Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

EVEREST

In over a thousand years of life, I'd learned a few things, but the most important was the fact that no plan was invincible. No plan was immune to hiccups. No matter how well-crafted your agenda was, something would fuck it up.

This was why all my schemes had contingency plans. Backups for the backups. If I wanted to win, I had to be ready for everything. After all these years of carefully planning my mother's demise, I'd lost count of the detours.

But it'd been five hundred years since something had surprised me.

The count was back to zero.

From the moment Francelina entered that frat house, everything had gone to shit. Every time I blinked she was somewhere she wasn't supposed to be. Any other curveball life threw at me I could roll with, I was quick on my feet and faster in my mind, but with Francelina I was unraveling. It was like nothing was going right, not a single thing was going my way. I was being tested. Fate was calling my bluff, forcing my hand. I had a whole new set of plans and backup strategies, yet I knew they would never see the light of day. If not for Braison, she may never have gotten out of Avolire. Fate had given me an ally unlike any I'd ever had before. I loathed turning him, I felt the pain of his family and Coven-members as I did it, but it was that or let him die.

I'd made the right choice in letting him decide.

And I would be eternally grateful he chose to be my partner in crime.

A thousand years of espionage and sleeping with the enemy, yet I'd never had Coven intel until now. I'd never risked befriending any of them until Salem's prophecy . . . until they'd showed up on our doorstep. It was the single most welcome detour of my life. Braison was an infant in comparison to me, yet his wisdom in war was sharper than Sweyn's or my mother's. He understood that underestimating the enemy was a weakness one could not afford if they wanted to win.

Francelina would never have survived Avolire as a mortal had it not been for him.

Granted, it was Tegan Bishop's bravery and brilliance that got her out. But we would not have gotten to the point of her assistance without Braison. And it was for that reason that I remained with Sweyn for now. The Coven had a plan. For the first time since the

One Hundred Years' War with my mother, I was not the one guiding the chess pieces in this game. They were. Braison assured me of this. And after that little display between Braison and Tegan, I had to let Heaven's chosen hands lead the way.

However, if they expected me to stay away from Francelina . . . they would have to revise their plans.

So much had changed since the last time I walked through this hospital toward her room. I had changed. I hadn't felt like this since I was a teenager. It was an unsettling feeling, a horrible mixture of excitement and dread.

I didn't know what to expect inside her room. I didn't know if she'd be awake or back in her magically induced coma, and for that reason I forced myself to walk through the hospital like a human instead of merely traveling through the shadows of the world like I usually did. If she was awake, I did not want to frighten her. She'd been through too much. Her soul was shaken and fragile. I did not want to be the thing that broke her.

The flowers in my hand . . . I had surprised myself with those. I was not even sure what message I was trying to send with them, especially since I had not written a note. But at least this way my presence in the hospital would look appropriate.

I was not surprised to find her back in the same room. Tegan understood the delicate balance one must maintain when altering a person's mind and memory. I paused just outside of her room and took a deep breath to steady my emotions for whatever I found inside. With my heart lodged in my throat, I opened the door—my breath left me in a rush.

It was the worst kind of deja-vu.

It was autumn all over again, except no bandages. Thank God. I had not the heart to see her like that again. This was bad enough. She just lay there in the bed in that horrible pale-blue gown with her pink hair unbrushed and unruly, almost as if she'd been tossing and turning in her sleep. I knew this was one of Katherine's comas and not regular sleep. I felt her magic in the air around Francelina.

My chest tightened around my erratic pulse. I swallowed through the hot lump in my throat and just stared at her. I saw no sign of me or Avolire on her, which was good, yet a small part of me wanted to leave a permanent mark on her.

I cursed and scrubbed my face with my hand. Clear her from your mind or you endanger her even more. She cannot afford your heart in this war. Not yet. The risk is too severe.

