Chapter 60
Sixty
Jada
Panicking, I ask, “What does that mean? Do I look the same? Did I die? What is going on?” My voice is shrill, and I scramble in attempts to sit up and away from Elio. Wobbling, I make it to my feet before Elio’s hands are on my hips, stabilizing me.
“Woah, woah. Breathe, Jada. It’s okay,” his voice is a balm, guiding me to a more centered place. Our eyes connect as he kneels before me, looking like a sculpted god. “You’re okay,” he murmurs.
My shaking hands found purchase holding onto his shoulders.
Breaking our connection, my eyes trail to my trembling arms. Inhaling on a sharp gasp, I take in the whirling swirls twisting delicately up my wrists and forearms. They’re a shade lighter than my skin—barely noticeable—yet beautiful in nature, twirling up and under my sleeves in a dancing, starburst pattern.
“What is this? What happened to me?” I sway, dizzied and fatigued all at once.
“I think you were bestowed with a gift to change the worlds. How do you feel?”
I soak in the image of Elio kneeling before me, utterly transfixed by the way his strong jaw works with each word, how his hands flex against my body.
“Jada?”
“I feel… tingley.”
Elio’s lips purse together in amusement before a laugh sputters out, his eyes twinkling. “Tingley?”
I swat his shoulder playfully, “Yes, tingley.” Now that I bring my attention to it, my body feels hyperaware, as if thousands of tiny flarelets skittered across my skin.
“Here, please sit.” He tugs on my hips before releasing his hold and rummaging through his pack. “We should replenish your strength—that had to have been some ordeal you went through.”
I sit back down, gratefully accepting the water jug and bar. “It was pain and freedom and loss and joy. It was judgment and relief. I don’t know how to explain it, I know that doesn’t make much sense at all…”
“No, I think I understand. It sounds hauntingly beautiful.”
“Yes, exactly.” I put the water jug down, looking into the kind face that hangs on my every word. “And there were these eyes. They were trying to talk to me, but I couldn’t understand. There was another voice, a different voice, speaking to me too… I can’t recall what it was telling me, though.”
“You weren’t alone. There’s comfort in that.”
“I suppose there is.” I take a bite of the oat bar as Elio scrubs his face in exhaustion. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”
He shakes his head, looking off into the distance. “You were here, and then you were just… gone. Then, when I pulled you out, I swear you weren’t breathing. You were deathly pale. But then you came back to me. It was terrifying. I felt so lost, untethered almost, as bizarre as that sounds.”
“I felt lost, too,” I admit.
Finally, Elio looks at me once more. “You have a sparkle about you.”
“I’m sparkly?” The teasing causes me to grin unabashedly.
“And then there’s your hair…”
I stop breathing as my hands fly to my pony. “I swear on all the stars, if my pink is gone—”
My hair is the same texture, the same length… but the silver has disappeared, as if my entire head had been taken over by delicate, pastel pink. “Does this mean…” I stop, my heart thumping erratically in my chest. “Am I not human anymore?”
Elio hesitates. “You don’t feel human to me.”
“What do I feel like?”
All hints of amusement gone from his face, his icy eyes bare into mine. “A goddess.”
We’ve remained in this peaceful in-between, surrounded by the stars and silence. “What happens now?”
“Well, I, for one, could use a shower.”
“You can’t use your magic to make us nice and clean? You’ve done a great job taking care of our other needs.”
“I could—but it’s still not as satisfying as sitting in the steaming water.
” I wince at the reference, thinking of the burning pool of fire I recently descended into.
“Sorry—that was insensitive.” I wave him off, not really caring too deeply.
A relaxing shower does sound nice, after all.
“But thank you—for appreciating the little things. It’s easy to expend our energies on others to improve their days or ease a situation. It often goes unnoticed, though.”
“The fact that I haven’t needed to use a restroom or sleep is not lost on me.” I chuckle. “Thank you, truly.”
A blush creeps up his neck, working its way to flush his cheeks. “Thank you for seeing me.”
“Yeah, of course.” I finish my bar, wiping my hands against my legs. “Can I see the tome again? How am I supposed to know what comes next?”
Elio rummages through his bag before pulling out the bound parchment, the deckled edges calling my name. He hands it over with a smile. “Only one way to find out.”