Chapter 39

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

A piercing scream filled Rose’s ears as she fell to her knees. It took her too long to realize it was her own. Her eyes widened at the impossibility of what unfolded in front of her. Luc had thrown himself and Aterra into a hole he’d created between planes. Rose didn’t have to imagine where it led. Luc had taken Aterra beyond the veil.

She gasped for breath, her magic straining to follow. The crack Luc had created disappeared before Rose could process what he was doing. She had no time to react. Wetness dripped on her hand, and she belatedly realized tears were streaming down her face.

Luc was beyond the veil now.

Luc was beyond the veil—where Zrak had banished himself. He had taken Aterra and flung himself into the unknown. His magic and its scent vacated the cavern. Emptiness crept in without its presence.

How had he known that would work? Rose closed her eyes as she tried to give herself a moment of grief before she started sketching plans in her mind. She couldn’t stop her brain from calculating, from thinking through options.

She would get him back.

Arms circled around her, and though she was still unused to his human form, Arie’s essence was inexplicably recognizable. She knew it was him without even looking.

“I’m sure you’re going to tell me it was the only option,” Rose said, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

Arie shrugged. “It was his choice—and it was probably the best one you had.”

Rose nodded. Grief and practicality fought at the forefront of her thoughts. Carter could see spirits—maybe he could communicate through them. And Juliette communed with Zrak—he was also beyond the veil, wasn’t he? She had to be able to find a way to get to Luc.

“Do you think I can get him back?” She choked on the final word. A bottomless pit opened in her stomach. She had just found him. She wanted a life with him. No was not an acceptable answer.

“I, like Luc, believe you capable of anything, Rose.” He paused, letting that sink in. “I know you will get him back.”

Rose shook her head, giving up and letting her tears fall. She knew she had other things to do. She couldn’t wallow in this yet. The mist plague still ravaged the continent. They needed to find a way to restore those impacted. Logically, all of this could only be done by finding a way to communicate with Zrak, if not bring him back directly.

“You…” She hesitated. “You think he’s okay, right? He’s not a god. What if the rules of being beyond the veil differ for him.” She rushed the last sentence.

“I know we didn’t have time to dwell on it, but he’s a demigod, Rose. We may have never had one before, but godly power runs through his veins. If Zrak is able to be retrieved, then I believe Luc is too.”

Rose released a deep sigh. A hiccup undermined its dramatic effect, and she laughed a little to herself.

“You’re a mess, dear,” Arie said, though she could hear the smile in his voice.

“I’ll get him back.”

Arie squeezed her shoulder tighter in acknowledgment.

Arie ushered Rose to where Aiden lay sprawled on the ground. Aurora, Carter, and Juliette stood somberly around a too-still body.

“There was nothing I could do,” Arie said. “I’m sorry. Aterra’s magic struck true.”

Rose heard the words and added them to the list of feelings she would deal with later. She would have appreciated closure between them, but those were never the cards they were dealt. The decision she’d made about him when they found him in the cavern stood. She knew it was Aterra who had been the one to kill her family, to start the fire, to change the course of her life.

She knelt next to Aiden’s body and whispered a Norden prayer over him. “Safe waters, my friend,” she finished as she looked up at the other Compass Points and gods in the room.

Inexplicably, they seemed to be waiting for her. Whether that was looking for her direction or trying to give her space to sort through the riot of emotion she was feeling, she didn’t know, but she was ready to face whatever was next.

“This changes nothing,” she started.

Juliette laughed. “This changes everything.”

Rose tilted her head. Sure, in some ways, it did, but not in the part that mattered. “We needed to talk to Zrak to stop the mist plague. We discussed getting him back from beyond the veil anyway. Now we have to retrieve Zrak and Luc.”

Juliette’s face sobered. “We can do the ritual properly. We can try to talk to Zrak.” She hesitated. “How will we find Luc, though? My connection with Zrak draws him to the ritual location. We don’t have anything like that for Luc.”

Rose’s head was already shaking with each of her words. She didn’t want to hear them, but each was relevant. She wanted to scream at Juliette and tell her to find a solution. Maybe offer a helpful suggestion instead of shooting everything down and crushing Rose’s single hope. But she also knew that wasn’t fair. Concern lines etched Juliette’s face—her tone held a gentleness not often heard from the Osten Point. She didn’t relish delivering this difficult news. She was trying to be realistic.

