Chapter 41

The debris settlesand the tremors halt. Frozen, I survey the narrow ravine that marks the place where the earth ate Liam. His root system remains intact, holding the crumbling rocks and fragile dunes together. Aurora, her stoic composure shattered, sobs uncontrollably. Wade tries to console her, but she wrenches away.

Fueled by adrenaline, I holler into a crack in the ground. Wade tries to pull me off the unstable mound of rocks. "Fuck off, damn it!" I say, and tugging free, continue calling down into the hole. Aurora leaps onto the rubble and begins to dig. "Liam? Can you hear us?" we shout.

First, silence. Then, "Yes," comes a muffled reply.

Of course. He can't die. Which means he's trapped, condemned to suffer. Like women possessed, we claw at the rocks and dirt. Wade joins in, but our combined efforts are pointless. We'd need a backhoe to get him out.

"Go while you can!" Liam calls from inside the rockfall.

"We have to go, Rosalie," Wade says. "Da's coming back for us. I can feel it."

I wheel around to face him. "Are you just saying that, or do you know something I don't?" Aurora glares, too, looking like she might tear Wade's throat out.

"My bones ache from it," he says. "Ever since I was a kid, I learned to track his movements. For self-protection."

I study him. Behind the rueful smile, there is true pain. Maybe he is telling the truth. "Why, Wade? What does he want? He runs this place. Why destroy it?"

Wade regards me for a beat. "Da never forgets a slight. He hates the Council. He hates this island and everyone on it. Including me. But he's not trying to destroy it. He's trying to reshape it."

"Whatever. I'm not leaving here until we get Liam out," I say.

Wade shrugs. "Suit yourself. He's just toying with you anyway. He could have wiped us out if he felt like it."

We shove more rocks around, but our efforts get us nowhere. Frantic, I clamber down the sloping rock ledge.

"We should go. He's safer in there," Wade says, following me. "We'll never get him to the Garden. Trust me, if Da wanted to take Liam down, he would have. We can come back with salttain for him."

"Shut up!" Aurora screams at him. "Shut the fuck up!"

"Listen to her," I say and swipe at my sweaty face. I'm tired of his voice, of his presence. But I have to see for myself that Liam is all right.

Aurora and I pick our way over the rockfall and find a small opening between the piles. With strength I never knew I had, we heave boulders out of the way and call into the dark space. Liam's low voice echoes back to us, amplified by the cavern's echoes. "Leave me here!"

I press my palm to the rock. Vibrations eddy and swirl around his living form. I can sense that he's close.

"Hang on," I say. "I'm coming in."

"The ground is unstable. You have to go!"

"You wait here and keep watch," I say to Aurora. "And don't kill Wade."

Aurora bares her teeth, scoops up a sharp rock, and snarls at Wade. He steps back.

I slither inside the cramped space on my stomach. Guided by the stone's vibrations, I crawl until I locate the massive boulder that has Liam pinned. I can't budge it. Though I can't see the damage to his legs, I know the injuries are dire.

"I'll get you out," I blubber, hating my lies. "We'll get you to the Garden. We'll get some salttain there and…"

"Impossible to kill me," Liam grunts between agonized breaths. "Go…while you can. The roots. I-I can't keep this up forever. Save my sister. Save Lila. Save the island."

"I can't leave you like this. You're in too much pain."

"Pain means life," he says. "Never meant for things to happen…the way they did. Go!"

Stalling, I'm grateful I can't see the wreckage of his ruined legs. I reach for his face and feel the wetness there. "I never expected it either. I promise I'll be back with a truckload of salttain for you. We lost Tyler. But there's no way I'm losing you."

My heart shatters at the thought of leaving him, but there"s little else I can do. I press a kiss to his forehead, run my fingers through his damp curls, and, choking back my sobs, crawl out of the cave and into the night.

Aurora and Wade are staked out like guards, positioned yards apart. The battered landscape grumbles below, hinting at more chaos to come.

"How is he?" Aurora asks.

"Alive. But I can"t get him out," I admit, my voice trembling.

Aurora gnaws on her lip, her gaze fixed on the sea. "There's nothing more I can do for Lila right now, either. I can"t save either of them if I"m buried beside my brother. If there's any place on Salttain that's safe from Randy, it's the Garden. So yeah, let's go and hope we can keep that bastard off our trail."

"What about my dad, back at your house? I don't know if the wards will hold. Randy…"

Aurora shoots me a glare, cutting me off. "Maintaining those wards, all the wards on the island—ensuring they repel anyone who has no right to discover things—that was my job. And I excelled at it until your overwhelming powers came into play. Trust me, they'll hold for everyone else. Even Randy. Your da is safe. For now."

There's a sharp shake and a narrow crevasse splits the ground nearby. We jump away just in time and without further word, set off at a clip, following Liam's living web.

