Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

L ela’s gaze continuously bounced between Rose and Carter. The fae protected Juliette, even guarding her back as they walked through Osten house.

The first floor was a maze of hallways. They passed a kitchen, a grand formal dining room, and an endless stream of guest rooms. Osten house didn’t have the large ballroom that Norden did, but it had much more charm. Rose wondered how many Osten visited regularly to use these rooms. She dreamed of using Norden house’s capacity in the future.

Rose grunted, running into Carter as they stopped before a door. Rose couldn’t see much difference between this door and the others they had passed, but the longer she stared at it, the more familiar it felt. Sage and citrus filled her nostrils. Rose searched the hall for attackers, thinking Juliette had readied her wind for protection. Finding no one, a soft click from the door drew her attention back. There was a momentary pause, and then the door swung open of its own accord.

“Did your wind open that?” Rose asked.

She caught Lela’s brow-rise as Rose questioned Juliette.

“You can sense that little magic use from the Osten Point?” Lela asked.

Rose was a little surprised by the question. She nodded though. “Yes, I’m a weapons master. I’m well attuned to the scents of magic.”

“Juliette had said, but I didn’t…” Lela trailed off. Rose couldn’t tell if she was impressed or horrified by Rose’s talent for scents.

“Yes,” Juliette cut in. “Only wind magic can open the door.”

“Any wind magic?” Rose asked.

Juliette’s lip quirked at the question. “The wind has to be strong and well controlled. But I’m sure you could do it.”

Rose felt herself stand a little taller. She may be Norden Point, but she relished Juliette’s validation. As a magic she’d long had to hide, she appreciated someone noticing the strength of her wind.

She coughed to cover her embarrassment. Carter smirked at her, indicating she’d failed at doing so. She pointedly ignored him and turned toward the open door. A gasp slipped out in recognition.

The door wasn’t similar because of the repetition in the hallway. The door and the stairs she now saw were a different kind of familiar—something she’d only ever seen in the heart of her magic.

Juliette turned to Rose. “Everything okay?”

“The door. The stairs…” Rose struggled to form complete sentences. “I’ve seen them before.”

Juliette’s eyes widened. “Where?”

“When I evaluated your power, it started like this… And in the heart of my magic, I opened a door just like this to initiate the link between us.” Rose peered down the stairs. They descended into darkness. “I went down these stairs when I needed to ask you for more magic—to deepen our connection.”

Carter’s mouth opened and closed, but no words came out. Juliette’s face held a similar surprise. No one seemed willing or able to comment on what it might mean.

“What does the connection to my magic look like?” Carter asked hesitantly.

Rose thought of the tree and the odd metamorphosis it went through to allow her access to his magic. “It looks just like the willow tree on Vesten property,” Rose said. “But I can’t even begin describing how the tree…opens.”

Carter tilted his head. He had more questions. Juliette coughed, gesturing back to the staircase. “Do you know what is required to go down the stairs then?” she asked Rose.

“What is required?” Rose echoed. What did that mean? Opening the door with magic wasn’t enough?

“I’ll take that as a no,” Juliette said. “The portal is at the bottom, but part of what keeps it safe is what you must face to get there.” Juliette laced her fingers together as she explained.

“What must we face?” Carter asked.

“I don’t know,” Juliette replied.

Rose was still marveling over the door and its mirror in the heart of her magic. Did the similarity mean anything? There was no way the tree on Vesten property opened like the one in the heart of her magic did—was there? Juliette’s vague response brought her focus back to the conversation.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Rose cut in, narrowing her eyes at Juliette.

“What you face depends entirely on what you fear,” she replied casually.

“What we fear?” Rose echoed as her mind scattered into a million directions all at once. She feared never getting Luc back. And what the Norden fae needed of her. And not knowing how she’d improve life on the continent if they could deal with their current problems.

Juliette nodded. “You have to face your fears before you can use the portal.”

“Face our fears?” Carter asked a little skeptically. “How so?”

“The magic can be quite distressing. I believe Zrak himself set it up. If I understand it correctly, it takes the idea of secrets from the wind to a new level. It pulls distressing secrets from your mind and reflects them to the traveler.”

“I didn’t know that was possible,” Rose said.

“I don’t think even I know all of what can be done with the Osten wind,” Juliette said with a shrug. She had a point. They probably wouldn’t know all the wind could do until Zrak was back on the continent, but that didn’t make Rose any more comfortable. She peered down the staircase with trepidation. Carter rocked back and forth on his heels next to her, realizing what this would mean for them.

“When we descend, the magic will come for you both. It will play back awful thoughts, fears, memories, whatever it can find. You will need to keep going.”

“You do this every time you commune with Zrak?” Carter asked, bewildered.

