She drew away from me. “Ihaveto, Charlie. The fate of the world is at stake.”
So is your life, I wanted to say, but I couldn’t.
“I know this is going to be hard, but I’m prepared to face that,” Ava said. “And I was hoping you were willing to face it with me, after everything we went through in the Darke Games. Ineedyour help, Charlie. I can’t do this without you.”
Hell. How could I deny her when she begged me like that?
“What exactly do you need my help with?” I asked warily. I was already being asked to choose the world over her, and I wasn’t sure it was a decision I could make.
“I need you to find out everything you can about the history of the Elves on Darke Island. If the doordoeshave something to do with this, we need to learn what it is, and how to open it. I bet they left something behind before they went extinct— clues of some sort. We need to find out what else they left here besides that door, because it’s going to give us answers.”
A lump rose to my throat. “What about you? What’s your plan?”
“I need to work on decoding these runes and learning what the rest of the prophecy means,” Ava said. “There’s still so much of this prophecy I don’t understand. You’ll help me, won’t you?”
I hesitated, and I knew she sensed it. “I just… I don’t want you to get hurt.”
She’d never know how deeply I meant that.
Ava sighed. “I wish I could promise you I wouldn’t, but I can’t. I know the possibility is there, but either way, I have to do this. I really don’t want to have to do it alone, though, Charlie.”
Her voice was soft, almost broken, and it tore my heart to shreds. I opened my mouth, but couldn’t answer.
Ava blew a breath. “Well, if you’re not going to help me, I’ll figure it out on my own.”
Ava turned toward the door, but I grabbed her arm. I couldn’t stand to let her hurt for even one second. I spun her around and caught her in my arms. I didn’t say anything, because I didn’t trust my words to do it justice.
I wrapped Ava in my arms and pressed my lips to hers. She stilled a moment, before relaxing into it. Passion surged between us, and I lifted my hand to cradle the back of her neck. Ava wrapped her arms under mine and clung to my shoulders, dragging me closer until our bodies were pressed against each other. Her fingers dug into my skin as her tongue moved in and out of my mouth. A euphoric high took over my entire body, and my dick hardened in my trousers. I couldn’t help but press my hips into hers, to show her just how much I was head over heels for her.
The kiss ended far too soon, though we were both gasping as we drew away. I rested my forehead on hers to catch my breath.
“I willneverlet you go through anything alone,” I promised.
But the promise didn’t feel like the saving grace it should’ve been. It didn’t warm my heart or inspire me. Instead, it felt like a rock had been dropped onto my stomach. I realized how horrible a promise it was the second I made it. If I helped her with this, I pushed her closer to the end of the prophecy, where I— the twin of her soul— would be the one to hurt her most.
“Thank you,” Ava whispered as she drew away. “That means a lot to me. With your help, I think we really have a chance of solving this.”
“Hey, pidge…” I dared to ask. “What are we to each other?”
Ava froze. “What do you mean?”
“Well… I’ve never really dated anyone before. Kinda just messed around.” I shrugged. “I was thinking—”
“I get it,” she responded, almost too quickly. “But… Charlie, I’m not ready for that right now. I don’t know if I ever will be.”
My voice sounded crushed. “So you don’t want to be my girlfriend.”
“It’s not like that,” she rushed to say. “I just need to focus on the prophecy first. You understand, don’t you?”
I understood she was afraid. And I knew she was pushing me away because she was worried I’d get too close.
She didn’t want to get her heart broken. I didn’t, either.
“Pidge, I’m gonna be here no matter what. If you just want to be friends, fine,” I said.
“I want to bemorethan friends,” she insisted. “But I don’t know if I can put labels on…us, you know? Whatever we are.”
Hell if I knew. I had a policy of not fucking my friends, but Ava wasn’t exactly just a friend. She was so much more.
