Chapter 30
Thirty
Chrysoprase
My hand slips into his, and I tug him with me.
The shard took me directly to him, making this a little too easy… I’ll explore that later. Right now, I have him, and that’s all I can focus on. There were no beasts waiting to attack, no Vidaris appearing instantly.
There were just the endless red skies above and desolate, empty land that went on farther than I could see. Then there was Graylen. My Graylen. Bound and chained with tattered clothing. Any relief I had in finding him disappeared when I realized he didn’t understand I was real.
What happened to him here?
Pain encompasses my chest, squeezing my heart so hard I think it might burst. Beneath that, rage simmers. Fury and anguish mingle into one at what had been done to him.
Next, we find Nightfall. And we take Vidaris and Moros out.
I shove away the pain, needing to focus on getting us out of here.
We’ve already been here longer than we should. I want nothing more than to throw myself into his arms and bury my face in his chest, but we don’t have time for that.
His eyes are dull—haunted. Filled with an emptiness that makes my heart squeeze.
It’s hard to breathe with the thick crimson rain that pours from the sky, but seeing him like this—the deep marred tissue on his wrists where the chains clamped, the small scars peppered across his face—nearly brings me to my knees.
My gaze catches on a new tattoo—a snake’s head just beneath his jaw with a body that trails down his back and disappears below his waistline.
I gasp, bile rising in my throat. He’s always prided himself on his tattoos, and this…it’s a mockery of them.
I shake my head and pull him with me. He’s slowly coming out of a daze, like he can’t figure out if I’m real or not. His feet stagger beneath him as he takes a step forward, but that’s the only movement he makes before he’s teetering sideways toward the ground.
I lunge forward, hands slipping around his waist as I pull him back up. I grit my teeth as his weight settles against me, his arm thrown around my shoulders. He grunts, muttering an apology as I fight to support his weight.
Graylen leans toward me, his hand tightening on my left shoulder as if he thinks I’ll disappear.
“How are we getting out of here, little princess?” he rasps into my mind.
There’s a fear in his eyes that nearly sends me to my knees. It sends a shudder through my body, and his hand tightens around my shoulder in response. But I have to be strong for him—strong enough for the both of us right now.
With trembling fingers, I pull out the shard with my free hand, praying my shadows answer. I’m afraid of just how much the shard took.
But if that’s what it takes to bring Graylen home, then so fucking be it.
The crimson rain begins to slow as we rush toward the rift—of course it stops now.
“She’s here,” Graylen’s gravelly voice rushes out loud. “Hurry.”
Anticipation licks up my spine. We have nothing to use to fight her—we’d be trapped here in her domain with nothing to defend ourselves. We’d either be dead or wishing we were.
I quickly stuff the cloth back in my vest and shove the jagged lump into Graylen’s dangling hand. His brow creases as he looks down at it, and I quickly tell him what to do next.
Extending my palm to him, I say, “Slice it down the center of my hand.” He hesitates. I push my arm closer to him. “Now, Graylen.”
There’s a shift in the air the moment we reach the rift, a slimy darkness that presses against my skull. He must feel it, too, because that’s all it takes for him to press the sharp end of the shard against my flesh and swipe it down the length of my palm.
Quickly taking it from him, I squeeze my eyes closed. My muscles tense as the familiar caress of the shard’s magic brushes against mine. With a shaky breath, I open my magic back up to it, pushing my Woodland side to the front this time.
The shard’s power rushes in once more, tendrils weaving into my soul into a messy, tangled heap.
I don’t think—don’t weigh the options like I probably should. The decision is hastily made, a sloppy choice that I might regret later. But the only other option is to stay in the Vale with Vidaris.
Once again, I feel the connection to one piece of my magic drain. I try not to think about whether this is a temporary depletion or a permanent one.
We’re plunged into darkness, the world dark as we float into the void.
I can’t feel the ground beneath me, can’t breathe or move. But I can feel Graylen’s hand in mine. His skin pressed against mine is a beacon I cling to as we find ourselves beneath a familiar blue sky in grassy, tree-covered lands.
A bone-rattling cough bursts from my chest; the sound of Graylen beside me lets me know the same is happening to him. I can hardly breathe, gasping for breath. Fear begins to creep in, afraid of what the ramifications of traveling like this mean for our bodies.
But just as my lungs begin to empty, my knees meet the cold forest floor. My hands fly out to brace myself. I cough lightly this time, finally able to breathe better. I greedily suck in a ragged breath, the air feeling like broken glass against my throat.
Moments later, silence breathes down my neck, scraping against my ears like it’s the loudest thing I’ve ever heard.
I shove the shard of Nightfall into my vest, needing it off of my skin. It’s no longer hot, but icy cold. The moment I release it, a weight lifts off my shoulders, my lungs expanding with a full breath of air.
With my mind clearer, it hits me where I am—and who’s at my side.
Graylen fell just as I did, his arms trembling beneath him as shivers rake through his body. His hair is longer—black strands covering his face as his head hangs and his chest heaves.