"Stay close to me," Wade says. "I can help us avoid new bog-holes."

I cast a doubtful look at Aurora, but she rolls her eyes and shrugs. I tear away the bottom half of my ruined gown and we set off in search of Evan and the Garden, trailing Wade, somehow managing to evade the craters, ravines, and putrid swamps that appear like boils on diseased flesh.

As dawn breaks, we reach a place where the explosions have faded. Tapering to fine hairs, Liam's root system has not only held the ground together but guided us to an unspoiled and protected meadow where the thrum of the earth's life force flows strong. We sit on the grass, winded and parched, slaking our thirst from a small, sweet stream.

"The Garden is close," Wade says, finally. "I'm sure of it."

I study him. His eyes look sincere, but there's a hollow tone in his voice. A sense of disquiet lingers, like I've missed something.

Aurora shoots me a look and speaks, menace in her voice. "This is the end of the road for you, Lambert. You can run off now."

Wade squints at her, his face scrunched up as if he might cry. "And go where?"

"I don't know," Aurora says. "Whatever hole you crawled out of? You did your part. I can take it from here."

"We've been going in circles," Wade says. "Do you really think you can find the Garden on your own, with the energies as disturbed as they are?"

"It doesn't want you to find it," she says. "The Garden is protecting itself."

"You might be onto something," I say. "You've been helpful, Wade. But I think you should go."

"It's not safe out here," Wade whines.

"Go back to town. See if you can make yourself useful. We'll be fine."

Wade cradles his head in his hands. "No one wants me there, Rosalie. No one wants me anywhere."

I sigh. "Fine. Stay. If we can't locate the Garden, then maybe I can find some salttain out here to bring back to Liam. You can stand guard while I work."

Aurora is on her feet, fists clenched. "Are you crazy?"

I let out a long sigh. "Probably."

Aurora's mouth curls up into a sneer. "You're too soft, Rosalie. If I had my blade, I'd slash his throat."

Wade recoils, shifting back along the grass, distancing himself from her. "I sense the Garden is near, Rosalie. Maybe if you try, you'll feel it, too. You can gather all the salttain you need for Liam. I'll wait outside, then guide you both back to the rockfall. After that, if you want, I'll leave."

I chew on my lip. This scenario doesn't feel right, yet I can't help but sympathize with him.

"I don't know about this," Aurora murmurs.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," I say. "Wade despises Randy, too. Besides, there's safety in numbers. We can't afford to be picky with everything going to hell all around us."

Aurora glares at me, shaking her head, as I squat and plunge my hands into the soil. Slender strands intertwine in the dirt, creating a delicate network. Liam's handiwork. His root system is anchoring the entire island, throbbing with vitality. Sending me a message.

Energy pulses outwards, its luminosity guiding me towards its origin. I lurch to my feet and sprint across the meadow, Aurora shadowing me, always watchful. Wade trails a safe distance behind, like a stray puppy who's afraid to get too close.

There's no sign of the Garden, but in the scant moonlight, I spot what looks to be a small mound in the earth. On closer inspection I see it's a body, curled on its side.

"Holy shit!" I dart toward it. A veil of straight hair obscures the face but identifies its owner just the same.

"Evan," I whisper. No rise and fall of his chest. His features are placidly beautiful, except for the part of his skull that's crushed. The dark liquid pooling beneath him makes it clear that this time, Evan's not waking up.

I ball my fists and scream at the sky, anger pulsing through every nerve and vein. Not this. Please, not this. How do I tell Liam he's lost two brothers in the space of one month? And I haven't even told Aurora any of it. "You idiot. You stupid, stupid idiot! We saved you and you had to go and die anyway!"

Aurora rushes over and examines Evan"s body, then shakes her head sorrowfully. I turn to Wade, my face hot with grief and rage. I see his fear. Wade is afraid of me. Good.

"You want to be useful?" I say through clenched teeth. "Help us get him to the Garden."

Her cheeks wet with tears, Aurora shoots me a questioning look. I shake my head firmly. Evan is too heavy for just the two of us. Together, we lift his body and carry him solemnly through the meadow like pallbearers. I follow the vibrations in the earth, convinced they're coming from Liam, guiding me to the Garden from his rocky tomb. He must be suffering untold pain, yet still trying to help us even now. Tears threaten as I think of him trapped and in agony, but somehow finding the strength to reach out to me. I blink them back, steeling my resolve. We have to honor Evan's life by laying him to rest in the sanctuary of the Garden. It's what Liam would want us to do.

But it's not only his energy traveling along the root network.

It's Tyler's.

"Fionn," I whisper. "That's your name here."

I swipe at my face and try to focus. After a steady climb up a hill, I marvel at the distinctive rock spine that girds the Garden.

Look, Rose.

Fionn's voice.

