Chapter 14
Chapter fourteen
The sun, lowering over the horizon, illuminated Archer’s sprawled body on the couch.
He’d been asleep for almost two days. Blanket twisted between his legs, a light snore escaped his nose as his shoulders twitched.
Bridget hovered over him and hoped it was a sign he was waking up soon.
Stellan, along with Alexia, paced the porch, eager to leave and change their lives forever.
Well, Bridget suspected she might be the only one concerned with that second part.
The weight of both her past and future twisted her stomach, barely allowing her to sit down.
Or eat. Nylah, now awake and stuffing stale cereal down her throat, tapped on her watch.
“Didn’t Yogi Bear’s nemesis out there say he would be awake by now?” she asked between full bites.
Bridget tried to keep a straight face. “I dare you to call him that to his face.”
Narrowing her eyes, Nylah hopped off the kitchen counter and pulled Bridget’s phone out of her purse. “I’ll even show him. Based on the lack of television or anything remotely entertaining in this cabin, I doubt he would even understand the reference.”
“How do you even know who Ranger Smith is?” Bridget asked, then teasingly added, “Besides, aren’t you even a little afraid he might retaliate with some crazy mind magic?”
“Brenda was obsessed with that movie.” Nylah shuddered. “And if I understood all the mumbo jumbo you told me this morning correctly, he’s not the first Tuathan I’ve dealt with.”
When Nylah accidentally slammed the cabin door shut a little too hard, Archer jumped.
Almost falling off the couch, he cursed and squeezed his forehead, squinting as he gathered his bearings and fought to keep his eyes open.
Finally. The sheer amount of relief hammering through her body, though, almost brought her to knees.
Rushing over to him, Bridget handed him a glass of water.
Archer downed it in one gulp. Wiping his mouth with his forearm, he said, “Your boyfriend is a dick.”
“I know.” Bridget sighed, not having the heart to tell him about the marriage that technically still existed. Especially when she was still trying to come to terms with it herself.
Pinching the bloody rag they had used to clean his face between his fingers, he grimaced. “I was hoping it was a bad dream, but this crick in my neck is definitely real.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Bridget caught Stellan watching them from the window. “Look…”
Archer followed her gaze. “Please tell me you didn’t make a deal. You’re prone to those kinds of reckless decisions.”
“No deals,” Bridget replied, giving him a half-hearted glare.
“According to Stellan, Cade used blood magic to get inside your head and Marin took the consequences. He says she needs him. Not only that, but I think there’s other things going down in Elyria he’s not being upfront about.
Not yet, anyway. He’s ready to head there right now. ”
“And you’re going with him.”
A statement, not a question. Bridget gripped his empty cup in her hands, her knuckles white against the glass. “Nylah still needs to be cured. He says he’ll keep her healthy until we can get to Andarre. And I…”
Bridget’s throat tightened. She couldn’t explain the pull to return to Elyria, despite knowing the fight that awaited her there.
Not to anyone. Not even to herself. Ever since she’d returned to the human realm, memories intact, it was almost like she’d been waiting for it to happen.
Living a half-life until the day she could. Guilt shivered up her spine.
“I know you don’t want to go back. You’re from here and that world already took too much from you,” she said. “I’m not going to ask you to come with us, even though Nylah would miss you.”
And me, but the words got stuck in her throat. Bridget had a feeling he knew anyway.
“Stellan wanted to leave days ago, but I made him stay until you were awake. Just in case. If this is goodbye, though… I understand. We won’t be mad at you. It’s your choice.”
Archer sat up and leaned his elbows against his knees as he silently processed her words.
For a long moment, he hung his head and stared at the ground before he returned her anxious gaze with a resigned smirk.
“I’ve spent my life running. It’s time to stop.
Besides, someone’s going to need to babysit the little squirt when you reunite with lover boy. ”
Bridget punched him on the arm before she squeezed her arms around his neck. “Thank you,” she whispered, nose stinging as she tried to hold back the liquid threatening to spill from her eyes.
“Ouch. There’s no need for violence, I already agreed to go,” Archer quipped. “Besides, your life would be boring without me.”
Rolling her eyes, Bridget used his shoulders to heave herself off the couch. “That’s not true,” she said, throwing his jacket at him. After the last seventy-two hours, she wished that was the case.
“Don’t lie to me, Bridget,” Archer said. “You’re terrible at it.”