“I do.” Juliette nodded. “I’ll admit, I have learned to keep my mind blank as I descend. If you give the magic nothing to work with, it has nothing to throw at you.” Her gaze rested on Rose. “I know that might be incredibly difficult for you right now, but it’s the only defense I know.”

Rose sighed, her shoulders falling. This was going to be bad. Her mind had been working double time since returning to Compass Lake. They had so much to do and only ideas of how to start. Emptying her mind seemed so far out of reach. “What happens if I can’t do that?”

“You will have to walk through the pain,” Juliette said, not unkindly. “In that case, the best news I can offer is it only takes moments once you begin, though, with the attack on your mind, it will feel longer. Keep moving, keep taking steps—it’s the best advice I can offer. You’ll eventually hit the portal and land in the caves.”

Rose looked at Carter. He shrugged. “We don’t have another option.”

She moved first, leading the group down the stairs. If this was going to be awful, she wanted to get it over with. Carter followed, and Juliette told Lela to stay at Osten house as she closed the door, taking the final position behind them.

Rose supposed Carter was right—they didn’t have another option—and her pull to Luc was stronger than whatever fears her mind could conjure. This challenge was a small price to get him back and save the continent. Though these seemed innocent enough thoughts, the wind struck as it found its mark.

Luc was never returning.

She would find him too late.

Tara still slept beneath a mist-plague-coated Bury.

Rose realized what she’d done as the wind whipped at her mind. She took a breath, refusing to focus on what could go wrong. Another breath and an image of the future—the balanced continent she fought for.

Rose and Luc together at Compass Lake. They left Suden house hand in hand and walked through Vesten property to Norden house where Tara waited.

She would will this future into existence if she had to. She took another step. Another strong gust pushed at her mind. She shook it off.

Another step down into the darkness. She pushed her shoulders back, readying herself. The wind whooshed around her, searching for an opening in her defenses.

It was a summer day on Norden beach. Rose and Luc sprawled on the sand. Their hair was wet and disheveled from a recent swim. Laughter echoed through her mind as their limbs entangled. He rolled over, his hands propping his full weight just above her. Her fingers twined in the hair at the back of his neck as she tugged him into a scorching kiss. He pulled back as he let some of his weight settle between them, a wicked grin spreading across his features. “I’m going to take my time with you,” he said as his hand roamed the curve of her hip, the swell of her breast.

“As you should,” she replied, staring into Luc’s dark brown eyes.

Then he was gone.

A dark, empty room was before her. It was familiar—one of the many in Norden house. It was cold—so cold—but it was hers. This was her room. A room she’d spent hundreds, thousands of nights in just like this.

Alone.

She curled up in her bed. She tried to read, but the words were blurry, and tears rimmed her eyes. She focused again on the page. It was a letter, a report from a Norden fae. The tests hadn’t worked, and the village remained asleep .

More images flooded in. She stood outside the village of Bury. Mist still hung in the air, and the villagers, in their endless sleep, lay motionless on the ground.

Tara never woke.

The continent was never restored.

Rose looked around. No one was with her as she explored the mist-taken village, her wind-wrapped weapon in her hand. Where were the other Compass Points?

As she stood there alone, a torrential downpour started. The usually peaceful water of the Lake of the Gods rocked and swirled. Waves crashed over the shores. Rose tried to hold it back with her water magic—but she wasn’t enough.

When she returned to Compass Lake, a male who seemed vaguely familiar was Suden Point. Where was Luc?

The gods’ temple, once atop Mount Bury, was rebuilt in a new location near Sandrin. Arie and Aurora took up duties there. Arie waved goodbye as he shifted into a black bird and flew away.

Juliette retired as Osten Point, and Lela’s sneer follows Rose at the circular table in Norden library.

Carter disappeared in his veil cat form. He jumped through a crack between realms, and only a billowing fabric-like essence showed that anything had been there at all.

Rose made herself impossibly smaller in her bed. Alone.

A tug pulled her from the onslaught of images. Her eyes refocused on the present. She stood frozen on the stairs. She needed to get to the portal. How many more steps?

That tug again. This time, a familiar hand slipped into Rose’s and more insistently led her forward. She stumbled but caught herself, her feet finding even ground.

Each step brought with it a little more clarity. Juliette squeezed her hand tight. They were going down the staircase.

Her fears threatened to take over again.

Juliette pulled.

A few more steps, and they’d reach the portal. Juliette wouldn’t leave her here.

Rose’s feet kept pace with the Osten Point. Juliette didn’t let go. Carter wasn’t visible. Had he made it to the portal? A few more steps. They were jogging now—then they fell, plummeting into familiar darkness.