We're not even close to the place I originally encountered the Garden. But here it is, nowhere and everywhere at once.

It moves. Like the salttain, the Garden is sentient. Not only is it warded, but it can disappear and materialize where it needs to be.

We hike to the summit and reach the overlook. The Garden, its lush plumes overflowing the brick wall, and the gleaming stone amphitheater sprawl below us.

"Wow," Wade says, "it's everything I heard it was."

Every muscle and sinew is telling me to let Wade stay behind with Evan and for Aurora and me to approach the Garden ourselves. But I can't bear the thought of leaving Evan alone with Wade. "You've never seen this before?"

Wade's eyes are misty. His voice cracks. "We're all taught about Gardens. There's one on every outpost of the People. This is the only one on our archipelago. Da, Brody, and me used to go on night raids to find it. Liam always knew his way and when I got older, I followed him. But it never let me get this close."

"You're not, by chance, leading your da here now, are you?"

Wade's mouth falls open. "Hell no. Never. Why would I do that?"

"To help him like a good son?"

Wade shakes his head violently, tears brimming. His voice is choked. "He hates me. I'm a nothing. A failure. I want to stop him before he destroys everything."

"Don't ever believe a Lambert," Aurora says with a sneer.

His pain and rage feel sincere. Still, I keep my response cold and blunt. "Well, congrats to you. Let's go."

Step by careful step, we carry Evan's limp form down the narrow passage cut through rock that leads to the warded amphitheater. We reach the bottom, the smooth stone engraved with glyphs gleaming in the moonlight.

"Help us bring him to the wall, Wade," I say. "Then you can wait out here. Hopefully, I can harvest enough salttain in there to bring back for Liam."

Wade nods, puppylike, and helps us heft the body.

"You'd better keep your distance," I say as we approach the Garden's walls. "I'm not sure what will happen to you if you get close while I do this."

My heartbeat quickens as I remember when Liam and I pressed our palms against the brick, and the Garden unfolded before us. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, the symbols on my palm throbbing, but instead of feeling the familiar surge of power, there's an "oof" sound as Aurora crumples to the ground. Next, a searing pain tears through my back.

I whirl around. Wade is holding the knife, now stained with my blood, that he's thrust into me. Aurora lies unconscious, blood oozing from a wound in her stomach. I curse my willingness to trust. Once a monster, always a monster.

Pain screams through every nerve as blood soaks the remnants of my party dress. "Why, Wade?" I gasp, my legs buckling and forcing me to my knees. Pain shoots up from the injury, radiating through my spine and into my skull.

Below the wound, there's a concerning numbness. I can't move or feel my legs.

I stare up at Wade's filthy face. He's brandishing the knife, tears and laughter warring for dominance, his eyes glowing a sick vivid green. Wade is completely unhinged, destroyed by his father's cruelty and still under his spell.

And I'm going to die because of it.

"I told you I wanted to defeat Da," he says softly, like a parent crooning a baby to sleep. The knife hovers near my throat. "I knew you'd feel sorry for me, Rosalie. Da's using you. You're the one he's been searching for."

I fight to stay conscious. To think. This time, Liam isn't coming to save me with a dose of nightberries. This time it's just me and the Garden.

"The minute you set foot on this island, he threw me to the wolves. And now," Wade says, eyes blazing in his tear-streaked face, "I'm going to rob him of his secret weapon." He glares at me, his target. "You!"

As he lunges, his knife aimed at my throat, I manage to push myself up slightly. With one hand, I press against the brick and with the other, I seize his hand, just in time. A burst of white light erupts from the wall, surges through me, and into Wade. For an instant, he's a dark crust with a white-hot center. Then, as Liam once feared might happen to us, the Garden reduces Wade Lambert to nothing more than a heap of ashes.

The bricks part, golden light and perfumed air spilling from within.

But paralyzed and bleeding out, I'm unable to propel my leaden body forward even an inch.

Evan's corpse rests beside me, Aurora's unconscious form beyond him. Evan looks so peaceful. I smile, drifting back to the time he painted me by the light of the Lady Skirts.

Within the open walls, the amorphous figures gather with arms outstretched to greet me. I float upward, toward them. Glowing figures lift Evan's and Aurora's bodies to hover beside me.

Rose, Tyler/Fionn says. Welcome home.

I'm flooded with light. With joy. I can glide away and leave it all behind, safe within these sanctuary walls.

If Liam could join me here, it would complete the circle.

But like ice water thrown on a fire, understanding cuts through my diffused happiness.

He can never join us. And Aurora can't stay either.

They can't die.

His only hope is that his sister finds her way back to him.

The wall remains open, awaiting my entrance, a final bit of mockery to grace my folly.

My mind is fizzling out, my body thudding back to the ground. On my way down, I catch sight of the smoke that rises from the ash that was once Wade Lambert.