47. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Astaroth
S creams ebbed from the center of the labyrinth and ricocheted off the walls before I felt her return. I opened a portal but dropped to my knees atop the wall before I could step inside. Excruciating pain, the likes I’d never felt, engulfed every inch of my body inside and out. I struggled to shield our link so I could get to her, but her pull on my life source instantly weakened me. I couldn’t control my magic. The portal dissipated. My ability to do anything but cower and shake was gone. I gripped the stone to keep from falling into the water below, tapped into the realm’s magic, and greedily sucked it down, leaving it wide open for Calista to pull from.
“Be still. Let the realm heal you.”
When I could stand, I portaled straight to her screams. Once again, I was outside the garden. Only it wasn’t raining here. The clouds circled the city, leaving it untouched while it rampaged through the corridors. Her cries drew my brethren from their beds. Shouts could be heard from within the city as they rushed to the castle. I entered the tunnel before they arrived, unencumbered by the bloodsuckles demanding their tithe, and ran toward the garden. How did she get here? Magic couldn’t be used in the garden. Were the vines turning on her? Was that the cause of her dwindling pain?
I exited the tunnel and paused in disbelief. The vines stretched as far as they could go, almost ripping to gain more ground. A brilliant blue portal hovered in front of the tree. Pixies flickered wildly in the branches like the energy shooting through the clouds in rhythm with the realm’s song. Magic continued to pour through me to Calista as she limped through the field. It had never allowed it before. The realm was turning inside out, and I didn’t know what to make of it.
I could feel the crippling agony with every breath that gasped from her lungs, in every step as she cried in pain. And with each one, she grew stronger and more upright as her wounds healed. She was a force to be reckoned with. What would my reckoning be for pushing her to this extreme?
My queen.
She faced me with a whimper. Blisters filled the gaps between patches of raw skin where her clothing hadn’t melted to her body. Wounds I caused that healed before my eyes. Even I had never healed this quickly before.
You’ll never make it through that portal, love.
“Leave me alone!” She limped faster trying to run until her legs finally started working.
You’ll bounce off and further injure yourself.
Calista glanced over her shoulder and nearly tripped. I gained ground.
I’ll never let you go, Cali. You promised me!
“Words of child!”
Words of a woman.
“A manipulated woman.”
I love you.
“You love yourself!”
I can’t exist without you anymore.
Her feet faltered, but she kept moving.
I can feel you, Cali! I know you love me, too.
A wall slammed between us with such force it knocked me off my feet.
“Calista!” I jumped up and sprinted as fast as I could, pulling the magic to me to blip in front of her, but it fizzled every time. So, the realm would allow me to give it to Calista within the sacred garden, but not myself?
“Get out of my life,” she panted.
“Too late. We share one.”
A whisper drifted through the garden. The ground shook, and a pulse of energy expanded outward, causing the grasses to sway. Pixies shot out of the tree in my direction. They swarmed me, and that high-pitched whine began. I gripped the sides of my head as a ward popped up around me and threw myself against it, breaking its hold. They flew off to join Calista as I stumbled toward her, but I didn’t make it in time. The portal rippled as they slipped inside.
I approached it with uncertainty. For the first time, not only could I feel the realm, but I could also hear the song for what it truly was. Crystalline and sharp, the mesmeric resonance trilled through me and strummed my life source. Gone was the emptiness and disconnectedness. I was one with… everything.
Faery was here, and I wanted all of it.
Calista
Bright sunlight blinded me as I stumbled onto the sand. Crossing the portal was discombobulating. I cupped my eyes and took in my surroundings as the sound of rushing water met my ears. A smile spread over my face, splitting the cracks in my lips farther, and tears rolled down my burnt cheeks when I saw the ocean. I didn’t know where I came out at, but it looked like home. I needed to find a phone and call Kaiden. He would come get me. We’d form a plan as I healed and go find Gina.
I spun around when I felt Astaroth behind me. He stood at the portal, gazing past me with childlike awe. Then, his features tightened, and he started yelling. I jumped back when he hit the portal and vanished only to reappear a moment later and do it again. He couldn’t cross the barrier. A weight lifted from my shoulders. I broke our oath. He couldn’t come for me again. That’s why he didn’t want me to cross the portal to begin with, because if I did, he couldn’t bring me back.
I stared at him on the other side, frantic for me to return to him. My heart ached, but now it could finally connect all the pieces and heal all the hurt he had caused.
The surface rippled as I stepped up to it, crisp and clear like the ocean waters rushing up on the shore. “If only it could’ve been different,” I whispered as his mouth moved in desperate silent pleas. “Goodbye, Roth.”
I turned to leave only to hit a brick wall. Arms wrapped around me to catch my fall and rubbed against the still healing parts of my skin. I shrieked in agony and tried to push away, but they didn’t let go. My heart nearly exploded when I looked up.
A man nearly the size of Astaroth held me tight. He moved his head and blocked the sun. His hair was lighter, golden even in the sunlight, and his skin was that of a bronze god. As his cold, electric blue eyes met mine, I knew exactly who he was.
The man who killed my father and took Gina.
His head twitched in that alienesque way when his gaze snapped to Astaroth. They stared each other down in a silent standoff.
“Mother will love this,” his voice tinkled in my ears.
Before I could question what he meant, the beach disappeared, and I was deposited onto cool, white marble with gold veins. The room spun along with my stomach as I tried to get my bearings. My vision swung from double to single as I swayed on my feet. He held me in place to keep me from falling over.
A woman descended the stairs from an opulent throne. Her presence demanded attention, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Regalness emanated from her as she glided silently toward me, her gown flared out in a train behind her and followed her graceful movements. Her crown didn’t even teeter on her head. She seemed to float as she moved in a circle around me, appraising me for the prey I was.
Cool fingers gripped my chin and turned my head back and forth. All my pain ceased. My skin didn’t burn or feel chapped and dry. My hair didn’t feel like straw. The bottoms of my feet felt warm and smooth against the cold marble. I felt better than I’d ever felt.
I couldn’t help but smile in relief. She latched onto it with one of her own.
“I have something that belongs to you.”
The man who brought me here appeared next to her with a body cradled to his chest.
“Gina!” I reached out for her, but the woman stepped between us.
Her smile didn’t seem as kind anymore. It twisted to one side in a cunning curl. “You have something that belongs to me.”
The pendant. That’s what put all these events into motion. I resisted the urge to touch it as it hung silent around my neck. I prayed it remained that way and feigned ignorance. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t play coy.” She floated toward me, and I stepped back. I knew what Astaroth was capable of and wanted no part of it. “I propose a trade.”
I had jumped from the frying pan into the fire.
To be continued…