Chapter 33
Zephyr
Evangeline sleeps through the night, not stirring once. I wake up multiple times despite the fact I’m exhausted. I’m too high-strung to get more than two hours of sleep at a time. I constantly wake up to check on her.
In sleep, she looks so serene and at peace. Seeing her in the tub, small and fragile, broke something in me. Something I have been trying not to feel since Evangeline came into our lives. I shouldn’t have left her for as long as I did, but time got away from me as I sat with my grief.
Since I watched the destruction of my family, I swore I would never love more than one person.
That I can only be trusted with one other heart.
No one has made me rethink that decision like Evangeline has.
She makes me feel as if I could love another without breaking the bonds we have forged together.
This way of thinking is dangerous, but at the same time, I fear I may be missing out on another chance at happiness.
These are not the thoughts I want to have this early in the morning.
Leaving Evangeline to sleep, I slip out of bed, careful not to jostle and wake her.
The moment I pull away, she pulls the blanket tightly around herself and curls up into the pillow.
I allow myself a moment to appreciate her sleeping form before making my way next door to check on Niko.
Finnick stayed with him last night, so I know he’s in good hands, but the tension in my chest won’t go away until I see him myself.
I stop at the door that connects our room to Evangeline’s old room.
Laughter wafts through the wall, and I push open the door to find Niko sitting up in bed.
Finnick is in the middle of an animated story about his encounters with a feisty pixie woman he’s been not-so-secretly crushing on for the last few months.
“…and then she throws the damn flowerpot at my head,” Finnick says, flailing his arms as if providing a reenactment. “Calls me a ‘gilded dandelion with a superiority complex.’ Can you believe that?”
Niko chuckles weakly, the sound more breath than voice, but it’s something.
He’s sitting up today, propped against the headboard with pillows and a blanket wrapped around his waist. The dark circles under his eyes are still there, but the feverish flush is gone from when he was initially cursed.
Small victories. He isn’t cured, and won’t be cured unless we can figure out a way to restore our food source, but he no longer looks like he’s at Death’s door.
“She’s not wrong,” I mutter, folding my arms, catching the attention of both of them.
Finnick looks personally offended. “I’ll have you know I am nothing like a dandelion. I’m a daffodil at worst. Maybe a snapdragon, but definitely something regal and a little dangerous.”
“Dangerous,” I deadpan.
“I’ll bite you.”
Niko laughs again, then coughs. I’m next to him in an instant, but he waves me off with a weak flick of his fingers. “Don’t stop. You’re distracting me from dying.”
“You’re not dying,” I say with a little more force than necessary.
His smile fades. “Yet.” It’s his horrid attempt at joking, but I don’t find it funny.
Before I can answer, the door creaks open behind us. The shift in the air is instant. Finnick stops mid-grin, and even Niko straightens a little.
Lady Thalia enters the room, bringing an uneasiness with her. Her puffy eyes and the dark circles underneath tell me she hasn’t slept much. She’s in deep violet robes today, her silver hair braided tight over one shoulder, her expression carved from stone. In her arms is an old, worn book.
“Morning,” Finnick says, too cheerfully. “You look lovely, Mother.”
“Save it,” Thalia says sharply, and even Finnick winces. The curt tone is unusual coming from her, and even she realizes the coldness in it. “I’m sorry, my boy. I’m afraid I’m not in a great mood.”
She looks at Niko first, then at me, then gestures to the low table near the window. Without a word, she sets down a heavy, leather-bound book. I recognize it—one of her private grimoires she keeps in her library.
She nods toward Niko. “Have you had any change?”
“He sat up on his own this morning,” Finnick says. “Color’s better. He laughed at my funny story. That has to count for something.”
Niko groans. “Can we not discuss me as if I’m already dead?”
Lady Thalia only frowns before turning her back to us. She opens the book instead. “Death waits for no one, my son.”
“Niko won’t die.” Evangeline’s voice drifts in from behind me, startling everyone in the room. I didn’t even hear her come in.
I turn. She’s wrapped in a blanket, looking more alert than she did last night. Dark circles remain under her eyes. She could benefit from a few more hours of sleep, but I doubt she’ll listen to reasoning.
“Have you found out any more information about the well?” she asks. “I can try to remember more from what I saw.”
