26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

E laine dashed outside when she heard the drumbeat of hooves. The second she was out the front door, she stopped. Ice slipped through her veins until tendrils curled around her heart. Alexios was alone, though he rode with a second horse.

"Where's Aya?"

Alexios dismounted. "Nora met us at the ward. Aya stayed behind to talk."

Questions bubbled to her lips, nearly spilling out when she glimpsed his shaky hands clutching at the reins. He seemed paler, unsteady on his feet in a way that made her wonder if it was a need for blood or events catching up to him. Wordlessly, she slid to his side and gently eased the reins out of his hand.

"Go to him. I'll tend to the horses."

He flashed a weak smile but offered no argument. With no word from his lips, he retreated inside. Elaine quickly set about tending to the horses; removing their gear, brushing them down, offering them some of the feed they held in the shed. The horses might graze freely among the vast woods, but she enjoyed offering them a little extra.

Once the gear was stashed away, Elaine pushed the shed door shut. With the tasks completed, her mind started to drift. Worries crept in, with thorns that pricked and raked through her body. Aya would be fine.

So why wasn't she back yet?

She started to head inside when the wind whipped up, surging against her. Strands of hair whipped at her face. She quickly tucked them behind her ear when a strange feeling tugged at her chest. Like a thread pulling from her heart, she found herself turning toward the forest. The darkness beckoned her, calling out her name.

Before she knew it, her feet were moving. Step after step until the trees and the shadows consumed her. A frosty breeze swept across her, stealing the breath from her lungs. Every instinct screamed at her to run back home. Wait for Aya. Tell her about the voice. Aya wouldn't laugh at her or mock her, but the last thing she wanted was to worry Aya. To bother the others with something she was fairly sure was all in her head.

After all, she'd known of the danger of accepting the blessings of too many gods. Was there any surprise her mind might be slipping?

She ought to stop but she couldn't. No matter how hard the urge begged her to return home, her feet refused. Deeper and deeper, she pushed into the woods. The thread tugged until her chest squeezed so tight, she wanted to stop.

Come to me…

The voice was a gentle whisper, pleading to her. A strange wave of grief gnawed at her until she felt tears prick her eyes.

Come to me, Elaine…

At the mention of her name, Elaine's legs nearly buckled. She stumbled onward, unable to stop, to ignore the voice. Blood thundered in her ears, like a storm lashing her ceaselessly, beating her into the ground. It cut at her skin, a thousand tiny daggers assaulting her.

The voice came again, this time like a crack of thunder.

FREE ME.

A shimmering figure appeared from the shadows. A woman, bound in chains. One hand stretched out. Her mouth formed a soundless scream and the pressure slammed into Elaine's mind.

DON'T TRUST HER!

Darkness swallowed her whole.

Elaine struggled awake through the syrupy darkness, squinting around through bleary eyes. It wasn't the woods that greeted her but her room. A warm body was curled up beside her, snoring softly. She blinked down at Aya's slumbering form. What the hell? How had she gotten back to her room? One moment she'd been following the voice and then there was the woman.

Then…

She shook her head. You're being a fool.

Somehow, she'd ended up back at the house and Aya must've come in. Yes, that was it. The whole incident in the woods was probably all in her head. It had to be. Because the alternative left her with more questions than she had any interest in dealing with. She had enough on her plate and contemplating she might just be losing her mind—or being called by Aurora—was a disturbing thought.

She hadn't been entirely sure but the moment in the woods cemented it. Of course, a goddess was strong enough to reach out to her. Aurora had the motive as well. She didn't know how she was meant to free her anyway, and she didn't want to unless they could figure out a way to do so without dropping the barrier and everyone dying.

Her gaze dropped to her wrist, to the mark mocking her. How something so small, so simple in its design, bound her in chains. Caught her where so many others failed. It would've made her laugh if she wasn't determined to not wake Aya.

Shaking her head, she carefully untangled herself from the furs and the arm slung across her waist. The cold wooden floor hit her bare feet, sending shivers rippling up her spine. She quickly yanked on her robe, tied it off, then padded downstairs.

