ALORA’S PALACE
I suck in breath after breath as Caz’s ice-cold body is brought back down to the floor. Everyone in the room is in an uproar, shouting with red faces and veins bulging from their necks. They’re in delirium.
My chest grows twice as heavy as I focus on Caz’s blue body again. He was fine only a minute ago. We were on Alora’s balcony after his trip to see The Council. He gave me a protection morsel from Manx to shield us from Decius, but somehow Decius has still gotten to him. This can’t be happening. We’re supposed to be safe now. The Council gave us a bubble and gave Caz their word that Decius wouldn’t be able to come after us, so how can this be? Mournwrath can’t be taking him.
Tears blind me when I realize I’ll lose him too, just as I’ve lost everyone else. Oh, God, if I lose him on top of everyone else, I don’t know what I’ll do. I won’t want to live anymore. I’ll beg Mournwrath to take me and make it quick so I can run off into whatever afterlife Caz awaits me in.
A pair of hands grips my shoulders, and my eyes snap up to find the person their connected to. It’s when I look up that I realize I’m hyperventilating. My breaths are sharp as they fill my lungs and work twice as hard to escape.
“Willow, breathe!” Caz’s aunt and one of his closest confidants, Maeve, wraps her hands around my upper arms as she gives me a light shake. “Breathe, my dear. Breathe.”
I’m trying, but I still can’t breathe. In fact, I think trying to calm down is only making it worse. It’s as if my body knows something’s not right and that my other half is in duress.
Maeve curses beneath her breath, snatches her hands away from my shoulders, and yells, “Get us to Beatrix’s house right now! Killian, Rowan! Grab Caz’s body and let’s move!”
I’m not sure how I’m escorted out of the palace and inside the SUV with everyone else. I think Juniper, one of Caz’s cousins, helps me. It’s all a blur, really, as the tires of the SUV rip over the roads and through the forests. We rush along the tall bridge with glistening waters beneath, Rowan driving faster than he’s ever gone, and I know I’ve lost it because I’m not afraid about the bridge. The first time we went across it, I feared for my life. It was as tall as a giant, with rocky waters beneath that could likely kill you on impact. Now, I don’t care if we fly over at this point. We all may as well die without Caz because, whether he realizes it or not, he’s the core. He’s part of the reason his cousins and even Maeve have purpose and respect in Vakeeli. He’s the reason I want to live again. Without him, I’m back to square one.
My eyes drop to Caz as his head rests on my lap. His body is comparable to a slab of ice but having him near and leaving the confines of that room in Alora’s palace has calmed my breathing. His skin is pallid, dark circles forming around his eyes. The circles deepen by the second, morphing his face into a hollow version of itself. I stroke wisps of hair off his forehead as Rowan parks the car in front of Beatrix’s cabin.
Maeve is out of the vehicle in a flash. Killian snatches my back door open, and I lay Caz’s head down gently before climbing out. I stumble a bit when I’m on flat ground, and Juniper rushes my way, holding my elbow and keeping me steady.
Grabbing Caz beneath the armpits, Killian tows Caz’s body out of the truck. His feet thunk on the ground as Killian grunts and clutches him beneath his armpits. Rowan lifts Caz’s feet and he and Killian carry his body toward the stoop. Caz’s cousins and right-hand men know how to handle him.
Maeve is already at Beatrix’s door with a gun, and she swiftly kicks the door in.
“Maeve!” Alora, the queen of Vanora, yells behind me.
“BEATRIX!” Rage brews in Maeve’s voice—a rage like nothing I’ve ever heard. I suck in a breath as Alora scurries past me to reach the porch. Juniper curses and chases them, and I follow.
The inside of Beatrix’s home is dark and vacant. No candles flickering, no incense burning. The back door of her house is wide open, and a few windows in the kitchen are smashed, the moon gleaming on the sharp, jagged glass. It’s not as warm as when I first visited.
As I round the corner of the short hallway, I see Juniper and Alora are standing in a bedroom, shoulders tense and hands in front of them as they stare at Maeve. Maeve has her gun pointed at Beatrix’s face, while Beatrix sits on a lumpy bed that looks smaller than a twin with eyes full of fear.
“Please—w-what is going on?” Beatrix exclaims.
“Tell us what the hell is happening to Caspian or I’m shooting you in your bloody face!” Maeve barks at her, shoving the gun forward in warning.
“Yes, I—I can explain! Please!” Beatrix pleads, throwing her hands up.
Maeve’s thumb presses down on the gun’s hammer spur. “Speak quickly! I’m growing impatient!”
“It—it’s Decius!” Beatrix confesses.
“Decius?” Alora and Maeve ask at the same time.
