!” Ava cried. “Come back. I have questions!”
The room remained silent. It took me a few moments to gather my breath. The last thing I wanted to do was find another key to that damned portal.
“We can’t go down into the mines,” I stated bluntly.
“We have to,” Ava argued. “You heard Whale Spirit! That’s where the next key is!”
“Yeah, I heard that she said there weretrapsdown there. I can’t stand to see you get hurt.”
“I won’t. I’mmeantto do this.”
“But there’s noxite in the mines,” I argued.
“What does that matter?” Ava asked. “You just proved that noxite has minimal effects on us.”
Hell.I’d fucked myself over on that one.
“But the mines are huge.” I was grasping at straws. “How are we supposed to find a single key hidden inside a full cave system?”
Ava thought for a moment. “Whale Spirit said we had the directions. I’ll bet you anything she’s talking about the runes we found in the Lair.”
I swallowed. “Do you think you can translate them all?”
“I have to try,” she said. “I’ll talk to Hemlock and see if she can help me decipher the runes I don’t know. As far as traps go, I know an expert.”
I took Ava’s hands. I wasn’t sure how much closer to the prophecy I could get without telling her what Maddie said lay on the other side. Just thinking about getting one step closer tore me to shreds. “Pidge, this is…”
Fucking crazy,I wanted to say.
Instead, she finished my sentence for me. “Dangerous, I know. But I wouldn’t be here if I was scared of danger.”
She sat up straighter and spoke firmly. “I don’t care what traps lie between us and whatever’s down in those mines. Before the semester is over, we’re going down there. One way or another, we’re getting the next key.”
“Pidge…” I didn’t know how to stop her, but Ihadto. I was putting my foot down. “You can’t. I won’t allow it.”
“What?” she squeaked. “You won’t allow it?You’re not my father. And evenhecouldn’t stop me.”
“Idohold half of our soul, though,” I reminded her. “I think I get some say in what you do with your half of it.”
Ava placed her hand on the side of my face, and her tone softened. “Oh, Charlie. The last thing I want is for you to worry about me— aboutus. But you heard what Whale Spirit said. I’m important to the magical world, and you’re a part of me, which means you’re important, too.”
“What if I don’t want to be important?” I whispered.
Ava lowered her head onto my chest again. “Don’t you realize, Charlie? You alreadyare. You are more important to me than you can ever imagine.”
I squeezed her tightly. I was glad she was lying on my chest, because I didn’t want her to see the tears pricking at my eyes. No one had ever told me I was important to them before. A brand new emotion settled into my heart. It was so warm and comforting. I felt as if I could lie here for days, just soaking up Ava’s warmth. Her words, and her body pressed close to mine, made me feelloved. I never knew what such a thing could feel like until now.
“And that’s why I have to fulfill this prophecy,” she said. “Because if I save the supernatural world… I save you.”
I swore my heart grew three sizes. How the hell could she care about me that much?
I knew the answer before I finished asking the question— because I knew exactly what it felt like to care about someone that dearly. It was the same way I cared about her. I was desperately in love— in a way that had shifted my entire world.
