Chapter 31
Elariya
“The First Fracture of Fate”
Wolfe’s gaze shifted from mine.
I watched his eyes sweep over the sword plunged deep in my stomach and the blood seeping out around me. He took in the boils and blisters covering my face, my neck, my arms, and the wounds carved into my body.
Then his gaze snapped to Erethis, who wore that sickly smile on his face. Wolfe looked at the vial glowing in the demon's hand.
I saw the moment he understood.
Understood what was happening. What had been done to me.
The trouble I’d gotten myself into.
The fury that crossed his face deepened to something lethal.
His blade was still locked against Thayden's, steel grinding against steel. Then his sword glowed luminous blue. The Interstice shuddered violently, the walls rippling and convulsing like it was trying to reject Wolfe's presence.
He didn't hesitate.
Wolfe shoved forward, breaking the deadlock, and twisted his blade in one clean, brutal arc.
Thayden's head separated from his shoulders, and his body collapsed, dissolving into smoke before it hit the ground.
The illusion unraveled into nothing. I didn’t think I’d be the only one who wished he’d been real.
The illusion of my family burning faded, too. I was grateful the horrific vision was gone, but I knew it was still a possibility.
Wolfe turned to me, and the rage in his eyes shifted into something else.
Fear. I hated that. He wasn’t supposed to look afraid.
Hold on, his expression seemed to say. Just hold on.
Erethis rose from his throne of bones and descended the dais with unhurried grace. His red marble eyes fixed on Wolfe, and he smiled wide with delight.
"That was not your pet to kill, Prince of Shadows," he said, his tone light and conversational. As though Wolfe had just broken some minor rule at a dinner party.
Wolfe didn't answer immediately.
He stood between me and the demon, sword still drawn, his entire body coiled with barely-restrained violence.
"She failed the trials," Erethis continued, gesturing toward me with one clawed hand. "Which means she is mine now. By the laws of this realm, by the bargain we made." He held up the vial, the light inside pulsing with each word. "Her soul belongs to me."
"Release her," Wolfe hissed, his voice low and deadly.
Erethis laughed. "Oh, how precious." He tilted his head. "You think you can command me here? Your Highness. This is the Interstice. You should know better. All that is gained is kept. All that is desired is given at a price.”
Oh Gods, the bastard wanted to put a price on me. As if he hadn’t taken enough.
"Name your price," Wolfe spoke without hesitation.
Erethis' smile faltered, just for a moment. His eyes narrowed, studying Wolfe with renewed curiosity.
"Interesting," the demon murmured. "What shall I demand for the mage’s soul?" He began to circle, his cloak trailing behind him like a sea of shadow. "Blood, perhaps? Do I want the blood of a Fae royal like yourself?” He paused, tapping one claw against his chin.
Wolfe's expression didn't change. "Name. Your. Fucking price."
"Very well." Erethis stopped circling, facing Wolfe directly. "I want a hundred years. A hundred years of your life.”
The words hung in the air like a death sentence.
"Not the years you have left now," Erethis clarified, his smile returning.
"Those are already on borrowed time, aren't they, Deathwalker? Death magic eats at you from the inside. I don’t want that.
I want the years you were destined to have should you rid yourself of your curse.
" He gestured broadly, as if offering a gift.
"A century of existence you'll never see. For her soul. That’s what I want, Wolfe Nightblade. "
Horror crashed over me.
No.
The word screamed through my mind even though I couldn't force it past my lips.
A hundred years. A lifetime he'd never live. All because I'd been stupid enough to run, and reckless enough to get caught.
Don't. Please don't do this for me.
I wasn't worth it.
I’m not worth it!
The Interstice thickened with anticipation as the darkness pressed in, waiting.
Erethis watched Wolfe with those unblinking red eyes, studying him like a predator deciding whether to strike.
"Done." Wolfe's answer sounded like a death knell. A single word, delivered with absolute finality.
Erethis' smile widened into something triumphant. He stepped forward and placed one hand on Wolfe's chest.
Before I could blink, white light rippled outward from the contact. It poured from Wolfe like something being torn free. A flicker of futures that would never be. All possibilities collapsing. Fading.
A hundred years of life he'd never get to live. Traded. For me.
And Wolfe didn't even flinch.
The light faded a heartbeat later, and Erethis withdrew his hand, looking satisfied, then he turned to me.
"Can't have damaged goods now, can we?" He snapped his fingers.
The vial in his grasp flared brightly, and suddenly, I felt my soul being forced back into my body. The fractured pieces slammed together, sealing with brutal efficiency.