In the early morning, the house seemed to breathe softly. Its own kind of gentle snoring. As she reached the kitchen and grabbed the pitcher, the walls creaked and groaned. There was no water left so she slipped into Sabra's bigger boots and headed out to the pump well. The big metal handle was icy cold in the morning, and it took several steady pumps before water finally streamed out. She filled up the pitcher and returned inside.

No one awoke as she readied a pot of tea and hung it over the cold fireplace. With a snap of her fingers, a tiny flame crackled to life. She fed it another log, gently coaxing it to life. It swelled and stirred, devouring up the thinner twigs with a voracious hunger. Once the flame burned steadily, the heat sharp against her skin, she returned to the kitchen. It took a few minutes before the water was boiling, so she added a little bag of tea and waited. She counted the minutes, just as Sabra taught her, before she took the teapot off and carefully poured herself a cup.

It felt good to be home, but she couldn't erase the unease clawing at her belly. If she closed her eyes, she swore she saw the distant clouds. Rumbling, beckoning trouble, the kind that no matter how hard she might wish it, there was no denying what lay ahead. Disaster that none of them could escape. A destiny she feared she might not escape.

She was so fucking out of her depth.

The barrier was being sustained by siphoning energy from every resident in Purgatory. If it fell, what power was in barrier would shoot back. That was what she suspected was what would kill everyone. She didn't know any spells that might circumvent it. The energy had to go somewhere but where? If she diverted it into the earth, there was no telling how much damage it would do. Hell, she wasn't even sure exactly how much magic was contained in the barrier. Was it a set amount, taking a little from everyone to keep it at a set level? Or did it grow stronger over time?

"Think any harder and you'll set the house on fire."

Elaine blinked as Aya glided forward, a little disheveled and smiling. She was wearing a loose shirt, untucked over her pants. Her wings drooped against her back, the edges brushing lazily against the floor. The sight of her, so raw and unpolished, felt like a present. Walls down, relaxed, like a mountain cat awaking from a long nap. Prowling, slinking, elegant in the dawn light seeping through the windows.

"Did I wake you?"

"No but you didn't sleep well last night. Wouldn't stop tossing and turning." Aya sunk into the lounge beside her and set her head on Elaine's lap. "Bad dream?"

"Hard to say." Elaine instinctively set to brushing her fingers through the curls, braiding them away from Aya's face. "Sorry if I kept you up."

Dark eyes shifted between worry and forced humor, like she was trying to pry the discomfort from Elaine. "Don't be. Meant I didn't have any nightmares."

She lapsed into silence, her own mood too gloomy to indulge anymore banter. Maybe last night had been all a nightmare, rather than the real world. She hoped it was the case.

Aya released a deep sigh and sat up. Her face pinched as she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "Nora said she thinks the spell we found in the ruins was for resurrection."

Elaine stilled.

"She could be lying but the look on her face…" Aya's voice trailed off.

"You believe her?"

There was a pause. "Yes."

Aya retold everything Nora said. Elaine could barely believe it. The idea anyone aside from a necromancer could bring someone back from the dead seemed impossible. No witch she'd ever met spoke of the desire. It was a practice not for their kind, no one really wanting to intrude on a practice they all believed belonged solely to Akaria—and her descendants.

One of the witches at the Arcan temple she was raised in spoke a little of necromancer beliefs. The sanctity of the heart, especially. How it was believed to be a tether to the soul. If it was used in a spell for dark magic, then she feared for the souls who had passed on. She confessed this to Aya, detailing what she knew; at the end, Aya's face darkened.

"It makes sense. Using the hearts, it would allow someone to slice open a gap between the realms, then simply snatch the one soul you needed."

"What of the three hundred? What of their souls?"

"Depends on how long they were in the afterlife but I doubt their entire spirit would come back through as well; more than likely, it'd be pieces…and without a body?" Aya's brow pinched, a look of frustration burning in her eyes. "What little I know is based off the stories passed to outsiders, some who happened to have met necromancers in their time before Purgatory."

