Chapter 17
Chapter
Seventeen
VALE
My brain struggled to keep up with what was happening, but it kept fumbling and slipping in and out of coherence. I hadn’t just cursed Echo, had I?
Over a century had passed since Wraith had accidentally changed me, and I’d assumed that whatever happened was localized to only the two of us, since nothing happened to anyone either of us fucked—other than dying.
That happened a lot. And, until very recently, Wraith slept around constantly, so I had a massive test pool.
It couldn’t be the curse. When I was infected, it had been painful, bloody, and filled with howling madness. Wraith hadn’t fared any better, either.
As I watched Echo’s glow intensify, I realized there was a lightness inside me that I’d never felt before.
I was so out of my depth that I all but begged The Cody, “What’s happening to us?”
“I already told you. You two are married!” The Cody clapped her hands together, causing the frost clinging to her hands to flake away.
“Not in some dumb human way either. You went the traditional route, too, which is rare these days with the younger crowd. I’m so proud of you, Vale, for keeping our traditions alive.
” The Cody laughed and danced around joyfully, and I couldn’t tell if it was from mockery or actual joy.
“Crazy old bat,” I muttered. “What do you mean by traditional route?”
The Cody stopped twirling in the snow and cocked her head to look at me. “You’d know if you bothered to learn more about your own people, Vale.”
“I’m more inclined to be educated on the matter now, if you’d be so kind,” I bit out.
“I’m also inclined,” Echo said in a kinder tone, going up to The Cody with a mix of hesitant curiosity.
“You’re too good for him, dear,” The Cody said, and I dodged a tree branch before it swatted my head.
I gave it and her a glare, but The Cody merely laughed.
“It’s a shame you tied yourself to him so quickly, Echo.
I could have found you someone far more suitable.
What are your thoughts on the incorporeal folk?
I have a sylph in mind that would be so good to you. ”
“That’s not funny,” I said, grinding my teeth. If I wanted her to tell me what I wanted to know, I couldn’t be as horrible to her as I wanted, but I wasn’t going to let her take Echo from me, so I dragged Echo a safe distance from her evil clutches.
“Tied myself?” Echo asked.
“Yes, normally humans don’t mix easily with the fae, but you’ve had help.
” The Cody squinted and gave Echo the once-over before saying, “You’ve got Cal’s signature brand of chaos all over you.
I’m not certain if I can call you lucky to have caught the attention of his patrons, but it’s done now, so you’ll have to learn to live with it. ”
“Elaborate,” I said, seething on the inside, knowing that one wrong word or move would have her vanishing for gods knew how long.
The Cody ignored me and continued to speak to Echo like I didn’t exist. “Cal is a good boy, Echo, so you don’t need to worry.
Everything he does for people is for their higher good.
It’s his price, you see. Or perhaps penance is a better word.
He believes he’s done something unforgivable, and since nothing can sway his belief, his patrons have taken mercy on him and given him a way to atone.
It has done him worlds of good since his patrons took him on. ”
Echo nodded, clearly having no idea what The Cody was talking about, but I knew far too well.
Cal was a menace as far as I was concerned. He wandered in and out of people’s lives, heedless of the chaos that followed, never sticking around for the aftermath, claiming that his patrons required that he not interfere after his job was done.
Cal was a conduit for his patrons' whims, and Echo was a recipient of their dubious gifts.
When I’d seen him in Echo’s memories, I’d wondered what Cal had done to Echo, when instead, I should have wondered what he’d done to both of us. I was so far beyond my comfort zone that I couldn’t even see it.
Nothing I knew made sense anymore. The only thing I knew with certainty was that I was keeping Echo no matter what.
“What did Cal do to us?” I asked, somehow managing to redirect my ire away from The Cody and toward Cal enough for me to speak in a polite tone.
“He cast a spell that ultimately bound your soul to Echo’s.
From what I can see, the purpose of the spell was to help Echo stabilize his soul until he found someone he could love and trust enough to spend his life with.
The tragic losses in his life cut him far deeper than they should have.
His love was so deep that parts of his soul died with his loved ones.
” The Cody glided up to Echo, taking his hand and holding it to her bark-covered cheek.
