46. Eva
Chapter 46
Eva
I couldn’t feel Bash. Our bond felt muted the second we crossed the threshold of the mountain, as if I was still wearing that collar around my throat. The buzzing in my head had grown louder, like this cursed place had thrown a damper over everything except for the blaring call of the mirror I had no choice but to follow.
Gritting my teeth, I held up my sword as a fresh wave of Aviel’s soldiers rushed from a side passage. My darkness leaked from my hands as I struggled to keep it in check. To reserve that death blow, or something close to it, for the one who deserved it.
Yet there was something within that well of power, something volatile. A vicious undertow deep beneath that called for pain, for vengeance by any means necessary. One I might get swept away in if I wasn’t careful.
One soldier saw my expression and took a step back.
Smart. But not enough to save him.
“Surrender now,” another demanded, flame bursting from his fingertips in fiery whips. “Or we’ll be forced to kill you all before we bring her to our king.”
I didn’t bother replying, just inclined my head in mock invitation.
They could certainly try .
Before he could take another step toward me, Yael’s power shot forward, the fire extinguished in the same vacuum that tore the breath from their throats. Stones moved up from the ground in jagged bursts, impaling more soldiers not quick enough to get away. Tobias and Quinn moved in tandem to my right, Duskbane glowing in the dim light.
I glanced behind me, where Bash still held those towering iron doors closed. His arms were shaking from the strain of his magic, his shadows firmly wound around the long handles of the doorway like a rope made of dark iron. I didn’t need to feel him across our bond to know that wielding that much power was draining him. Sweat formed on his brow as more and more shadows whipped from him, joining their brethren.
We don’t have time for this.
My darkness shot forward as if it couldn’t be contained any longer, forming into spears that impaled the remaining soldiers, skewering them where they stood. I lifted my sword, waiting for more to appear…but there were only bodies left in front of me.
“Our forces need to retreat now that we’re in,” I whispered, thinking of the mix of Solearan and Imyrian forces fighting for their lives where we had left them in the forest. “To regroup with the Esterrans as planned. Especially with the storm.”
Rivan grinned, admirably nonplussed. “Retreat? Hell, we just got here.”
I glared at him. “ Rivan .”
Those violet eyes danced, a warrior obviously in his element despite the danger. Or, more likely, because of it. “Way ahead of you. I sent a missive the second that door closed. But I’ll send another just in case.”
He pulled a piece of paper from an inner pocket, writing a quick note that read, Thanks for the distraction. Let me know when you’re far enough away. It disappeared with a flare of his magic.
Bash swayed on his feet, still facing the iron door. Despite the cold, his pale face shone with sweat, his jaw tightly set from the effort.
“ Bash .”
“I can’t let go of this,” Bash gritted out, his teeth chattering. “It’s not going to hold without me.”
And then we would have the entirety of Aviel’s army to contend with.
“You can’t hold the door forever,” Yael exclaimed.
“Leave that to me,” Rivan said grimly, then turned to me. “You do what you need to do, my queen.”
“ No ,” I insisted, my voice sharpening. “I’m not leaving either of you behind.”
Every fiber of my being protested at the thought of leaving them. Leaving him .
“Bold of you to assume you have any choice in the matter,” Rivan said with forced flippancy. “Not when you know this is what needs to be done. We’re running out of time.”
Bash bared his teeth, snarling against whatever was trying to force its way in from the other side of the door.
Yael stepped forward. “I can help?—”
“We don’t have time for this,” Rivan growled. “And unless any of you have a previously undisclosed affinity with rock and stone, then I’m the best person for the job. We need as many people as we can to get Eva to that mirror. You all need to hurry up and stop the False King or all of this is for nothing .”
“You idiots will burn yourselves out trying to hold off an entire army by yourself,” Yael snapped, stepping toward him. “There has to be a better way.”
“We can stop them.” Bash’s voice shook. Something stung on my palm, and I realized my fingernails had drawn blood. “But you’ll need all the help you can get to stop Aviel.” Bash’s eyes met mine. His fear seemed to permeate the air between us, fighting through the static of our bond—not fear for himself, but for me.
“You should go with her,” Yael said to Bash. “You’re the one who can go through that mirror with her.”
Bash shook his head, just slightly, like even that effort cost him. “If I let go of this now, they’ll open this door, and I’m not going to let that happen. But if he’s already through the mirror…” Bash swallowed, shadows violently swirling in his irises as his eyes met mine. “Just keep fighting until I get there.”
“I won’t let her face him alone,” Tobias promised, light flickering at his fingertips. His shoulders set as he subtly inched closer to me. “You’re not the only ones with a score to settle. And I know all of that bastard’s tricks.”
Rivan caught my gaze, his voice solemn as he vowed, “I’ll make sure Bash returns to you.”
Bash winced, his eyes closing as the doorway shuddered. His shadows wrapped around his arms as if to steady him as he gasped, “ Rivan. ”
“On it.” Rivan grimaced as he pressed his hands against the stone floor. A layer of rock began to climb upon itself, bracing the iron door as the stone closed in around it.
“You can do this, Eva. I trust you. But you have to go.” Bash’s eyes were wholly black as his shadows streamed from his hands against the endless onslaught that I knew must be close to breaking him. “ Now .”
The edge of panic lacing his tone lodged a knot of fear in my throat, which only grew as I stepped away from him. Like my heart was begging me not to leave him, even as something above us urged me forward. Like the mountain itself was whispering, Run, run, run .
“Promise me…” I swallowed roughly as I looked at him for a long second, my eyes searching his. “Promise me that you’ll come back to me.”
“I promise,” he said, his voice thick. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
I started to turn, but his voice stopped me in my tracks.
“Eva?” He sucked in a deep, gasping breath. “This isn’t the end. I love you.”
Perhaps he also remembered how heartbroken I was that I didn’t get the chance to say those three words back to my mother before it was too late. All I could think was that if this was the last time, I wouldn’t miss my chance.
My voice broke slightly as I said, “I love you too.”
An expression of despairing resignation flickered in his eyes, a few tendrils of shadows reaching back toward me like they could keep me at his side. As I turned away, I tried to shake off the uneasy feeling that those might be the last words we would ever say to each other, even though he had promised to come back to me.
He hadn’t asked me to promise the same. Maybe we both knew it would have been a lie.