Chapter 20 #2
It was true. There was no one else Finley would go to the ends of the world for, and no one else would have done it for her either.
Her heart twisted. It had been years since Finley’d had romantic feelings for Ai, and she’d moved past that because Ai wasn’t interested in that sort of relationship, then or ever with anyone.
But here and there, Finley still had moments of wistful wonder at what could have been.
For the first time, the thought wasn’t sad.
Being friends was the best outcome for both of them.
The thought and feeling took Finley by surprise, and unsure of what that meant, a slight panic rose in her throat.
She let go of Ai’s hand. This wasn’t the time.
“I guess it’s now or never,” she said and took the vials of ingredients out of her pockets.
The water went in first, then the rest of it. On its own, the mixture swirled inside the Chalice, stirring itself together. When it finished, Finley raised the Chalice to her lips.
The concoction was smooth with a cool sharp taste to it that made her feel fresh and clean.
As it traveled down her throat and made its way through her system, her body began to tingle.
It was like tiny bits of her she forgot existed were rousing from a deep slumber and finally becoming alert to reality outside of dreamland.
The world around her grew sharper and the heaviness in her limbs lifted.
She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so refreshed and alive.
She gasped and laughed with glee. But as she did, a cloud of air escaped her lips.
It was small with a dark blue glow and hovered between the three of them.
“Is that your… curse?” Ai asked and stepped toward it like she was being drawn to it under some spell.
“Don’t go near it,” Finley said, but she was too late.
Ai extended her hand and the orb reached out to her back. A line of magic drew out from it and pricked her finger. She gasped and tugged it back then swayed on her feet.
“Ai?”
“I… I’m so tired…”
The world seemed to freeze and fade as Ai’s eyes fluttered and she collapsed to the ground.
“Ai!” Finley screamed and threw the Chalice to the side and it landed on the ground with a loud clatter. “No!”
She ran to Ai and dropped to the ground. She then her friend’s head in her lap and patted her cheeks. They still had the same soft pink color to them. “Wake up. Come on, we gotta get out of here. Wake up.”
She pressed her ear to Ai’s chest, relieved by the slow but soft thumping of her heart and the faintest of breaths.
She was asleep. But for how long? Finley’s hands shook, and panic tightened in her chest and throat.
All the warnings Rafe and Myra had told her about the Chalice.
How it was a miracle it had worked for King Brennan.
That sometimes it didn’t do what was expected.
“No!” Finley’s voice echoed against the stone walls of the castle and she gently shook Ai. “You are not asleep! You have to wake up!”
A cold air blew past, and she shivered, remembering they weren’t alone. Finley glanced up, and Malle was there. She’d picked up the Chalice and floated over to the cloud of stardust it had been held in.
“You!” Finley shouted. “You must have known about this. You helped us get the Chalice! Now use it to wake her up!”
For the first time Malle’s expression changed, though only a tad, and the look was one Finley hadn’t seen anyone give her before.
Pity.
Finley’s head grew light and her chest hurt. This wasn’t happening. And that ghost… “Go get help! What are you doing just floating there? Do something!”
She wasn’t sure how long Malle was gone, but it felt like both an eternity and a breath by the time she returned.
Finley hadn’t moved from her spot or stopped trying to rouse Ai from her slumber.
Yelling, patting her cheeks, shaking, talking…
nothing worked. Not even a hitched breath or stir.
Finley hovered over her Ai, tears spilling onto her best friend’s cheeks.
A cloaked sob escaped her lips and it echoed through the room like a whale in the ocean.
She clung to Ai and rocked back and forth.
How had they gotten here?
“Oh no,” someone said. A woman but Finley didn’t register who it was.
Another person put a hand on Finley’s shoulder and knelt at her side. “Finley, what happened?”
Rafe. That voice she recognized.
“She… she’s… sleeping.”
The fate that was supposed to be mine.
Another sob overtook Finley, and she crumpled onto the floor. They should leave her here to rot. That was what she deserved.
“We should move Ai,” that same female voice said. Finley’s head shot up. and she saw Eira and Cadeyrn standing before her with furrowed brows.
“We need to wake her up,” Finley snapped. Her body still shook and the tears wouldn’t stop flowing, but she managed to get herself to her feet and charged toward the couple. “You woke your father up. Use what you did and help her now!”
“If you would let me say something, you would know that was what I was going to suggest,” Eira said back. “But we must gather what we need, and Ai shouldn’t be left lying here.”
“I think what she means to say is let’s find a comfortable place for her to rest,” Rafe suggested. “I don’t think she’d enjoy the floor.”
They were patronizing her. Treating Finley like she was a fragile broken thing. Maybe she was. She felt like the smallest feather could touch her and she’d fall to pieces. She was already in pieces.
“Can I take her?” Cadeyrn asked gently. “I’ll be careful, I promise.”
Take her because she couldn’t walk for herself. Maybe she never would again. Finley closed her eyes. She couldn’t think like that. Eventually, she nodded.
In one fluid motion, Cadeyrn knelt to the ground and swooped Ai into his arms, making them a bed for her to be cradled in. Eira helped Ai’s head rest on his shoulder so it wasn’t flopped to the side.
It felt like a funeral procession as they made their way to Ai’s room.
Eira and Cadeyrn lay Ai on the mattress with the utmost care and made sure she was covered with a warm blanket and soft pillows under her head.
“I’m so sorry,” Eira whispered. “But we’ll gather what we need and see if the same potion that helped my father will wake Ai up. It’s a different curse but the results are the same, so it’s possible.”
“Although we do have other things to prepare for as well,” Cadeyrn added.
Finley wrapped her arms around herself and approached the bed. Ai seemed so peaceful sleeping there. “What other things?”
“Eira and I are planning our wedding. We want to use it to lure Amelia here and prepare a trap,” Cadeyrn explained.
Oh. Right. Amelia was on her way to the mountains. Finley had almost forgotten. “When?”
“In a few days’ time. We were planning on asking Rafe if he could assist either my father or Rose in traveling here so it could be as soon as possible,” Eira answered. “But we don’t have to discuss that now. We can tell you more in the morning.”
Finley wasn’t supposed to be here in the morning. She’d planned to leave as soon as the curse was broken. That wasn’t going to happen now. And Amelia was coming.
Amelia.
She was the one who had given Finley the list of ingredients.
She knew about the Chalice. She must have known this was going to happen.
Finley had been stupid to trust her but had been so narrow minded in her goal to break the curse she hadn’t cared about the risks. But Amelia had known. She must have.
Amelia had to pay.
“No, tell me now,” Finley said. “Tell me what I need to do.”