78. Vera
Vera
For a heartbeat, I didn’t understand.
And then my magic disappeared. My phoenix half was snuffed out, completely suffocated. I gasped against the shock, against the familiar sensation that flooded me—I was back in those cells, with the black cuffs that stripped me of my power, that chained me to a wall—
A strangled gasp tore from my throat. “Starke—no—”
The second cuff snapped into place on my other wrist. My chest heaved as I dragged in a breath. Disbelief tore through me. There had to be another explanation. This couldn’t be happening.
Slowly, Starke stood, no longer trembling. “I’m sorry, Vera,” he repeated.
Behind me, Tessa and Everett roared in outrage. But before they could attack, another voice hissed from the shadows.
“Phyxie.” The spell for suffocation rattled through the air, familiar Alchemy magic tightening across my chest before the spell snapped into place.
But it wasn’t meant for me. Tessa and Everett both gasped for air, choking as the breath was swiped from their lungs. Everett fell first, his injured shoulder sagging.
“No!” I lunged toward them, crawling with my wrists manacled together.
“Look at you, little bird,” a voice hummed. “Those wings have finally been clipped.”
Everything inside me froze. Everett’s bloodshot eyes filled with horror as he stared at something behind me. I turned, eyes trailing from black boots and up pale skin, into the near-white eyes of Malek Mortep.
“You should be dead,” I breathed out.
A cruel smile spread across his lips. “I was reborn.” He muttered another spell, flicked his wrist, and Tessa and Everett went flying backward. They crashed into the stone wall and fell silent.
“I will kill you!” I snarled, yanking myself to my feet.
“Ah, there’s that fire.” He tsked warningly when I stepped closer. “I won’t harm them again if you do as I say.”
“How are you even here?” I spat. “I watched you die.” Even as I said the words, I realized I’d never fully believed them. It had been too easy. Too clean.
And we never saw a body.
“You watched me disappear. Beneath the sand and into these very tunnels, in fact.” Mortep gestured toward the ceiling.
“The Elders are quite clever creatures, I must say. Their magic certainly has its perks.” He smirked, and his perfectly intact eyes shone back at me.
They looked different this time, as if whatever had healed him also changed him.
“You’ve been working with them this entire time?” My mind spun, trying to wrap around how any of this could be possible. “How did you even know about this place?”
“I’ve been in contact with the Triad Realm for some time.
Lord Scarven and I acquired useful resources from them.
” he said. “Rumors of a forgotten kingdom made its way to us, and when your brother’s little rebel group”—he sneered—“forced me into hiding, I sought the truth. I was able to get a magical message to Pyraeth’s shores. ”
It dawned on me—it was the same way Everett’s messages had reached me once I got to the kingdom. The magic here was the same as the Veridian Empire, so they could communicate between worlds.
“From there, it was a matter of negotiation.” Mortep drew nearer, close enough to lift the ends of my hair with his finger. “What they could offer me…” He circled me, his nose grazing my neck. “And what I could offer them.”
“Me,” I said, shoulders falling.
“You.” He nodded. “They were very intrigued when I told them of a phoenix Shifter from my land who possessed the same powers as them. I knew you’d chase me. Once I got you to the Triad Realm, you merely needed a little help getting the rest of the way.”
My gaze drifted to Starke, whose eyes were fixed on the ground at my feet. The cuts and bruises on his face highlighted his sallow, tired skin.
“Look at me,” I commanded him, and he winced. I stalked closer. “Look at me!”
Starke raised his chin, barely meeting my eyes.
I saw my friend in those blue pools. The man who found me in a bar, who put a roof over my head and an ocean beneath my feet.
Who followed my every whim as I hunted Mortep.
The late night laughter and empty bottles of rum, boots kicked up on the railing, his tricorn hat slipping low on my head.
I swallowed hard. “How could you?”
“I didn’t have a choice.” His eyes shuddered. “He took them, V.”
“Took who?”
“My family.”
My brow furrowed. “I thought your family died.”
He shook his head. “I said they were gone.”
I looked back and forth between Starke and Mortep, who wore a vile grin. It was all so simple. I closed my eyes. “He took your family so you’d get me here.”
“He found me,” Starke whispered. “After you and I met. He captured my family, tortured them, and told me what I needed to do to save them. He told me about the hidden island, and where to be at the spring equinox. I had to keep you close until then.” He took a deep breath.