“Yes! He’s returned!” Beatrix wails. “He made me lure you all here during that attack, but he told me it had to be after he saw Caz.” She shakes her head, hands trembling as she holds them in front of her. “I knew he was still out there. There were rumors amongst the other Mythics about him taking form as one of us, and when you came to me, I could feel the Cold Tether, and if I could feel it, I’m sure Decius could too. I tried getting Caz and Willow away from each other so it would weaken him—deter him, even—but it didn’t work. They fell in love, and now he’s much stronger!”
“What does he look like?” Maeve demands. “Do you know? How can we find him and make him end this?”
“He…he…um…he has snowy hair. Blends in with the Whisper Grove community. He’s older, but his face is deceiving. He appears merry and calm, but he’s not. Beneath the exterior, he’s rotten, and after encountering him, I’m certain he has all of Whisper Grove under some sort of spell.”
Beatrix’s explanation sends a shock through me. “Wait a minute.” I step next to Maeve, who side-eyes me before pointing her focus to Beatrix again. “Does the guy you’re talking about go by the name of Manx?”
“Yes!” Beatrix bobs her head. “That’s him!”
The confirmation makes my heart sink to my stomach. “Oh, my God.” No. How could Manx do this? He was our friend. He loved Caz!
“Well, he has our boy!” Maeve snaps, and she lowers her gun, but only to grip Beatrix by the upper arm and yank her off the bed. Beatrix cries out in pain as she grips the area where she was stabbed by the men from the attack…the men who I now realize were probably under a spell of his.
“Maeve, we should handle this a different—”
“Alora, I have a great respect for you, but I would encourage you not to fuck with me right now,” Maeve snarls.
Alora backs away, blinking in shock, and Juniper cuts her a sympathetic look before following her mother out of the bedroom. She drags Beatrix by the arm until they’ve made it to her tiny living room. When I round the corner, I spot Rowan and Killian beside Caz’s body, which is now more blue than white.
“He’s dying here, Mum!” Killian shouts.
Maeve releases Beatrix’s arm and shoves her forward. “Do something right now. Make this stop.”
“I—I can’t! I’m nowhere near as powerful as Decius! He’s been alive since the beginning of time!”
Maeve presses the gun to the side of Beatrix’s head. “Do. Something. Now! I will not ask again!”
Beatrix panics, dropping to her knees next to Caz. She breathes raggedly, wincing as she surveys Caz’s body from head to toe. As she does, one of her brows inclines and she shudders a breath. “These veins,” she whispers.
“What about them?” I ask.
She traces a hand over his body, hisses, then jerks it away just as quickly. “I—I’m afraid I cannot touch him. It seems Decius has a Mythic repellent in his body. If I touch him, it may alert him and cause him to work faster.” She points to a shelf, at a set of vials. “Give me that slim, clear vial with the gold capsules inside it.”
Rowan moves quickly, snatching up the bottle and tossing it to Beatrix. She takes it, pulling out a capsule and splitting it apart with thin, shaky fingers. As she does, glowing gold dust sprinkles out of it, and she offers one half to me.
I can’t help my frown. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
“You’re his mate, and Decius hasn’t gotten to you yet. You’re still connected. If you take this, there’s a possibility it’ll temporarily release whatever hold Decius has on him.” She glances at Caz again. “Right now, it seems Decius has his mind. He hasn’t gotten to his body yet because he’s still breathing. Here.” She shoves it in my hand, and I cling to it. “Swallow it.”
“What will it do?” Juniper demands.
“It will cause her great pain at first, as she absorbs both Tethers. Once you swallow it, Willow, you must touch him. Hold him, so that the veins on his body are shifted to yours. You do this, and the Tether will break…but only for a night.”
“How can we trust her?” Killian growls.
“We can’t,” says Maeve. “But we have no other choice. Willow, swallow it.”
I don’t hesitate bringing the half capsule to my mouth. This is for Caz. I’ll take his pain if it means saving him. The capsule is bitter and acidic going down, but I swallow, then I lie beside Caz, wrapping my arms around him.
Beatrix backs away, as well as everyone else, and I close my eyes, waiting for the pain to steal me away. At first, I don’t feel a thing, only the iciness of Caz’s body as I cling to him. But then a sharpness pierces my head, like a knife has sliced through my skull and is splitting it in two. I whimper as a dozen visions flood me. Then a million more knife-like slices drag across my body, up my arms, my legs, my chest, and as they do, I let out a bloodcurdling scream.
“Goodness! What is it doing to her?” Juniper wails.
“Leave her! You can’t touch her!” Beatrix shouts.
“It’s going to kill her!” Rowan barks.
“No, it won’t! This only means it’s working!”
Everyone goes quiet as my screams engulf the room. I want to open my eyes, beg someone to take this pain away, but I don’t. I cling to Caz, who still lies frozen beside me, and scream until my voice is hoarse.
His memories run through my mind at warp speed. I can’t grasp any of them quickly enough. They coil around my brain, toying with me, flickering by like old movie films. There’s so much sound, so much color, so many voices.
And then it all stops.
