Ava cleared her throat. “Emma came and talked to me, by the way. She and Lucas were able to carve an opening into the afterlife. We’re leaving in the morning to find the mutabeecha.”
Hope elevated me, giving me a renewed sense of strength as I returned the clothes to the bags. “That’s perfect. We’ll find them, then get this done.”
It seemed like all this good news couldn’t last. I was waiting for the worst to happen, because I knew it had to be right around the corner.
Ava gave a shudder. “Where’s Sprigs? I didn’t see him on the lemon tree when I came in. Is he hiding?”
My heartbeat faltered. “Sprigs… Sprigs is gone.”
“Gone?”
I took the treasured band out of my pocket. “I traded Sprigs for this.”
“You couldn’t.” Ava struggled to speak further as I fastened the bracelet back on her wrist again.
“I did. She needed him more than me, anyway. She asked for a friend, so I gave her one, and I got back the last piece of Monica that you still have.” I let my fingers drift away from her skin. It broke me to speak out loud, but I knew I’d done the right thing.
Ava was still. “Charlie, I… this is the most precious thing you could ever bring back to me.”
“I know. If I couldn’t get anything else back, I wanted to return Monica’s armband to you, because I know that’s priceless. I could give you the whole world, but if I didn’t find that, nothing else would mean anything.”
“This isn’t fair to you. Sprigs was your pet. It was a huge sacrifice to give him up.”
A couple of tears slipped out, but I dashed them away. “We all have to let go of friends, because not everyone can come with us through our different phases of life. Sprigs needed to move on to a better home, and I accept that. You had to let Monica go, but that doesn’t mean you had to let go of her armband. It’s yours now. Though she’s gone, you can still remember her whenever you look at that bracelet, and remember she’s nearby.”
“I can’t bear to lose any more friends,” Ava whispered. “I’m just glad everyone got home safe.”
“What you did out there on that battlefield was impressive.”
“I wasn’t the one tearing dragons apart with my claws.”
“I was a big beast flying through the skies, but you were stronger than me,” I argued. “You killed Deuce. That’s something we all tried to do and failed, but you didn’t let anything stop you from wiping him out.”
“Yeah, well.” She almost sounded miserable. “I don’t let anything stop me once I set my mind on something, no matter how hard it is.”
“I’m impressed by your resilience,” I said, still awed by her. “You’ve been through so much that would’ve killed other people, but you just keep powering through it.”
“It did kill me, once,” she remarked.
“But you kept on fighting,” I told her. “No matter how many blows you take or what the circumstances are, you dust yourself off and keep on going. Nothing can get in your way”
“I don’t have a choice but to keep going.”
“It’s more than that. You communicated with Oberi so fluidly during the battle. It was like you two had the same mind, same heart. You didn’t need to speak to him at all.”
I moved closer, leaning in. “You’ve lost your ability to walk, your magic, your connection to Oberi and so much more, but it’s like you don’t need any of that. You’ve found a way around it all, and are doing better than everyone else despite all the obstacles in your path.”
I went on. “You don’t have magic anymore, but you’re just as formidable without it. Nothing brings you down, and I admire that about you greatly. I’d follow you into battle anywhere, do whatever you ask me to do. You need me, I’ll be there.”
She shifted on the bed. A pained sound from her lips came out muffled. I think she was putting her hand over her mouth. “Ava, you okay?”
“I just—” She gave a pained swallow. “I hate this part.”
My stomach gave a jolt. “You hate… what?”
This situation didn’t feel right. I checked in with Oberi, and he hushed back, Ava’s not touching me. She’s refused to even look my way since I’ve been here.
Something was very wrong. Ava’s voice got even tighter. “If you promise me that you’ll do anything I ask, you have to agree to what I need you to do next. Even though it’s the most difficult thing I could ever ask of you.”