Elaine's heart ached for Aya. She needed to push the conversation on, hoping a distraction might ease the grief in her lover's eyes.

The sight of all those bodies sparked in her mind's eye. Marisol had gone through all that effort to procure those bodies.

"Who do you think they brought back?"

Aya glanced at her. "My guess is that it's someone from the early days of Purgatory. Probably the best chance to find out wherever the goddess is being kept."

Elaine drew her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. "If that's the case, then why hasn't the barrier fallen already?"

Why weren't they all dead?

"Maybe they know the location but can't break into it. I imagine the gods probably put some strong wards on it. Now that Honoria's dead, they're short of a strong witch and I doubt Tarla is about to do it herself, let alone lend any of her kind." Aya pushed to her feet and padded into the kitchen. "It does make me fairly sure she's not the one involved. If she was, I doubt she would've shown you the murals."

Elaine squeezed her legs a little tighter. "That means they're going to come for me."

She met Aya's gaze from across the room, a silent promise burning there.

Let them try.

Confident she was able to defend herself, it warmed her to know Aya wasn't going to let anyone take her. Together, she pitied whoever tried to split them apart.

But the goddess is calling you… her inner voice whispered. She wants you to free her.

She stood up with a sigh. "I want to see Nora. If we do somehow find the goddess and free her, we need to figure out how to channel all that power back safely."

"That could be an awful lot of power," said Aya. She reached for the teapot and poured a drink. "Is there anything that could hold that much?"

Elaine hesitated. "I don't know. Maybe. Hopefully Nora has some ideas."

The quiet returned between them. Elaine's mind churned through ideas but as she stood there, she began to wonder. Think of dangerous things, ones she knew Aya would have no interest—

Suddenly, Aya was in front of her. "Don't you even think about it."

She flinched at the warning burning in her voice. "I…"

"Promise me."

"Aya—"

Aya stepped back with a hiss. "You may be a harvest witch, but you have no idea what that much power could do to you. It might kill you and before you say that I can bring you back, don't. There is no guarantee!"

The panic in Aya's voice broke something loose in Elaine. She strode forward, yanking Aya into her arms. Aya stiffened before she returned the hug, burying her face into Elaine's neck, breathing deeply. Like the scent of her might ease the terror Elaine saw clear as day. The truth was, even with Aya's ability, there was no promise of success. Her control over the shadows might be firm but her power beyond that was tenuous. Limited.

She exhaled softly and pulled back, staring deep into those eyes she could never stop loving, belonging to a woman she would burn the world for. "I promise."

It took a great deal of promising to Aya, but she was able to slip away to the Dusk Quarter. Sabra helped teleport her there, agreeing that she needed to talk to Zari, something Elaine suspected Aya probably was not thrilled about. As they walked toward the warehouse, Elaine kept glancing at her. The last time they'd been alone together it'd been so damn awkward. Sabra was so convinced Zari wasn't hiding anything, but Elaine wasn't convinced.

"I can feel you staring."

Elaine quickly looked away, pretending like the weathered buildings and drunken locals stumbling out were infinitely more interesting. "Just thinking."

"About Zari?"

Before she could stop it, she hesitated. "No.'

"Liar." As they rounded onto an empty street, Sabra stopped. "You're right though."

"About?"

"Zari." Sabra sighed. "There's so much I know they're keeping from me but no matter how much I ask, they're not telling me the truth. That's what hurts. We used to…"

The remaining words tumbled to the floor. Elaine read them as clear as day, and reached out, taking Sabra's hand for a gentle squeeze. A quiet reminder that Sabra wasn't alone, that no matter what happened between her and Zari, their friendship would remain. Regardless of frustrations and irritations. A family in all the ways that mattered.

"Do you really think Nora might have some ideas to help you?"

Elaine wrapped her arms around her waist, trying to ease the knot tightening inside her chest. "I hope so."

Because she was beginning to think there truly might only be one way to stop everyone from dying when the barrier fell.