Chapter 27
Twenty-Seven
BECKS
The wind whips around us as we stand atop a small hill outside of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It’s much warmer here than it was up in the mountains, but a chill runs through me just the same. It just doesn’t have anything to do with the temperature.
Being a vampire, Cassian’s power is amplified by blood.
This location was picked because he said we needed to be somewhere a lot of blood was spilled.
Fifty thousand humans perished on these fields and hills over a three-day period during the Civil War, making it the bloodiest battle in this country’s history, and a great location for him to open a portal.
But something about this place is off. Like so much death has changed it irrevocably.
Beside me, Haven wraps her arms around herself, her unbound hair lifted by the wind and thrown around her head.
Even bundled in a coat, she looks like a goddess, and I have trouble not staring.
I don’t know if she has me under some spell, but every moment with her I sink a little deeper, falling harder for her.
I wish I would have had some time alone with her today. Something is wrong, that much is clear. It has been since right before I left for New York. I don’t know exactly what it is, but my suspicion is that she’s second-guessing my intentions, and it’s causing her to pull away.
She bounced between hot and cold in the car today: the look in her eyes telling me she wanted nothing more than to sink against my side and let me hold her, but her body language was stiff and uncomfortable.
If she doesn’t know how I feel, then maybe she’s second-guessing how to act.
I don’t want to make the same mistakes I did with Locklyn by waiting too long to tell her.
Once we’re through the portal and safely in the creature world, it’s all coming out.
If she doesn’t want me, it’s going to hurt like crazy, but I’m still going to protect her with my life.
The more time we spend together, the more I think that she’s it for me. There’s no one else and never will be.
My hand twitches with the urge to reach down and take hers. I can tell she’s nervous by how she’s fidgeting, shifting her weight. She’s biting down on her bottom lip, which is distracting me to no end.
I force my gaze from Haven to take in the rest of the group.
We’re all here. Haven’s parents are standing next to her, and on the other side of me are Locklyn and Talon.
Kade, having stayed true to his word to help Cassian collect the few items he needed—most importantly a blessed dagger—is next to Talon.
Cassian stands across from all of us as he prepares to open the portal.
I’ve seen this done before, so when he lifts the dagger and cuts into his own hand, spilling his blood, I’m not surprised. Haven releases a small gasp, distracting me again, while Cassian bends down and smears his blood on the grass at his feet.
He steps back and lifts his arms. A gust of wind rips over the hill, sending his dark hair flying just as the first shimmer of a portal bursts into existence, glowing like an orb.
Cassian grits his teeth as he pours his magic into the portal and it slowly starts growing, going from the size of a tennis ball to a basketball as it widens.
The portal is opaque, concealing the world beyond, and blazing like a bright rupture against the fading light of dusk.
By the time it’s large enough for someone to go through, Cassian’s arms are shaking and sweat runs down his temples.
When he gets to the creature world, he’s going to be drained, just like when we came here.
He’s putting an awful lot of trust in us not to turn him back over to the Society while he’s weak, and I’m determined to make sure that trust isn’t misplaced.
“It’s time,” he calls to us, and Locklyn steps forward with her parents, like we planned.
David and Emily exchange a wary glance, stopping before the shimmering portal.
“Don’t be scared,” Locklyn tells them. “It’s going to feel a bit strange, and you might pass out, but it will be okay.”
They nod, and then step into the portal, disappearing.
Haven makes a little sound in the back of her throat when her parents vanish, and I can’t hold back anymore. I reach for her hand, but as soon as my fingers brush up against hers, she yanks away, shooting me a glare.
Alarm bells ring in my head.
I’ve misjudged the situation. This is more than just anxiety over not knowing where we stand.
Locklyn walks into the portal next, followed by Talon, leaving just Haven, Cassian, and me to go through. Kade is staying in the human world, planning to do what he can on this side until we return.
Haven takes a step forward, but I gently grab her arm, stopping her. This probably isn’t the best time, but it’s the first moment we’ve been alone since she started acting differently, and I need to know what’s going on.
“Hold up a second,” I say, noticing that she still won’t look me in the eye. I step in front of her, forcing her to acknowledge me. When she finally glances up at me, there’s still fire in her gaze.
“We have to go,” she says, annoyed.
“We do, but first I just want to know what’s wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong,” she says, and I don’t need superpowers to see that’s a lie.
“Something’s off between us. Has been for the last few days. I’m just a little confused. I thought we were in a good place.”
“Oh, I know exactly what you thought,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest as she stubbornly lifts her chin.
Something about the motion makes me think she’s trying to protect herself rather than appear tough, and that confuses me.
“What happened? Something’s changed. If I’ve done something to—”
As I’m talking, Haven’s eyes start to shine, and she looks away again. My heart squeezes in my chest, wanting to fix whatever is causing her pain.
“I know,” she says, cutting me off.
My brows knit. “Know what?”
Her lower lip trembles like she’s about to cry, and I reach for her, but she slips out of my grasp. She bites her lip and takes a shaky breath, fighting to pull herself together.
“What’s the hold-up?” Kade calls from next to Cassian.
I glance over my shoulder to see Cassian standing with his arms outstretched, jaw clenched. We need to get through that portal, but this is important.
“One sec,” I call back, and Kade lifts and drops his hands, like he can’t believe I’m doing this.