“You love the same way we love, dear Echo. It’s all or nothing for the fae.
It’s appropriate that you’ve become one of us. ”
“How can you know all of this?” I asked warily.
I’m a man of science. I don’t take things on good faith.
“One of my gifts is to know the truth.” The Cody continued to hold Echo’s hand in hers, moving it away from her face and stroking it with mossy fingers.
My jaw ached from holding back my irritation as I asked, “Then why didn’t you warn us before?”
“I don’t know anything about a situation until someone asks me a question. If you don’t know enough to ask, then I can’t access my power.”
“That’s an incredibly stupid gift,” I said, unthinking.
The Cody released Echo, and her eyes flashed.
The forest grew darker as the fairy fire surrounding us shifted to a creepy, ghoulish green.
“I chose the limitation myself, you giant, overgrown bat. If I knew everything all the time, I would go insane. You should be thanking me for the restraint since my sanity is what’s helping keep this little utopia safe. ”
“I didn’t mean—”
“You rarely do, Vale, but it doesn’t make you any more palatable. Stop talking to me now, or I’ll stop answering questions because I’m done with you. Echo, sweetheart, I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
I pursed my lips together to keep my insults to myself. The Cody meant it. We were lucky she’d bothered to continue to speak to us at all, and it was probably only because she’d taken a liking to Echo.
The only problem was that Echo couldn’t ask The Cody anything.
He tugged on my sleeve, looking back and forth between me and The Cody anxiously.
“It’s okay, my love,” I said, cupping his cheek and telling him with my eyes that he could do no wrong. “I can live without knowing as long as I’m with you.”
“I want to know,” Echo said, “How do I ask?”
“Can you ask me?”
“I don’t think it works that way.”
“It can’t hurt to try. Close your eyes, face The Cody, and pretend like you’re asking me.”
Echo swallowed hard and nodded. He turned to face The Cody and closed his eyes.
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
I felt his anxiety flow over me like a wave through our new bond, and I stroked his back to comfort him.
I drew close to his ear and said, “It’s okay, Echo.
You can ask me anything. What do you want to know about our soul bond? ”
Echo’s breath hitched, and he tried again. “Wh-what does being bonded mean? How does it a-affect us?”
I saw The Cody’s face soften, and I relaxed, knowing Echo had calmed her ire at my mistake. “The two of you will soften each other’s edges. You will continue to be yourselves, but the strengths of the other will bolster each of your shortcomings.”
Echo’s hands scrabbled until they found my arm and clutched me tight before bracing himself and asking, “Will I need to drink blood?”
The Cody tapped her chin in thought. “You will be far more inclined to bite people than most of us are, but you will learn to control it. Whether you drink their blood will be up to you, though you will enjoy it immensely if you do. These changes will come slowly, so you’ll have time to work on them. ”
“What about, y— What about V-V-Vale?” Echo’s eyes were screwed shut, and I could see how hard it had been to give up the illusion that he was talking to me so he could ask a question about me.
“You’re doing so well, my love,” I purred in encouragement. “I’m so proud of how hard you’re working for us.”
“I never would have believed Vale could be this nice if I wasn’t witnessing it myself.
Echo, you are magic incarnate. As for your question, Vale will still be a bloodthirsty bastard, but it will be far easier for him to control than before.
All the quirks of being what he is will be easier for him to deal with.
That doesn’t mean he’ll be easy to live with.
He’s an absolute mess in my opinion, and you have your work cut out for you. ”
“W-Wraith,” Echo struggled to spit out. “What about him?”
“You were bonded to Vale, not Wraith. While the three of you now share the curse, since Vale is the conduit between you, Wraith will only see a small difference, much like you will only be mildly affected by the curse.”
Echo panted as he strained to ask another question.
“You can stop, my love,” I said. “You’ve already learned more than enough.” I was delighted to know Echo wouldn’t suffer like I did. Anything else was gravy.
“How… how long… will I… live?”
My throat turned to a solid block of ice at his question. I’d planned on never thinking about it for the rest of Echo’s life because I didn’t want to know.
“You’ll live as long as you can tolerate the two assholes you’ve stuck yourself to. The curse is immortal like the creature that died to create it, and anyone holding a piece of it will become so as well.”