Chapter 3
THREE
We were dumped unceremoniously a moment later into an open field surrounded by woods. I pinched my brow as I sat up, squinting against the sunlight. “Please tell me we’re still in the Bogs.” Maybe if I held extra still, I wouldn’t lose the rainbow donut I’d eaten for breakfast.
Already on his feet, Gabriel extended one hand down to me. “We’re still in the Bogs.” He glanced around as he helped me up, keeping hold of my hand. “Though I am not sure where, exactly.”
“Not comforting.” I took back my hand to brush dried grass and dirt from my jeans. There was no sign of the vines. I peered off through the trees, but could see nothing beyond them. “Why do you think they brought us here?”
Gabriel gripped my shoulder, tension radiating through his touch. I instantly stiffened, wondering what he had noticed. He guided me to turn around, then pointed with his free hand. Off in the distance, a portion of the trees didn’t look quite right. They looked blackened, or maybe just gray.
I lifted a hand to shield my eyes from the sun, trying to get a better view. “Did they burn?” I looked at Gabriel, my nerves kicking up when I realized how worried he was.
“They still have their needles. Something else happened to them. Wait here.” He started walking toward the distant trees.
“Oh like hell.” I hurried after him, glancing around the rest of the meadow for anything else out of place. But all was serene. A light breeze shifted the yellow grass, and birds sang in the rest of the trees. There was just that one dark patch.
Gabriel slowed as he neared it, extending his arm to keep me back. But I was close enough now to see it. Just before the tree line, the grass and soil were a strange dark gray. It formed a solid swath, encompassing the dead trees, which were the same strange gray.
“You’re right, they all have their needles. They weren’t burned.” I gripped Gabriel’s arm in front of me, tempted to push past it for a closer look.
“We don’t know what caused this. We shouldn’t get too close.”
It was a wise sentiment, but— “The vines brought us here for a reason. I think they wanted us to see this. Let’s just move a little closer.”
Gabriel sighed. “At least let me go first.”
I thought about it. “Okay, but you don’t touch it either.”
He lowered his arm and started walking, stopping as he reached the edge of the gray. When nothing happened, I moved to stand beside him, looking down at the line formed between the gray grass and the healthy yellow meadow.
“It’s spreading,” Gabriel said, his voice tight.
I watched the line, and sure enough, the gray was slowly consuming the yellow, like spilled ink spreading across a surface. Blade by blade, the lifeless hue crept along. Realizing how close it was to the toes of my boots, I stepped back, holding a hand over my racing heart. “What is it?”
Gabriel stepped back beside me, his eyes on that ever-creeping line of gray. “I don’t know, but there’s nothing living in those trees.”
I realized he was right. No birds sang anywhere near us. They had even fled the nearest healthy trees. Gabriel took my hand, pulling me further back. “We need to tell Mistral.”
“Good idea.” I nodded a little too rapidly, panic constricting my throat. “Now how do you suggest we do that?”
He pulled me further back, toward the center of the meadow where we wouldn’t be in danger of touching whatever the hells that grayness was.
Once we were out of immediate danger, he gripped both my arms. “We could try walking—we’d reach the Citadel eventually, but it could easily take hours.
Over the years, the Bogs has consumed much of the vacant land beyond the city. ”
I looked into his earnest dark eyes and realized what he was saying. With my nerves kicking up even further, I nodded. “I can try.”
He was still gripping my arms, but I’d need a little more contact to use his energy to help us travel. At least we didn’t have to go all that far, nor did we need to cross any boundaries. We just had to make it back to the pool.
And yet, when I moved closer, there was hesitation from him—a hint of remaining awkwardness from our earlier conversation. I supposed there was no better time to talk about it than the present, since he might avoid being alone with me after this.
“About Sebastian—”
“You don’t need to say anything,” he cut me off.
Bending my elbows to grip his arms in return, I shook my head.
“I do. You’re clearly upset about it.” He didn’t even have to say anything.