He’s not wrong; the timing sucks. But when I look back at Haven and she lifts her eyes to mine again, her gaze is dull and lifeless.
“I know that you and Locklyn were once more than just friends. I know you used to love her.”
Her words hit me like a punch to the gut.
“How?” I ask, as shock vibrates through my system.
Her eyes flick to the side before returning to me. “Not that it matters, but I overheard the two of you back at the cabin.”
Back in the cabin? My mind whirls, trying to figure out . . .
It comes to me with a rush of clarity. She must have overheard when Locklyn cornered me in the surveillance room, wanting to know what was going on between me and Haven. Locklyn accused me of using Haven as a stand-in for her. And I—
I’m shaking my head, remembering what I said in return. Wanting the conversation to be over, I downplayed what was really developing between Haven and me, and if she heard all of that it must’ve felt like I’d been playing her this entire time.
Suddenly, her change in attitude makes perfect sense. She’s gone through the last few days thinking I was using her as a stand-in for her sister.
Nausea roils in my gut. “Haven, no. What you heard, that wasn’t true.”
Her eyes narrow. “You’re telling me that you didn’t fall in love with Locklyn?”
I run a hand through my hair, knowing that this is a bigger conversation than we have time for right now. “I mean, yes, that part is true. But it was so long ago now. Almost two years. But that’s not—”
Skirting me, she starts to walk away, heading for the portal that Cassian is keeping open for us. Cassian is clearly struggling, so we need to get a move-on, but once we get to the creature world, audience or not, I’m going to set her straight.
Haven is only a few dozen steps from the portal when her name is called from somewhere behind us.
Stopping, she glances over her shoulder. Her eyes widen, and suddenly she’s running in the opposite direction.
Away from the portal. Away from me.
I jerk my gaze to the side and see two forms jogging up the hill.
Two females, from the look of it, one tall and dark-skinned, the other a petite black-haired girl.
Even though they don’t present as threats, especially since it’s clear Haven knows them, I go on alert, my body tensing as Haven nears them.
Whether she knows them or not, I’m not comfortable with this situation, and I move in their direction, ready to intervene if something is off.
Haven reaches them and embraces the tall girl with the curly hair, who I now recognize as the one Haven was sitting on the lawn next to back at her college. Kendra. The second one must be her other close friend, Tate.
I don’t want to, but I halt, giving Haven and her friends some privacy, at least for a few moments. That’s all I can afford them, because Cassian can only hold open the portal for so long.
“Who are they?” Kade asks, coming up next to me.
“Her friends. I don’t know why they are here though. Or how they found out about this.”
Kade crosses his arms over his chest, a frown pulling down his features. “She must have told them.”
I shake my head, the pieces not quite fitting together. “Yeah, but how? She doesn’t have—” It hits me then. She must have a phone. She probably called them during one of our rest stops.
I curse under my breath. I knew Haven struggled with leaving her friends, but this was so stupid.
“I can only hold it a few more minutes,” Cassian calls over to us. He looks even more strung out than he did before.
“Sorry,” I call. “I’ll go get her.”
I jog down the hill toward them, ready to throw Haven over my shoulder to get her through the portal if I have to.
Haven is gesturing toward the portal. Her tall friend, Kendra, is wide-eyed as she looks back and forth between the shimmering hole and Haven, clearly taken off-guard.
At least Haven didn’t tell them everything.
The other friend, Tate, doesn’t seem fazed. In fact, there’s a calculating look on her face that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
She shifts her gaze from the portal to me, and a slow smile lifts her mouth as her eyes go completely black.
No!
I shout Haven’s name, panic filling every part of me. She jerks her gaze in my direction, confusion written on her face as her friend lifts her hands and sends a blast of dark power right at me.
There’s no dodging it. The magic hits me right in the chest, sending me sailing.
I slam into the ground with punishing force. Something crunches in my ribs, pain flaring white-hot, and my head snaps back against a stone. Everything goes blank, until Haven’s screams cut through the fog.
Lumbering to my feet, I immediately search for Haven, finding her on the ground, cradling the seemingly lifeless body of her friend, Kendra, as the demon, using Tate as a vessel, stomps up the hill toward us.
Her eyes fixed on the portal.
“Go!” Kade yells to Cassian. “Find its weakness and then get everyone back.”
I don’t look to see if Cassian listens. I’m already headed toward Haven, who’s trying to shake her friend awake, but even from a distance I can tell it’s no use. I don’t know what happened, but half the girl’s face is missing. Haven is in shock.
My mind is still foggy as I stumble forward, struggling to keep my feet underneath me, with one goal in mind: reach Haven.
I’m not processing as I should. Each step is like moving through quicksand. I’m a dozen or so steps from Haven when her face flicks up. Tears pour from her eyes, pure agony etched across her face, but horror fills her gaze when she sees me.
Her name forms on my lips at the same time that I cough. It’s wet, and I realize I’m spitting up blood.
That’s not good, but it doesn’t matter. Nothing does, except reaching Haven and getting her away from the demon.
I’ve almost reached her when Haven screams my name and tries to scramble to her feet. I don’t even have time to react before I’m blasted with the same dark magic as before. This time, the magic strikes like a sledgehammer, hurling me through the air. Darkness claims me before I hit the ground.