Ollie starts to cry in earnest, and the baby joins her. Ronan pulls them out of the wardrobe and cradles them against his chest. “Shh. It’s okay. You’re safe now.”
I don’t sense the presence of shadowbeasts nearby, so I change into my human form, figuring it’ll be easier for Ollie to calm down if she sees a familiar face.
I crouch in front of Ronan and run my fingers through her curls. “We’ll protect you, Ollie.”
My eyes connect with Ronan’s, and the relief and love I see in his brings a lump to my throat. I shudder as I think of all the things I want to tell him and thought I was too late.
“Are you okay?” he asks in a tight voice.
“I’m fine. And you?”
“Same. We need to go.”
“I know.” I reach for the baby Ollie is still clutching. “Let me take Heidi’s baby, sweetheart.”
“His name is Rio.”
The baby stops crying the moment I cradle him in my arms. I stare at his pink cheeks and bright blue eyes and immediately fall in love. He’s big for a newborn, and maybe that’s why Heidi had such a difficult delivery, being so petite. I wonder what happened to her. I glance at Freya’s body. If she left Heidi’s side, it’s because the female didn’t survive. She was likely trying to protect Rio.
“Come on, Cher. We’ve lingered here long eno?—”
“There you are. I’ve been looking for you,” a male voice says from the other side of the room.
Ronan and I jump to our feet and stare at the tall Nightingale we met back in Aquila. Castiel of Lynx, Rikkon’s friend.
“How did you find us?” Ronan asks, not keeping the suspicion from his tone.
“All your questions will be answered in due time. Now, do you know where I can find my brother?”
“I don’t know who your brother is,” Ronan replies.
Oh my God. I can’t believe I didn’t make the connection before. Ronan wouldn’t know, because he never interacted with the male. But I did. “Lord Indigo. He’s your brother.”
“Yes.” Castiel’s gaze darkens, which tells me he might not be his brother for much longer.
Thirty-Four
KARL
ELLNESARI, PRESENT DAY
When I asked Adrian where we were going, he told us to his secret hideout. I didn’t point out that every location in this place is a secret, because we can’t see anything more than a couple of feet in front of us. How he knows where to go is a mystery. But he was right about one thing: Time in this place is meaningless.
We don’t lose him in the fog, but I can’t tell how long we’ve been following the guy. It feels like an eternity and yet doesn’t at the same time. I don’t experience hunger, thirst, or fatigue, and without being able to see the sky, it’s impossible to judge how long we’ve been walking. I don’t even know if day and night exist in this place. Everything has been a shade of gray since I got here.
I’ve kept Manu’s hand clasped in mine this whole time. I fear I’ll lose her in the mist if I let go, and I keep giving her side-glances to make sure she’s there.
She catches me staring and asks, “What?”
“I can’t believe you’re truly here with me.”
She brings our joined hands to her lips and kisses my knuckles. “I’m real, Karl. And I promise I’ll never leave you again.”
I swallow hard, knowing she means every word, but I’m also aware that the odds are stacked against us. For all we know, the curse that prevents us from being together is very much active outside of the Valley of Lost Souls. But I can’t worry about that now. We have to retrieve the Magna Vis and get the hell out of here.
Turning to Adrian, I ask, “How much farther?”
“Not long now. We’re nearly there.”
