Chapter 20
TWENTY
It seemed wrong that it was only midday when we returned to the Bogs.
It felt like so much time had passed, but in reality we’d only been gone roughly twenty-four hours.
At least the sunlight was enough to dry our clothes after swimming out through the glowing pool, which was only slightly less terrifying the second time.
We were all silent as we walked, and I knew the guys were listening for any sign of my grandfather. If he was still in the Bogs, we had to evade him until we could find the vortex. Then we would destroy him.
Then Sebastian could tell Mistral how to save the Bogs, and he’d have to find someone to marry.
Was it wrong that part of me hoped the first two steps wouldn’t come any time soon?
Crispin fell into step beside me. He was the only one of us who wasn’t brooding. In fact, he’d found the whole debacle with the guardian fascinating.
With his hands in his pockets, he looked up at the sky as he walked. “So, are you ready to poof us all away if grandfather dearest shows up again?”
I wrinkled my nose. My body ached, my feet were killing me, and I really didn’t want to think about grandfather dearest. “If necessary, but not to the pool again.”
“At least no goblins were trapped in this most recent realm. There must have been none on a journey when the pathways were severed.”
It was a small consolation. I hated the idea of others being trapped, although if they were species not as long lived as elves, they might already be dead. “I wish I could ask my mom why she agreed to sever the pathways. The shadow creatures were scary, but I feel like it had to be something more.”
Crispin’s smile wilted. “I believe what we witnessed was only a small demonstration. A wisp of smoke drifting from the larger darkness. I have some theories on what that darkness might be, but of course, there is no way to say for sure.”
Ringo scampered across the trail ahead of us and I scooped him up. “No one is spying on us,” he reported, feeling brave after he had woken alone in the estate and had so valiantly searched for me in the darkness.
“Good job.” I placed him on my shoulder, regretting even the negligible amount of extra weight. It was still a long walk to the Citadel, and if we were going to search for the vortex, we’d go even farther since it had been swallowed not far from the gates.
“Uh oh.”
I turned my attention away from Ringo to follow Crispin’s gaze. Mistral had been leading the way, but now Sebastian was with him, and they seemed to be arguing in hushed whispers.
“I didn’t mean for him to tell him now,” I huffed to myself, increasing my pace.
Crispin kept up with me. “Tell who what?”
Gabriel and Lucas had caught up behind us, and we all reached Sebastian and Mistral at the same time.
“You should not have told her,” Mistral growled, his silver eyes glinting. I had so rarely seen him angry, I took an involuntary step back.
“She has earned my honesty.” Sebastian crossed his arms, casual. “And she requested I tell you the truth.”
Requested. I rolled my eyes. Yeah, it had totally been a polite request.
“This is not her burden,” Mistral said lowly, ignoring the three of us watching them.
“She deserves a choice.”
I was surprised to hear the words coming out of Sebastian’s mouth. Of course, maybe he just wanted to win the argument. Unfortunately for Mistral, I was on the devil’s side.
I stepped between them, facing Mistral. “I’m glad he told me. If we can’t return your people to their home realm, maybe it’s no longer a death sentence.” I wanted to say more, but he already looked so defeated.
And when I glanced back at Gabriel, I knew the truth. He wasn’t half as good at hiding things as Mistral was. I turned back to the goblin standing in front of me. “You already knew. You both already knew.”
“My mother was not foolish enough to leave such information in a devil’s hands. He believed he was the only one who knew, and his withholding let me know his character.” Mistral peered past me at Sebastian. “And now he has drawn you further into my problems.”
I put my hands on my hips, my frustration powering me through when all I really wanted was to take off my boots and sit down. “You let me think the only way to save you and your people was to create a new pathway. You didn’t tell me there was another way. A way to at least buy you some time.”
His mouth twitched, but he didn’t quite smile. “You didn’t ask.”
I swiped a palm across my face, shaking my head. We had a bargain of truth between us. If I had asked, he would have told me, but it wasn’t crazy for me to not consider there might be another option.
I jerked my hand from my face, pointing one finger to poke him in the chest. “You knew I wouldn’t think to ask. That’s as good as keeping it from me.”
What little smile he’d managed fell, though Sebastian was looking terribly pleased with himself. Tentatively, Mistral gripped my arms. “Eva, I would never ask that of you, so why does it matter?”