“There’s no need for that, my dear,” Thalia replies. “I’ve been searching for this page since last night. It confirmed what I feared.”
Evangeline steps farther into the room. I catch her arm and steady her when she wobbles slightly.
Her fingers squeeze mine once before falling away.
Last night comes back to me, taking care of her in the bathtub.
She appeared so small then. Breakable. The need to protect her burns strong inside me, giving me an outlet for my grief.
Lady Thalia’s gaze sweeps across all of us.
“That well you saw—it isn’t just cursed.
It’s a prison. A vault for magic older than even our ancestors.
They locked spells inside it—things too dangerous to destroy, too powerful to leave loose.
It was meant to stay hidden deep inside the earth forever, but it appears that is no longer the case. ”
Niko’s breathing grows shallow. “The sickness… it came from that thing?”
His mother nods once. “The curse is rooted in the well. It bends to the will of the Nephilim because they are in possession of it. It’s how they are able to spread the sickness, I’m certain.”
Finnick mutters something under his breath that sounds like, “Of course it fucking is.”
“There has to be a way to undo it,” I say. Because there’s no damn way I'm living without Niko. He’s my future. Him and Evangeline.
“There is.” Thalia’s voice is grave. “But the cost is great and not one you’ll like.”
She lifts the book, turning it toward us. The illustration is old, sketched in ink and gold leaf, hard to decipher due to the age of the book. Miraculously, it held up, depicting a circular stone well with runes crawling up the sides like veins. My stomach turns—this can’t mean anything good.
“This magic was created with blood from our ancestors. Human ancestors,” she says. “To unmake it requires an equal sacrifice.”
“What kind of sacrifice?” Niko asks, though I think he already knows. The knot in my chest pulls taut, not wanting to hear Lady Thalia’s next words, but knowing we have no other choice and are quickly running out of time.
“An unselfish act of love. A willing one. Given freely.” She meets his eyes and then faces the rest of us. “I believe, a human sacrifice.”
Silence crashes over the room like thunder. Everyone wears similar expressions of shock. All except Evangeline, who seems resigned to the news. As if she had known this all along. For some reason, that only makes me angrier.
“No.” Niko’s voice is rough, raw. “No, absolutely not.” He pushes himself forward, like he means to get up, but I’m already there, grabbing his shoulders and forcing him back down. He’s shaking with fury. Or fear. Probably both.
“Stay down,” I tell him, firm but quiet.
“She’s not doing this,” he spits, looking directly at Evangeline.
Evangeline hasn’t moved. She stands in the middle of the room like she’s not really there. Like she’s watching from a distance. I want her to scream, or at the very least rebuke Lady Thalia’s words. Anything but this quiet acceptance she possesses.
“I didn’t say I would,” she murmurs.
“You’re thinking it,” Niko says.
Evangeline doesn’t deny it. Finnick flies over to her, hovering just inches from her face. “You can’t go,” he says.
“I won’t let her go,” Niko growls.
“Neither will I,” I echo. The words are out before I can stop them, but they are true. She will not sacrifice herself to this well. Not even to save Niko. I don’t give a damn if I’m deciding for her again. “There has to be another way. This can’t be our only option, Lady Thalia.”
Evangeline finally looks at me. Her eyes are wide but not afraid. Just tired and resigned. “It’s not up to you.”
“You’re not—” I take a breath, having to curb my anger. “You aren’t dying for us. We’ll find another way.”
Lady Thalia closes the book with a snap, causing Evangeline to jump back. “There might be another option I just read about. A tonic. Something to suppress the curse for a short time. But it’s only temporary and might not even work. It has to be poured directly into the well.”
“We’ll take it,” Niko says immediately.
“It won’t stop the curse, son,” she warns. “It might buy us more time.”
“Good. Then we have time to find a real solution. Anything other than my mate sacrificing herself. Ender didn’t bring her here to die. She’s not dying for me,” Niko continues. “Not for anyone. For as long as I breathe, I will make certain of that.”
“You’re both assuming I want to die,” Evangeline says quietly, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes.
Every part of me screams to reach out for her, but I stay rooted next to Niko.
Her voice doesn’t rise, but it cuts deep.
“I didn’t say that. However, whatever happens, it’s going to be my choice.
My choice isn’t to die, but I will do what I can to save those I love. ”