“I hired Odessa because I knew her background. I knew she’d be able to lead you to the legends, and you’d never suspect me having a hand in it. ”
“But you didn’t even want to do this!” I yelled incredulously. “You tried to convince me not to come.”
“I got scared,” he pleaded. “After you finally told me the truth, and everything Mortep did to you, I—I thought I was making a mistake. I thought I could figure it out and save you and my family. But I—” He cleared his throat. “I couldn’t. I had to choose.”
Deep down, I was angry. Simmering and coiling and ready to strike. But this time…it wasn’t rage that rose to the surface.
“I trusted you,” I choked out. “I let you in. You knew how hard that was for me, and you—” My voice fractured, but I shoved it down. “You delivered me right back to him.”
Starke flinched like I’d struck him. He dragged a hand through his hair, eyes desperate. “I didn’t know it would go this far. I thought—”
“You thought what?” I snapped. “That I’d forgive you? That I’d understand?”
“I didn’t mean for it to happen.” His shoulders fell. “I didn’t mean to fall in love with you.”
The words hung between us, heavy and useless. “You never loved me, Starke,” I said coldly. “Lie all you want to make yourself feel better, but I know what love is. And it doesn’t do this.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he pushed on. “You didn’t feel the same, and I knew that. I know that. But they’re my family, Vera. They’re all I have—”
“And I would’ve helped you!” I shouted. “We could’ve saved them. If you had only told me the truth, we could’ve made a plan. We could’ve been in this together. But I was just another means to an end.”
Bitterness coated my tongue. Starke looked away, shame blanketing his features. “I’m sorry,” he whispered again.
“Not as sorry as you will be.” I jerked my head toward Mortep. “Men like him don’t keep their promises. Your family’s probably dead, and you won’t be far behind.” I lifted my cuffed hands with flared nostrils. “What a shame I can’t save you this time.”
“Enough of this,” Mortep snarled. Muttering a spell, he threw a hand toward the cave wall, and the entire room quaked.
Tessa and Everett both stirred, looking around in confusion as they struggled to get to their feet.
Tendrils of wraith shadows danced around Everett’s shoulder, and he fell back with a shout.
“Everett!” I called out. Starke’s hand jerked me back by the collar of my shirt. “Get off me! I have to help him!” I screamed.
“Your precious Swift is beyond helping,” Mortep sneered. “Fitting, isn’t it? To say your goodbyes while caged between stone walls once more?”
Mortep waved his hand again, and fissures spiderwebbed on the far end of the wall. The cave trembled violently again.
Then the first stream of gold water trickled from the cracks.
“Time to go, little bird,” Mortep said, and Starke’s arms locked beneath my shoulders, dragging me backward.
A shriek tore up my throat. “No!” Kicking at the ground, I fought to break loose from his hold. Across the cave, Tessa raised Everett to his feet, and they hurriedly limped after us. Water poured from the walls at a faster rate, slamming to the floor in a deafening rush.
“Vera!” Everett’s voice cut through the roar.
“I’m here!” I screamed back, clawing at Starke’s grip, my fingers scraping uselessly against his arm. “I’m here—just hold on!”
Water surged across the floor, swallowing our ankles. Our calves. Cold seeped through my clothes and into my skin.
Mortep lugged me farther. My boots ground over slick stone toward the exit tunnel behind us. “No—no, stop!” I twisted, ripping my arms free for half a second, just enough to reach out.
Everett lurched forward at the same time, shoving past Tessa, his hand outstretched.
Our fingers brushed.
A sob tore from my chest as Mortep wrenched me back. “Everett!” I cried.
Everett panted hard, but not from exertion. The wraith shadows climbed from his shoulder and spread toward his heart. “Don’t stop!” he yelled over the water. “Don’t stop fighting, Songbird! Get out of here!”
“I’m not leaving you!” I thrashed wildly, panic clawing up my throat. “I’m not—”
More water burst from the cracks, drowning out my words. It was everywhere, golden waves crashing at our waists, battering against the walls. Mortep and Starke both carried me through the open tunnel, and water poured after us.
Mortep lifted a hand.
“No!” I screamed, lunging for Everett, but their hold kept me from moving.
Everett’s gray and green eyes met mine. “I love you, Vera.”
My heart shattered. “I love—”
Mortep’s fingers curled, and a wall of rock shot up from the ground, sealing them inside.