Chapter 22
After dropping Crispin off, Gabriel, Sebastian, Ringo, and I returned to the apartment.
We were going to order dinner, I was going to have a bath, and we were going to go to bed.
In the morning we would meet with Penelope and Varian to create the next pathway.
Finding out what Penelope might want in the fairy realm almost made it worth it.
Whatever it was must have been lost to her when my mom destroyed the old pathways, and the devil had been dabbling in everyone’s business since then with the intent of getting it back.
I had my glass of wine, a few candles, and vanilla scented bubbles in the bath while we waited on dinner. I slid further into the hot water, letting out a long exhale. Man, what a long day. What a long few days. I was looking forward to a full night’s rest, but I didn’t want to jinx it.
The water was hot enough to turn my skin pink, and the wine was just strong enough to blur the edges of my thoughts. I closed my eyes, sinking deeper until the water lapped at my chin.
That’s when the chill hit me.
Not from the water—from inside. A coldness that started in my chest and spread outward like frost across a windowpane. My eyes snapped open as my skin prickled with goosebumps despite the steaming bath.
I watched in horror as the water around me darkened, turning from clear to murky black. The vanilla scent of my bubbles soured into something metallic and ancient. The candlelight flickered violently, shadows dancing across the bathroom walls in shapes that didn’t match the objects casting them.
I tried to lift my hands from the water, but they felt heavy, weighted down.
When I finally managed to break the surface, I gasped.
Black tendrils of darkness swirled around my fingers, coiling up my arms like serpents.
They didn’t feel wet like bathwater—they felt like cold, living things slithering against my skin.
“Hello, Eva,” a voice whispered, but it wasn’t coming from outside. It was inside my head, using my own voice.
I tried to stand, but the darkness pulled me back down, the water now completely black and impossibly cold.
“What do you want?” I demanded, my voice trembling.
The darkness coalesced in front of me, forming a face that was almost human but not quite right—like looking at myself through a warped mirror. “I want what you want,” it said with my mouth. “To be free.”
The bathroom door burst open, and Sebastian appeared in a swirl of darkness that was somehow different than what I was facing—sharper, more defined.
“What the hells?” he growled, his eyes flashing with fire as he took in the scene.
The darkness vanished like it had never been. I stared at Sebastian, and he stared right back as we both tried to make sense of what we’d seen.
Then Gabriel was there in the doorway behind him. He took one look at me, stepped around the devil, then took a towel off the rack.
Cursing under his breath, Sebastian stepped in to help me up, and together they got me swaddled and out of the bathroom, avoiding the wine glass that had at some point shattered, leaving wine like a watery bloodstain seeping across the tiles.
I ended up on the bed, towel still bundled around me, held in place by Gabriel cradling my shoulders against his chest.
“We should call Crispin,” his voice rumbled against me.
“Crispin got her into this,” Sebastian hissed, pacing back and forth across the bedroom carpet.
“That’s not fair.” My teeth chattering made my argument sound pretty weak.
Gabriel’s hand rubbed up and down my arm, bunching up the towel. I should probably get dressed, but everything felt kind of numb and far away.
Sebastian stopped pacing and looked at me. “Whatever that darkness was in the park, it was different from the rest.”
All I could do was nod. I wasn’t sure what it meant, nor what I could do about it.
“We can’t ignore this,” Sebastian continued, his voice tight with barely controlled anger. “That darkness—whatever it was—it spoke to you. Used your voice.”
I pulled the towel tighter around myself, still shivering despite Gabriel’s warmth. “I’m not arguing that it wasn’t creepy. I’m just not sure what we’re supposed to do about it.”
Gabriel’s arm tightened around me. “Is this what happened in the elven realm too? When you absorbed the darkness Crispin released?”
I shook my head. “No. That felt different. This is... personal. It’s like it knows me. Just like the darkness in the elven realm knew Crispin.”
Sebastian’s eyes narrowed. “The darkness is sentient. We’ve known that from the beginning. But this is something more. It’s forming a connection with you specifically.”
“What are you suggesting?” Gabriel asked, his voice low and dangerous.
“I’m suggesting that every time Eva absorbs darkness, she’s not just containing it—she’s allowing it to bond with her,” Sebastian finished. “And I think it’s getting stronger with each event.”
I pushed away from Gabriel’s chest, suddenly feeling claustrophobic. “So what are you saying? That I should just let the darkness run rampant through the realms?”
