Chapter 16

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

GWEN

I stood alone in Luke's bedroom as the sun climbed slowly in the pale sky. It shone, warm and brilliant, like it did every morning. But the heavens were moving on an unalterable path. In little more than an hour, the moon would overtake that glowing orb, casting it into black.

I turned to my reflection in the mirror. The dark folds of my skirt fell around my waist like a midnight waterfall, the lace at my breast as delicate as flower petals. The dress fit perfectly, just as I'd imagined when I spied it in that shop window downtown. That day, I'd asked Luke when I would ever wear such an extravagant thing. I'm sure we'll find an occasion, he'd replied.

This was the occasion. The Meteoric Union. He'd been dreaming of this moment even then.

"You're stunning." Luke said, appearing behind me. "I knew you would be."

His gaze met mine in the mirror. He was dressed impeccably in a black velvet suit. As he neared me, he smelled of clean linen and the gel he'd combed through his hair, but there was another scent beneath those Mundane chemicals, something coppery and wild. He circled his arms around my waist and kissed the bare skin of my neck. Despite my nerves, I felt myself lean into him, grateful for the warmth of his body.

"Look at yourself," he commanded. "What do you see?"

There was a strange glamour to the pale girl who stared back at me from the mirror, this girl wrapped in Luke's arms, her body draped in expensive fabrics. She looked grander and more formidable than me. And yet, as I watched her, I felt the invisible weight on her shoulders, saw the doubt in her dark eyes. I'd taken the dress from that miserable shop clerk because I'd wanted it, because I didn't care if I hurt her to get it. Was that the person I was destined to become? Someone who found power in cruelty?

The sun shone through the window. Soon its light would fade, and my time to decide would run out.

For lack of a better answer, I replied, "I see Gwen Foster."

"That's right," he said. "This is the last time you'll look in this mirror and see Gwen Foster. After today, the line where your soul ends and mine begins will be washed away in fire and magic. Forever after, when you look at yourself, you'll see us . Our union and the power that goes with it."

His anticipation was palpable, a live wire humming beneath his skin. The muscles beneath his temples flexed and released. "I didn't get the chance to thank you for stopping Valeria last night," he went on, one hand combing through my hair. "Who knows what she could have done if you hadn't woken up when you did. She might have killed me in my sleep like the coward she is."

I wasn't convinced Valeria had intended murder. I thought I'd seen a subtle movement of the knife near Luke's palm as my eyes had fluttered open, but in that bleary place between sleeping and waking, I couldn't be sure.

"I couldn't let her hurt you," I told him truthfully.

Luke and I were a part of one another, our fates entwined like the veins beneath my skin. When I saw the knife in Valeria's hand, some ancient instinct had taken over. All I could see was that blade against his wrist. I'd called out, not to Valeria but to him. Our love was destructive, I knew that. It would burn across the land, leaving nothing but embers in its wake. Yet here I was on the day of the Meteoric Union, in his arms again.

He turned me to face him, taking both my hands in his. I could feel the magic building between us, dark power gathering with each beat of our hearts. I hadn't done any malevolent magic since the night I used it on my dad, but I felt it inside me every day. The closer I was to Luke, the stronger it raged, scratching at my insides like a caged animal.

I took a breath and forced myself to ask the question I'd been pondering for days. "Do you know what the sacrifice will be? You know, for the ritual?"

Luke gazed out the window at the naked forest below. A faint smile tugged at his lips. "Yes," he replied. He went silent, and I realized he wasn't going to tell me. As if reading my mind, he added, "Trust me, it'll be easier if you don't know. Not until it's time."

A shiver ran up my spine. To complete a malevolent ritual of this magnitude, I doubted a few dead trees would suffice. This time, blood would be shed.

"Guilt is for Mundanes, Gwen. We're way beyond that now." He took me by the shoulders and leveled his gaze with mine. My malevolent magic seemed to sense his hands on me, as if it knew today was the day. A sickly heat rushed through me, stronger than ever. My fingers tingled with power, itching for a trigger to pull. Perhaps they'd find one soon enough. "This is your day, baby," he went on. "Every terrible thing you've ever felt—all the misery, all the loneliness—ends now. After this, there will be nothing but power and glory and our love."

They were such pretty words. I leaned into him and let myself believe it all. I let myself be at home in the dark, icy place that was his heart. I wondered if I could stay there forever. I'd have Luke, and all the power I'd ever dreamed of. No one would hurt me ever again. I would just have to get used to the cold.

He pulled away from me at last. Outside, a thin sliver of black clung to the sun. It had begun. As Luke watched the sky, I could practically see his heart pounding in his chest.

"Are you ready?" he said.

I wasn't. There was one more thing I had to do. I took a breath that caught in my rib cage.

"If these are my last moments as Gwen Foster, I think I want to…commemorate them somehow," I said.

He looked at me, confused but unbothered. "How?"

I gestured to the forest below us. "This forest has always been my favorite place in the world. I'd like to take one last walk through the trees. Alone."

I saw a glimmer of mistrust cross his face, but in a split second, it was gone.

"Of course," he replied.

Together, we descended the stairs and crossed the kitchen. Luke held the door wide, just as he had the day we stood in front of the ruined chandelier. That day, I'd decided I had nowhere to go, no home except by his side. If everyone besides Luke had given up on me, why shouldn't I turn to him and let my heart grow cold forever?

And yet, miraculously, perhaps someone still held out hope for me—even now. I thought of the words Valeria had called up to me as we grappled on the trellis. The words had echoed in my head all night.

Beyond the neatly kept garden, the tangled forest waited. I kissed Luke's cheek and stepped onto the back porch.

"What's this, son? Has your bride-to-be gotten cold feet?" A voice sounded from behind me.

I turned to see Alexis Nichols standing in the kitchen, his blue eyes cool with suspicion.

"No," I said quickly. "Just going for a walk."

Alexis didn't reply to me. Instead, he turned to Luke. "You would let her walk out the door this close to the ritual?"

"You know, I pity you," Luke said to his father. "You've never experienced a love like Gwen and I share. Of course you haven't—no one has. So you'll just have to take my word for it." His gaze pierced mine. "Gwen would never betray me."

Alexis looked from Luke to me and back again. At last, his features seemed to soften.

"Well, Gwen, who am I to question young love? Go ahead, but first, please—let me officially welcome you to the family. The universe blessed me with a son, and now fate has blessed me with a daughter."

He strode toward me, arms wide. Before I knew what was happening, he'd pulled me in for a hug.

His embrace was just a little too tight, his arms like the coils of some predatory snake. "Don't go far," he said in a voice so low I doubted Luke could hear. "You know how important this day is. Today, everything will go as planned." He added, his whisper hot on the back of my neck, "I will make sure of it."

Alexis's arms loosened around my rib cage, and I sucked in air.

"Have a nice stroll, Gwen," he said, his tone bright again.

"I won't be long," I replied.

It was the truth. I was beyond running. I understood my destiny had to be faced, not escaped. As I descended the back stairs and made my way through the garden, I recalled a line from Poe. I could not love except where Death was mingling his with Beauty's breath. With those ominous words echoing in my mind, I crossed into the solitude of the trees.