Rose put her head in her hands. No one spoke as she sorted through her emotions. Luc’s magic had spoken to her during the battle—she was sure of it. It hit her on a level that was deeper than the whispers on the wind. Even now, she felt his magic missing like a phantom limb. That had to mean something. She made eye contact with Arie—about to voice the incomplete thought about the connection she and Luc shared.

“I might be able to help with that,” Carter said, responding to Juliette’s question. He stepped forward before Rose could speak. All eyes locked on him as he continued. He seemed to finger the Vesten coin in his pocket. “Spirits always need to move between this plane and the next.”

Rose thought of the snarling animal Arie had turned into when they tested the power-sharing ritual. If a veil beast could ferry souls beyond the veil, on some level, it meant travel was possible. She tilted her head, appraising Carter. He’d known more about the beast than he let on. He met her gaze, and his head shook almost imperceptibly.

“Some of the more transient spirits can help get a message across.”

Rose was too exhausted to try to figure out what that meant. It was something. Rose wouldn’t discount Carter’s offer. They could start with that while she considered how Luc’s magic had supported her during the fight—and what the limits of their connection might be. Maybe her bond with Luc’s magic would be closer to the link between Zrak and Juliette. Bound fae of differing courts didn’t exist—but there was something between her and Luc’s power. She would figure out what it was. Emotionally exhausted, her gaze roamed the cavern. She couldn’t do anything about it right now.

“Thanks, Carter,” she said, too many thoughts running through her head. “We will make multiple plans.” Her gaze returned to Juliette. “But we will get him back.”

Arie and Aurora performed Aiden’s funeral rites under the mountain. Some would say the ritual performed by the Norden goddess was more than Aiden deserved. Rose thought it was right after what he had done in the end.

“We shouldn’t linger,” Rose said after observing the ritual.

The others nodded.

“Where are we going next?” Carter asked, looking between Rose and Juliette. “I know the goal—to get Luc back—but I don’t think we’ve discussed the how.”

“We need to go back to Compass Lake,” Juliette said.

Rose took a moment to smile. She forgot for a second that Luc had sacrificed himself. She forgot that she might not get him back. She took a moment to appreciate how easily Carter and Juliette prepared to use the secrets of their courts to help her. It was a massive milestone for the Compass Points. She wished Luc were here to share it with her.

And just like that, her thoughts returned to the fae she loved and the plans she would form to save him.

Aurora and Arie exchanged conspiratorial glances as they headed out of the mountain cavern the same way they had come.

“What?” Rose asked Arie when she walked beside him.

“What, what?” Arie replied.

“Are you and Aurora coming with us?” she asked. Rose was sure they would want some time to themselves, but no matter how much this problem needed to be solved by the Compass Points, Rose didn’t think the gods were off the hook this time. Zrak may have made most of the plans for the Covenant, but as she’d learned from Arie’s memories—he entrusted critical pieces of information to the remaining gods. Arie and Aurora might not realize the value of what they knew. Rose was determined to figure it out.

Selfishly, Rose also wanted to ask Arie about her connection with Luc. He understood more about godly power. Maybe Luc’s ability to communicate with her through his magic was part of his demigod nature. She didn’t think that was something the other Compass Points would be able to answer.

“We’ll meet you back at Compass Lake,” Arie said.

Rose wanted so badly to tease him about his newly reunited lover, but the thought only reminded her of the pit in her stomach. And the feeling of watching Luc throw himself beyond the veil with Aterra. She couldn’t bring herself to tease. She was just glad that Arie got this second chance with Aurora.

“Sounds good,” she said.

She was thankful for the push Arie had given her. Arie’s regret over lost time with Aurora had helped Rose admit her feelings for Luc. Now, with Luc beyond her reach, she couldn’t even imagine the scale of regret she’d feel if she hadn’t acted when she did. If she hadn’t told him she loved him when she did. She would hold every moment they had together close.

But she would also fight for the future they both dreamed of. A future of balance for the continent and those on it. Luc knew her and knew what she was capable of—he would have factored that into his plans. His belief in her and his grounding support was a craving she never quite sated. The scent of his power no longer lingered in the cavern. Her hands clenched into fists at her side, and she wanted to flood the space with water for allowing that smell to leave.

A thickness settled in the air around her—calming her. It didn’t hold the familiar scent she craved, but it felt familiar nonetheless. It made a sound, she thought. Almost like a whisper on the wind, she swore the words “ You’ll find me, my love ” echoed through her thoughts. She searched their surroundings before they dove back into the waters of Lake of the Gods. No one was there—no one had spoken to her. She knew better, though. She felt it. There was something inexplicable between them.

She would do anything necessary to get him back.