“That’s not what I’m saying,” Sebastian countered, his voice softening slightly. “I’m saying we need to understand what’s happening to you. What this darkness truly is.”
Gabriel shifted beside me. “Perhaps we should consult with Mistral. His connection to wild magic might give us better insight.”
I shook my head. I was doing a lot of that lately. “We don’t have time to figure this out. We’re supposed to meet with Penelope and Varian tomorrow morning. If we cancel now, Penelope will make things even worse. She’s been waiting for this pathway for who knows how long.”
“Your safety matters more than her impatience,” Gabriel said firmly.
Needing to do something, I stood on wobbly legs, wrapping the towel tightly around me.
“We don’t even know what this means yet.
The darkness spoke to me, yes, but it didn’t hurt me.
It just... talked.” Okay so I was also freezing, but I didn’t necessarily think that was intentional and more just a side effect of the darkness’ presence.
“And you find that reassuring?” Sebastian’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
“No,” I admitted, wrapping my arms tighter around myself. “But I don’t think we should panic and change all our plans based on one weird conversation with a shadow monster.”
“Two weird conversations,” Sebastian countered.
Gabriel stood, towering over me. “Eva, we can’t just focus on the pathways. We need to figure out what’s happening to you.”
I looked down at my hands, half-expecting to see darkness swirling beneath my skin. “Whatever is happening, I’m not going to let the darkness harm this realm or any others.”
Standing near my back, Gabriel looked beyond me toward Sebastian. “Talk some sense into her.”
“I don’t need to talk sense into her,” Sebastian said, his voice dropping to that dangerous, silky tone that made my skin prickle. “She’s already decided, and nothing we say will change her mind.”
Gabriel’s jaw tightened. “So we just continue on as if nothing happened? As if she isn’t being consumed by some unknown force?”
“I didn’t say that.” Sebastian moved closer, his eyes never leaving mine. “But telling Eva what she can and can’t do has never worked for either of us, has it?”
I felt caught between them, the towel still my only protection against the chill that had nothing to do with the room’s temperature. “I’m not being consumed,” I said, though my voice lacked conviction.
“Really?” Sebastian’s eyes flashed. “Then explain why your bathwater turned black. Explain why the darkness spoke with your voice.”
“I can’t explain it,” I admitted, frustration making my voice sharp. “But postponing the pathways won’t fix anything. My mom doesn’t have all the time in the world.”
Gabriel stepped forward, his massive frame suddenly filling the space between Sebastian and me. “Arguing is pointless. We must be practical.”
“Practical?” Sebastian’s laugh was cold. “That’s rich coming from you. You’ve been hovering over her since day one, treating her like she’ll break if you look away for five minutes.”
“She almost died in that bath!” Gabriel’s voice rose, his calm demeanor cracking. “If you hadn’t checked on her—“
“If I hadn’t checked on her, you would have,” Sebastian snapped back. “We both felt the shift in her magic.”
I stepped between them, the towel clutched to my chest. “Stop it. Both of you.”
They barely acknowledged me, continuing their standoff over my head.
“You’ve always been reckless with her,” Gabriel growled. “Pushing her to use the vortex, encouraging her to take risks—“
“And you’ve been smothering her,” Sebastian countered.
“I’m not some fragile thing you both need to protect!” I shouted, pushing against their chests.
The moment my hands made contact, the golden cords between us flared to life.
Magic surged through my fingertips, and I gasped as their power flooded into me—Sebastian’s dark and sharp, Gabriel’s warm and steady.
The connection pulsed between us, amplifying my emotions and theirs until I could feel their frustration, their fear, and their desire.
The fresh energy made me feel better, chasing away the cold.
Sebastian grabbed my wrist, his touch electric. “You have no idea what’s happening to you.”
“And you do?” I challenged, the magic making me bold. “You’re both so busy fighting about me that you can’t see I’m right here.”
Gabriel’s hand covered mine where it still pressed against his chest. “Eva—“
“I’m tired of being the reason you two argue,” I said, my voice softer now but no less intense. The magic was making it hard to think clearly, my desire for them both overwhelming my frustration. The golden cords pulsed brighter, feeding my emotions back to them.
Sebastian’s eyes darkened as he felt my desire through our bond. “You’re not just the reason we argue,” he said, his voice dropping to a husky whisper. “You’re the reason—”