He’s back. We did it. I did it.
The emotions I’ve been holding back come flooding in, and I reach for his face, gently sliding my hand onto his cheek and turning his head to face me. Our noses are nearly touching, so close that our breaths mingle.
He shifts his weight to face me fully, his hands shakily lifting to rest on my thighs.
The warmth of his fingers splayed across my legs sends jolts of lightning through my body, reminding me that he’s here.
He’s safe. Though he has a long way to go before he’s whole again, I’ll do whatever it takes to help him get there.
A tear slips down his cheek, his face still smeared with blood and dirt. I watch helplessly as more tears begin to fall, streaming down his face. My other hand lifts to cradle his other cheek, thumbs gently swiping away each one that falls.
He leans forward, pressing his forehead against mine as we sit in the dirt, knee to knee.
“You found me,” he breathes into my mind. “My own personal shooting star streaking across my sky once more.”
Confusion sweeps through me at his words, but then I release a deep sigh of relief, my entire body relaxing. His voice is quieter in my mind than it used to be, but…it’s there. The sensation sends a shiver down my spine.
Even with my Woodland and Undine sides weakened, I can still hear him in my thoughts. At least that’s still strong.
I pull back, meeting his glazed-over, far-away gaze. He mutters something else, making less and less sense. The more I look at him, the more I see the hollow of his cheeks and the bags beneath his eyes…the more I start to realize maybe taking him to Crea isn’t an option.
The air crackles behind me, followed by deafening silence.
Shadows creep across the forest floor like mist billowing onto a frozen lake. The moment I feel his magic around me, I know it’s him. There’s a likeness between his Essence and mine, as if they recognize each other. Even with mine weak, I still feel it.
I bolt to my feet, tugging Graylen along with me. When he’s almost standing, I sling my arm around his waist, his weight immediately pressing into me. He doesn’t ask what’s going on, but he eyes me silently, his gaze bouncing from me to the forest around us.
On instinct, I call on my Essence—my Woodland side.
It answers, roots shooting out of the ground, and my shoulders loosen. But almost as soon as they rise up, they slacken back to the ground.
I try my fire, reaching for the magic I depend on the most.
It forms like a ball in my hand, roaring to life with a satisfying glow. Only…that glow is dimmer than it should be. Not by much, but enough that I notice it.
Desperation spreads like ice through my veins. I didn’t offer my Aegis side; that should be untouched. But it’s weaker somehow. Not as bad off as my Woodland magic, but still lessened. I swallow and let it go out, not sure if I can rely on it right now.
The thought burns painfully, but Graylen needs me right now.
My free hand flies to the dagger at my thigh. I slide it out of its strap, holding it out in front of me.
Daimon’s presence clings to the air, his aura heavy and filled with rage. There’s a shift in front of me as the shadows pool together, merging into a singular form. Midnight eyes stare down at me, and if the look in his gaze didn’t scare any sane person away, the scar across his face would.
I failed the first time in getting him to help—failed my friends and my kingdom in freeing the trapped souls. Failed Graylen.
My throat works to swallow down the lump lodged there.
“Back so soon?” Daimon taunts. “You realize I’m the gatekeeper of the Vale—there’s not a soul moving in or out without me knowing about it.”
Something changes in Graylen, his body stiffening at the sound of Daimon’s voice. It snaps him out of whatever daze he was in, and he yanks me back, tucking me behind him. His body trembles to hold himself up, and his magic flickers in his palms instead of blazing into a roaring fire.
But still, Graylen’s chest rumbles with a snarl, his legs shaky as he takes a staggering step forward.
Daimon’s eyes flick between us, his mouth pulled into a deep frown. His gaze finally lands on Graylen, his head tilting to the side as he watches the man I love. Daimon’s brows flick up, and his jaw flexes as he stares at Graylen.
But as quickly as the odd emotion crosses Daimon’s face, it disappears. He straightens and steps toward us with a blank expression. His attention shifts to me, and I know that I have to find a way to convince him to let us go—that I won’t let Graylen be taken from me again.
Even if that means giving up the one piece of information that gives us an edge right now.
I spin around Graylen, facing him as I place a hand on his cheek, forcing his face down so he has to look at me.
“Trust me,” I send into his mind. “I have a plan.”
I can see the war raging in his mind as he weighs how much we can trust Daimon. If my plan will be enough to get us out of here.
The truth is, I don’t trust him at all. But it’s our only option, and the longer we stay here, the more likely Vidaris is to figure out Graylen is no longer in the Vale. Graylen must come to the same realization because he dips his chin down, his gaze shifting to behind my shoulder.
Graylen is still unsteady on his feet, but when I try to slip my arm around him, he reaches for my hand, clasping his fingers around mine to stop me. He looks like he needs food—and water. Probably several days of rest.
But he isn’t going to look weak in front of Daimon, no matter if he looks like he’s about to fall over. I feel Graylen’s fingers give mine a small squeeze and pray to any Divine who will listen that Daimon isn’t about to betray us.