One or two times I had sensed emotions from some of the guys.
Now I could sense his stormy emotions like the distant rumbling of thunder, though externally, he was concealing it admirably.
Looking into my eyes, he seemed to realize there was no hiding it. Not from me. “It’s just because it’s him. If it were Crispin, it would be easier to deal with.”
“I know you don’t get along—”
“It’s not that.” He looked away, his jaw tense. “I have seen the way you look at him, Eva. You may claim to hate him, but you obviously feel for him a great deal. I might have been able to argue with myself on that point previously, but I can do so no longer.”
“But I really don’t. We’re connected, yes. But I don’t trust him. Not like I trust you.”
He finally turned his head back toward me, his expression softening. “You trust him a lot more than you did once. That trust may yet grow.”
“Well, he did offer to kill my great grandfather for me.” I’d meant it as a joke, but it came out a little matter of fact.
His brows lifted.
I shook my head. “Not important. What’s important is that you and I are okay.”
His conflicted expression did nothing to allay my worries. It felt like a worm was wriggling through my gut as he spoke. “It is something I will have to come to terms with.”
Okay, not the worst response, but still— “I’ll understand if you can’t. It’s a lot to ask.”
His hands flexed around my arms. “It is my own insecurity causing this… feeling.”
I furrowed my brow. “If you slept with another girl, I would be frothing at the mouth with jealously, even though it would be totally fair for you to do so—” I bit my tongue. “I shouldn’t have said that. If that’s something you want to do—”
“It’s not.”
We stared into each other’s eyes, and I wasn’t sure what else to say.
Gabriel bent his neck, lowering his head to my level, his lips within kissing distance. “We should get back to Mistral and Crispin. They’ll both be worried, and we need to make Mistral aware of what’s happening here.”
I cast one last look at the creeping line of gray. It wasn’t moving quickly and would take weeks or months to spread far, but it was definitely spreading. “You would think he would sense something like this.” I looked up to see Gabriel frowning.
“Things have been shifting more rapidly,” he admitted. “I’m not surprised this escaped his notice, especially if we are far from the Citadel, which I believe we are.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I gasped, worried for Mistral’s safety. Hells, worried for everyone’s safety.
He gently pushed my hair behind my ear, his fingers skimming down my neck. “You have enough to worry about, Eva.” He lowered his lips to mine.
The moment our lips touched, warm magic blossomed between us. With Mistral it was like tiny cool stars, with Sebastian it was a dark aurora—almost overwhelming, but with Gabriel…
It was sunlight and softness—a growing warmth pulsing inside me. Out of all the guys, his warm magic was my comfort, and I really didn’t want to lose it.
I opened my mouth for him, just as he pulled me against his body, one hand pressing into my lower back.
I forgot all about the gray trees and living vines.
Safe. I was entirely safe. The warm magic was so satisfying I almost forgot to think of the other guys.
But as soon as I did, the world blurred.
More prepared for it this time, Gabriel kept me upright as we shifted.
It was a good thing too—falling on the hard stone beneath our feet would have hurt a lot more than the grassy meadow.
He kept me in his arms, allowing me just enough movement to look around.
There was the expected blue glow, but something wasn’t right.
The cavern seemed… backwards. And there was no sunlight from the cave entrance, only the glowing water.
“Couldn’t wait for us?” Crispin’s voice sounded from the shadows of the cave.
I turned, spotting him as he stood from a crouch where he’d been observing something carved into the stone. But that hadn’t been there before… He was still dripping wet and in his plaid briefs, making the outline of him so clear that I blushed and turned away.
Gabriel released me further, leaving one hand at my waist to keep me near him. “You never mentioned any cavern down here.” I followed his gaze to Mistral, who was standing near the pool looking down into the aqua glow, his white hair dripping rivulets of water down his bare back.
“It was not here before.” He looked back at us, his gray eyes glinting in the magical light.