The wounds across my abdomen closed. The blood stopped flowing. My skin healed, boils and blisters becoming smooth and unmarred. My lungs stopped burning, and I could breathe without agony.
I was whole again. Though my body still felt weak.
Erethis held out the now-empty vial to Wolfe, a mockery of a gift.
"Here is the soul vial. The echo of ownership is still there," he said pleasantly. "You paid her price. Now she owes you.”
Wolfe took the vial.
Erethis tilted his head, watching us both with obvious amusement, then he faded away. Within the blink of an eye, he was gone. So were the throne, the dais, and the grotesque collection of dolls.
The Interstice began to collapse around us, the walls dissolving and darkness peeling back like layers of rotten fabric.
Wolfe was at my side in an instant.
He knelt, sliding one arm beneath my shoulders, the other under my knees, and lifted me into the safety of his arms.
"I've got you, Ziyka" he murmured against my ear.
“Wolfe…” I tried to say more, tried to tell him I was sorry, that he shouldn't have done it, that I wasn't worth a hundred years.
But weakness pulled at me. My vision blurred.
And then I was gone.
I woke to light.
Sunlight.
It filtered through curtains.
I was lying in a soft bed. For a long moment, I didn't move. I just lay there as my brain processed my surroundings.
The bedchamber at Vyrenth Hollow.
That’s where I was. And I was alive.
My body ached, though the pain was minimal.
But I remembered what had happened to me. And what Wolfe had sacrificed for me.
A hundred years of his life.
"You're awake,” said a soft familiar voice.
I turned my head.
Arielle sat in a chair beside the bed, her hands folded in her lap. Dark circles tugged under her eyes, and her usual composure was slightly frayed at the edges.
She'd been watching over me.
“Hi,” I rasped, studying her face.
Her expression was filled with a sea of emotions. Guilt, sadness, disappointment. Betrayal.
The latter stung.
I’d gone missing on her watch. Lied to her. And Garrick. Then I went and nearly got myself killed.
“How are you feeling?” she asked, softening her gaze.
“I’m…” I shuffled to sit and was surprised I could. “I’m okay.”
“Your body will still be weak for some time. It’s the shock to the system. From what you experienced. Had you not been half mage… well. Let’s just be thankful you are.” I could see that she was trying to sound like her normal self, but she could hardly look at me.
“How long have I been down?” I had to know.
“Just since yesterday.”
Relief flooded me. I still had today and tomorrow before Thayden returned.
But I was here.
My angst returned when I looked back at Arielle. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I did.”
“Please, don’t.” She shook her head. “Forgive me, I may sound like a bitch right now, because the Gods know how many distrustful things I’ve done to you. Our friendship even started off on the wrong foot. But I’m… I’m not in the mood to hear an apology.”
My stomach shrank into a ball of shame. “I understand.”
“I understand, too, why you did what you did. I think every one of us understands. But you could have died. And I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself.”
“Arielle—”
She stood up abruptly and wiped away a tear. “Get changed and eat. Then come down to the dining room. Wolfe wanted to speak to all of us when you woke.”
I nodded slowly.
She walked out, closing the door behind her with a soft click that sounded so final.
I closed my eyes and took the moment to think about all that had happened.
To say I’d been a fool was an understatement.
I was reckless and stupid and so damn sure of myself it was scary. I truly thought I could get back home.
All my fucking little adventure taught me was how out of my depth I still was in this damn realm.
And then there was Wolfe.
I owed him. Everything.
I opened my eyes and got off the bed. Better to get myself together and see him. See them all.
I went downstairs into the living room to find them waiting.
Wolfe stood near the head of the table, arms crossed, his face carefully blank.
Bastian, Alaric, Garrick, Arielle, and Sirril were to his left. They stood together, their expressions somber.
The only welcoming face among them was Sirril’s. He bowed his head. Though he didn’t look upset with me, I had a feeling that was more for formalities.
I looked back at Wolfe.
He wore casual clothes, and his hair was tied back, showing off high cheekbones and the scar that looked stark against his skin.
When he looked at me, it was like he saw straight through me. The lingering gaze I’d grown used to was gone.
"Sit," he said, pointing to the armchair.
I walked over to it and sat.
I expected them all to sit, too, but they remained standing. It instantly made me feel like I’d walked into my own interrogation.
"You're returning to the mortal lands," he announced, setting me straight.
Wide-eyed, I stared back at him. “What?”