“It doesn’t have to be me.” My stomach dropped to my feet the moment I said it, but it needed to be said. I wasn’t sure if I could make that sacrifice, but I was sure there were plenty of other goblins in the Bogs who would.
“The land has responded to no one else. Only you.”
My breath hitched, and suddenly I felt too embarrassed to look at any of the other guys.
I didn’t have a reason to be embarrassed, but there it was, lighting my cheeks on fire.
I had never wanted marriage, but a little part of my heart skipped a beat at the thought of tying myself in that way to Mistral.
“I thought you didn’t know why the land responds to me. ”
His voice softened. “I don’t know, but I can speculate.”
“The plants do seem to like her,” Crispin muttered, I thought to himself, but he still drew everyone’s attention. “And they chose her to see the pool. It didn’t make sense before, considering she has no goblin blood, but with this new information in mind…”
He was right. It had listened to me before, when the vines had overrun Evenlee. They were crumbling homes, trapping people inside. They seemed an unstoppable force, but when I combined my will with Mistral’s—the land had listened.
But Mistral couldn’t step foot outside the gates. If I married him to save the Bogs, would I become just as trapped? And what would it mean for my connections with the other guys?
Lucas cleared his throat, and I realized he had just witnessed way more than he ever should have. I couldn’t meet his eyes as he said, “Perhaps we should prioritize assessing the threat and ensuring the safety of Eva’s mother.”
It was a much more diplomatic statement than I would have expected from him, and I appreciated the break. “You’re right. One step at a time.” My eyes slid reluctantly toward Mistral. “We can discuss the rest later.”
He managed another sad smile. I wanted to kiss him and yell at him at the same time. He hadn’t told me because he’d worried I would do it. He’d worried that if push came to shove, and he was destined to lose his battle, that I would do whatever it took to save him, no matter the cost to myself.
It was both selfless, and incredibly stupid. Lovely, and infuriating.
Because he was right. In that moment I knew that if it came to it, I would marry him to save the Bogs.
Maybe not if I could never leave again, but if I could still leave, I would do it.
If the land wanted my help, I would give it.
I made a silent vow to myself that if I could, I would save Mistral and the goblins.
A sudden wash of wild magic made all the tiny hairs on my body stand on end. I stopped in my tracks as the ground shifted right in front of my feet. The soil churned, then something green and glowing began to emerge.
I took a step back as everyone else crowded around.
Ringo leaned forward on my shoulder, dangling from a clump of my hair to get a better look.
Once the ground stopped churning, the vortex lay at my feet, three times larger than it had been before.
It now looked like pure green swirling light compressed into a bowling ball.
The light reflected off Lucas’ eyes as he stared at it. “Is that—”
“The vortex,” Mistral finished for him, his tone unreadable.
“But why would the Bogs give it back now?” Crispin asked.
I didn’t say anything, because what could I say? It was crazy to even consider, but had the Bogs known exactly what I’d been thinking? And had it offered me the vortex in return?
A flash of stars a few steps down the path distracted me, but I only saw it for a moment before Sebastian blocked my view. He pushed me behind him, and the other guys were surrounding me a moment later.
Only Lucas seemed unworried. He flicked his wings as the stars cleared, revealing my mother.
It was still jarring seeing her face so different from what I remembered—in as much as I could remember any fragment of my childhood.
She wore simple slacks and a white tank top, looking far too normal for a celestial powerful enough to sever the pathways.
Her brown hair was the same as mine, but longer and more tame.
Both recognizing her, Sebastian and Mistral relaxed, while Crispin and Gabriel remained on guard.
I gripped Gabriel’s arm. “It’s alright.”
He tore his eyes away from my mother, his gaze still unsure. When those stars showed up, he must have thought my grandfather had found us.
“My little Evelyn, you surprise me.”
My mother’s words made me realize I was staring into Gabriel’s eyes a little too long. The other guys still stood close, ready to protect me.
“When I learned you were a conduit, I thought hiding it from you was the same as protecting you. Now I see that my sister was right. Perhaps you can handle yourself.” She barely regarded Lucas before turning her sharp eyes back to me. “I must speak to you alone. Time is short.”