Bridget gave him the middle finger before dragging him outside.
Cold air nipped her nose and the frozen porch threatened to trip her.
Stellan, leaning against his truck, gave her an impatient stare as Nylah rambled about something on her phone beside him.
When her sister noticed them coming toward her, she squealed and launched herself at Archer.
“I knew you would come with us,” she said. “At least you get my jokes.”
“Is that what those were?” Stellan muttered under his breath.
From the corner of the porch, Alexia glowered. “Great. Another body to slow us down on our journey.”
Archer rubbed the top of Nylah’s head before he turned to Alexia with a bright grin. “You know, it’s a shame I don’t have a potion to fix that stick up your ass.”
“Enough,” Bridget hissed, stepping between them before Alexia’s tense form reached Archer. Glancing back at Stellan for some back up, she noticed the cloud of exhaust forming around him. “Why is the truck on?” she asked. “Isn’t the gate close enough to walk?”
Stellan let out a sharp laugh. “The Cavamynian gate is not an option. I wouldn’t be surprised if Vega, or even Deckard, have people watching it.
It’s too risky. It’s a few hours away, but I know of another one that will lead us into Kastron.
It’s close enough to the border with Elyria it won’t put us too much out of the way. ”
“Weren’t all the gates destroyed?” Bridget asked. “That’s like Elyrian History 101.”
“You can’t destroy that kind of magic. Not fully. I can make it work.”
But what would be the cost? Based on the way he avoided her eyes, Bridget had a feeling it would be hefty. Before she could help Nylah into the old truck, Archer held them both back.
“If we’re going with you, you need to tell us what we’re getting into,” he said, dark blue eyes fixed on Stellan.
“The last time I agreed to go to Elyria with someone without asking basic questions, I got into such deep shit, I thought there would never be a way out. So tell us… what does Vega want? We all know she’s a crazy Blood Witch, but why did she start this war? ”
Stellan sighed, then opened the driver door of his truck. “We don’t have time for this right now. Besides, I can’t.”
Bridget slammed the door shut again. “No, Archer’s right. We can’t just go marching into Elyria blind. I’ve been there and done that. I won’t do it again. You said you’ve had time to figure out some of what you’re missing. So try.”
For a long moment, Stellan stared at her. There was a war in his eyes, she could tell. The depth of pain and history there almost left her breathless. Bridget couldn’t imagine knowing so much, but only able to share so little. She almost said as much, but Stellan suddenly lowered his gaze.
“The four artifacts… I think that’s what Vega is after. Marin helped me figure that out a few years ago,” he said, voice gravelly. “They were created by the Tuathans thousands of years ago. An ultimate show of power. It was said that together, these artifacts could defeat any enemy.”
“Are they real? Or just some urban legend?” Archer asked.
Stellan’s demeanor darkened, telling Bridget they were very real. She asked, “What are they? And where are they now?”
“One is in Andarre, isn’t it?” Alexia asked, finally speaking up. “Growing up, I heard rumors of a powerful weapon locked in the palace. When the attacks from the sea started, people began to question why we weren’t using it.”
“You’re not wrong, but the artifacts… their magic is specific. Once they choose a master, it can only be wielded by them,” Stellan said.
An image tore through Bridget’s mind. The same one Cora had dragged to the surface when she’d gripped her thoughts.
Cade, standing beneath a cloud of dark trees, a sword blazing with light in his hand.
The vision still clung to her, stubborn and vivid, despite everything that had followed hours later. It had felt too real to dismiss.
Her pulse skidded. A memory? One that she hadn’t even realized was hers at the time? She forced out a slow breath, grounding herself. Nylah’s fingers tightened around hers, anchoring her.
"Is one of the artifacts a sword?" Bridget asked.
A little surprised, Stellan nodded.
Bridget straightened, spine locking into place. “It’s Cade,” she said, certainty cutting through the lingering panic. “That’s why this whole plan to bring us back exists, isn’t it? Because it has to be him.”
“It's been centuries and…" Frustration marred Stellan's brow as he paused. "Nothing is guaranteed."
Anticipation rushed through Bridget’s veins. “Okay, so there’s four artifacts… Vega wanted them all?” Bridget concluded. “For what? And why would she even want them if Cade controlled one of them?”
“Slow down,” Archer whispered in her ear. “Give him a chance to breathe.”