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An impossibility.

“Silvanus?” Medusa said.

I couldn’t just drop him in. He wouldn’t be killed, but it went against every instinct in me that screamed to hold and protect him.

“Answer me, sugar.”

Yet if I didn’t, he had nothing to look forward to other than screaming rage and pain. He deserved so much better than that.

And so did the world. Both our worlds, if he was meant to save them.

I drew in a deep breath, understanding my duty and how stuck I was. But the moment I saw him in distress, I’d get him out.

Paris stirred, his eyelids flickering.

Five. Four. Three…

“You need to start talking,” Medusa said. “Why are we here?”

I held Paris over the water.

If Selene had deceived me, I would find her and make her suffer.

“Silvanus! No!” Medusa cried.

Two. One.

I dropped him into the wicked water.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Paris

Cold. Rushing water. Lungs under pressure, spinning, spinning, spinning.

What the fuck?

The pretty sound of a harp, a piano, and a violin put an end to that. Plucked me out of the darkness, placing me in a corridor of white light and rose petals. The sudden jolt from aquatic chaos to this place made my head spin. But I managed to stay vertical.

Man, the music was so pretty, conjuring images of an array of beautiful flowers in my mind. Especially orchids. I loved orchids, thinking of them had me missing Oliver so much.

The harshness of the light dimmed around me, revealing more details of the corridor. White marbled floors, the walls and ceiling had silver swirl patterns everywhere, and a chandelier was swinging gently above my head. Sparkly and possibly made of diamond. Whatever it was, it looked expensive.

I belong here.

I stepped forward, the light at the end of the corridor unfolding, hinting at a garden. Seconds later, I felt the energy of an olive tree, its warm embrace giving me a boost.

“Hi, sweetie,” I greeted it, giving its outline a wave.

I belong here.

There didn’t seem to be a door there, just the corridor leading into the garden. I rubbed my eyes, the light not quite dim enough for me to make out much other than the lines of the tree and possibly…a rosebush.

Cool. I greeted the cutie pie, taking the boost it handed me.

The vampire king…

The rage. The white-hot rage, the compulsion to kill. It hungered for his end as much as the rest of me craved his kisses. Oh, shit. Where was he? In the garden?