4. Morgan

I almost reachfor my dagger.

Instead, I clench my hand into the tightest fist possible—so tight that my fingernails draw blood from my palm.

This isn't real, I remind myself. It's just a side effect from the spell Blaze cast on me.

That is what's happening here, right? Because it's the same thing he told me happened with his mom after he used his magic on her to try turning her into a witch. It's why she lost herself to the voices telling her to hurt him.

He'll betray you,the wind hisses, ignoring my internal pleas for it to stop. He doesn't need you anymore. He's got the quill. What do you think he's going to do when you're back in the mortal realm? He'll leave you behind, and you'll have no one. Absolutely no one.

Its words hit a place so hollow that it hurts. Because my parents are dead. My sisters didn't believe me when I told them they needed to stop trying to raise Ambrogio. They didn't support me and come with me to fight the shadow souls.

They abandoned me.

I'm alone.

If I kill Blaze, I'll be even more alone.

So, I take a deep breath and tighten my fist, drawing more blood, fighting the wind's pull.

Eventually, Blaze glances back at me, his expression cold. "Are you coming or not?" he snaps, and I flinch at the harshness in his voice, releasing the fist I'd been holding.

"Yes." I steady my breath, pushing the wind's whispers into the depths of my mind. "Let's go."

Maybe they'll stop when we get to the human realm.

I hope they do. But I doubt they will.

I push forward anyway.

The walk to the waterfall is hilly and lush, its mist dampening my face. But as I get closer, its spray soaks through my clothes, the cold making my teeth chatter.

I stop at the rocky crevasse in front of the fall, my fire magic anxiously flickering inside me. We'll have to jump over the gap to get through. And while it's narrow, there's no way of knowing how deep the water inside it goes.

At least the rocks behind the waterfall shimmer, confirming this is, in fact, a portal.

Blaze turns back to me. "You okay?" he asks, his eyes softening for the first time in hours.

I swallow, trying to calm my magic and use it to create warmth against the cold. It's easier to do when he's looking at me like this.

"I'll manage," I tell him, forcing a small smile.

He steps closer, so I can hear him over the roaring falls. "It's a quick jump," he says, although from the doubt flickering in his eyes, I have a feeling his fire magic is as unhappy about this as mine is. "We can go together."

I nod, even though everything in me screams to stay back and find a different way through. But we can't do that. Our only other option that we know of is to go back the way we came. The aphrodisiac rose garden, the deadly storms, the dark forest, the vicious monsters, the broken bridge…

Stepping through a waterfall portal is a walk in the park compared to all of that.

Although, walking through that rose garden again with Blaze does sound appealing. More than appealing. It makes my fire magic burn stronger inside me, my thoughts drifting back to the night we spent together in that tent.

A night I wouldn't mind someday repeating…

He holds out his hand, and despite everything, there's reassurance in his gaze. A silent promise that he'll be with me through this.

Maybe there's hope for us, after all.

I hesitate for a moment, then take his hand.

The warmth of his touch rushes through me. It calms the tremble in my fingers, grounding me, making me feel safe and steady.

He sucks in a sharp breath, and I think he's feeling it, too.

"On three?" he asks, squeezing my hand.

"On three," I repeat, tightening my grip.

"One," he says, counting us down. "Two..."

I glance back at the witch's cottage, then return my focus to the water rushing in front of us, ready to swallow us into its icy depths.

My stomach rises into my throat.

But at least the waterfall's roar is drowning out the wind's whispers, so I can't be tempted with thoughts of killing Blaze.

"Three." He tugs on my hand, and together, we jump.

The world blurs around me, and then I'm spinning through a vortex, falling, unable to hear or see through the pounding water. My stomach drops like it does on a rollercoaster, my heart racing with panic.

I take a breath, as if to scream, but water rushes into my lungs instead. It burns far worse than my flames ever could, filling me up until there's no space left for it to enter.

This is it.

Langwerda lied.

The water is killing me.

Then, just as suddenly, there's ground beneath my feet. I can still hear the rushing water, but it's behind me now, no longer tearing apart my senses.

I pull in a desperate breath, air filling my lungs instead of water.

My clothes, miraculously, are dry.

"You can open your eyes now," Blaze says, and wonder fills me when I do.

We're in a lush, green valley, with mountains towering all around us. The town ahead looks like something out of a fairy tale, with quaint cottages and cobblestone streets, and a narrow stream winding through its center.

"Are you sure we're still not in the mystical realm?" I ask, continuing to look around in awe.

"I'm sure." Blaze chuckles, still not letting go of my hand. "This is Lauterbrunnen. A town in Switzerland."

I'm still admiring the town's beauty when he pulls his hand out of mine and steps away, his expression hardening, refusing to look at me.

My heart drops. Apparently, his warmth toward me was as short as the jump through the portal.

"Let's find the train station," he says, back to business—and back to hating me. "We need to get to Zurich and catch a flight back to New York."

"Right. Of course," I say, and I reach into my pack for my phone, praying it'll work.

We turned our phones off in the mystical realm, since there was no point in draining our battery when we weren't getting any service. Hopefully, it'll still have some juice left in it, and will have dried as quickly as my clothing.

Much to my relief, the screen powers on.

I open my message thread with Amber.

There are a lot of texts from her, asking where I am and what's going on.

I got what we need, I type. Heading to the airport now—will be back tomorrow.

I press send.

"Found the station," Blaze says. He's also on his phone, studying a map. "It's not far. Let's go."

With our packs, we look like two backpackers on a trip through Europe. No one pays us much attention as we board the train and find seats in the back.

Blaze sits by the window, focused on the passing scenery, his jaw set, his eyes hard.

I sit across from him in silence, wanting to say something to break the tension between us. But what could possibly help right now?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

And so, I lean my head back, close my eyes, and miraculously get some much-needed rest.

I'm going to need it for whatever's coming next.