I pulled away from Gabriel, spinning a slow circle. “Wait. Where are we?” It was similar to the cave, but this definitely wasn’t it, unless the Bogs had disappeared the entrance.
Crispin moved to stand at my other side. “This cavern is at the other end of the pool. We swam through, then up.”
My chest constricted at his words. “You mean we’re trapped down here?”
He lifted a brow, oblivious to his blond hair sticking out in erratic clumps from the water. “Trapped seems a strong word for it. We swam down here. We need only swim back. There was no reason to panic and travel down to us.”
Mistral joined us. “I’ve a feeling that is not what happened.” He looked at Gabriel for further explanation.
Glancing at Crispin, Gabriel jerked his chin toward the far end of the cavern. With a final glance at me, Gabriel led Mistral away so that they might speak in relative privacy.
Crispin put his hands on his hips, perfectly comfortable in his wet underwear. “Well that’s rude.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I soothed, though I myself was more than worried about it, and worried about the swim to the cave.
With all three guys down here with me, my only way out would be to travel to Sebastian, and who knew where he was currently?
He might have even broken his promise and traveled to the hells to find his sister.
Crispin glanced at Mistral and Gabriel huddled in the shadows. The cavern was large enough that with them whispering, I couldn’t hear a word they said. And judging by Crispin’s annoyance, he couldn’t hear any of it either, even with his superior elven hearing.
He sighed. “I may as well show you the symbol while we wait. Just don’t touch it.”
“Symbol?”
He put a hand on my back, then directed me toward where he’d been crouching upon our arrival. Wanting anything to distract me from thoughts of swimming through the pool to the other side, I went with him, crouching where he instructed.
Sure enough, a celestial symbol was carved into the stone.
It wasn’t a conduit star, nor was it like the symbol in Emerald Heights.
Seven little stars formed points connecting a maze of lines, forming no discernible shape.
I reached out my fingers without thinking, and suddenly Crispin’s hand was there, his skin surprisingly warm against mine, given that he was dripping wet.
“No touching,” he reminded me.
He was right. What had I been thinking? I allowed him to guide my hand away. “Is this the portal to the goblin realm?”
“Perhaps, or another pocket realm between here and there. I believe the other was created when the pathways were severed. With travelers in between, there had to be somewhere for them to go.”
“So goblins could be trapped there too.” The thought was almost too horrible for words. Silvana and her people had survived, but it hadn’t been easy. And I had a feeling the mental duress was far greater than the more apparent physical.
“Perhaps.” Keeping hold of my hand, Crispin guided me to my feet as Mistral and Gabriel joined us.
“We should get back,” Mistral said. “We will explore what this symbol means another day.”
I looked from him to Gabriel, wishing I could ask what they thought the gray trees meant, but they clearly didn’t want Crispin knowing about it. “Is swimming really the only way out of here?”
Mistral’s expression softened. “Yes, but with us to guide you, it will not be difficult.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Famous last words, if I ever heard them.” My pulse kicked up at the thought of the task ahead.
I had traveled realms, but somehow, the idea of holding my breath until we reached the other end of the pool was far more terrifying.
It might even be my greatest feat yet—if I managed it without drowning.
Watching me, Crispin tilted his head. “I believe we have discovered one of Eva’s deep-seated phobias.”
“It’s not a phobia,” I hissed. “I’m just not experienced at diving.”
Crispin gave my hand a squeeze, and I realized with a start that he had still been holding it. It was unnerving how natural it was starting to feel touching any of the guys. “I’m a strong swimmer. Just hold on to me and I’ll get you through in no time.”
I looked at Mistral, desperately desiring confirmation of these claims.
Mistral nodded. “He is a swifter swimmer than either me or Gabriel. You will go with him first, and we will come just behind you to make sure nothing happens.”
They all looked at me expectantly, and my heart raced even faster. My words were strained as I said, “Fine, but if I drown, I’m haunting all three of you for eternity.”