With a shaky exhale, I glanced to the dry erase board hanging on the wall with the nurse's name and the date. It was the second of March. Still . Francelina had left Avolire just before dawn. Today.

This morning was a lifetime ago.

I tried not to think about the look on her face when I'd handed her over to Braison. Or the pain in her eyes after our trip to the bathroom. More importantly, I tried not to think about the plea for help in her eyes when Sweyn caught her in the Land of the Lore. That look of betrayal on her face would haunt me forever.

Everything I'd done was to keep her safe. I prayed she'd learn to trust me again. I'd tried to stay away, to not go near her in case that had been my error before—as if somehow my attention on her had drawn trouble.

But Sweyn had sent me to locate her.

She wanted revenge on The Coven for outsmarting her.

My stomach tightened into knots. This game I'd been playing was at its highest stakes ever. We were in the endgame now. It was only a matter of strength and strategy to see how long victory would take to claim—for either side. Tegan had told me her plan, or at least part of it. I knew my ignorance and authentic reactions would be required to see it through, which was how I wound up beside Francelina's bed. Sweyn ordered me to locate her. For what purpose, I had not yet been told. And I would have to relay the truth to her.

Which meant it was time for Francelina to wake up. We no longer had the time to let her linger in the safety net of Katherine's magic.

I walked over and sat on the edge of her bed, facing her. For a moment, I could only stare as I gently sat the bouquet of pink flowers on the table beside her bed. I ran my thumb over that small white mark Tegan had placed on her arm to track her location at all times. The Aether Witch's magic was a sharp jolt to the system when touched, but it gave me comfort to know they were watching Francelina.

There were a thousand words I wished to say to her, but I had to hold my tongue for now. Her breath was calm and steady. Waking her from such a peaceful slumber was an injustice. I did not wish to traumatize her any more than I already had, so I leaned forward and brushed her cheek with the backs of my fingers to try and wake her the normal human way.

" Francelina, " I whispered, pushing just a smidge of my magic into my voice.

When she did not answer or even stir, I did something entirely stupid and dangerous . . . I leaned forward and pressed my forehead to hers and just breathed her in. Every part of me wanted to kiss her, but I was better than a frat boy, so I resisted. The tendrils of my black smoke magic flickered in my peripheral vision. Any second it would slice through Katherine's magic and wake her. So, for a moment, with my eyes closed and listening to the heavy beating of our hearts, I pretended we were somewhere else.

Somewhere far, far away . . . where the ocean waves rolled softly?—

My bare feet sank into powdery white sand. A cool, salty breeze swept over my face. I knew it wasn't real, we were still in the hospital room. The beeping of the machines lingered in the air like birds chirping. My magic had allowed me to slip into the shadows of her unconscious mind and lure her to a place of peace.

When I opened my eyes, I found her standing knee-deep in the aquamarine water. Her long white dress floated away from her body. The waves rolled around her almost like a protective forcefield. In the bright sunshine, her hair looked strawberry blonde as it fell in waves that mimicked the ocean.

I sighed through the pressure in my chest.

She turned to face me with big blue eyes, but the moment her gaze locked with mine, they turned a bright, shimmering pink. My eyes and throat burned. I shoved my hands in my pockets to try and stop myself from reaching out to her.

"Hello," she said with a sharp smile, like she knew I could not be trusted. Her voice was strong and warm.

I tried to smile, but I was sure it failed, so I nodded my head. "Francelina."

She narrowed her eyes like I confused her. "Who are you?"

Sharp pain shot down my spine. This time, I gave her a small smirk. "You don't remember me?"

"Should I?"

I licked my lips. "‘Tis an excellent question."

"You know my name." She cocked her head to the side. "And yet I only know your shadow."

"Does it frighten you? My shadow?"

"No," she said without hesitation. She took a few steps forward, closing the distance between us so she could reach out and wave her hands through the black tendrils of my shadow and smoke magic around me. "Sometimes it is easier to cherish the light from the comfort of the shadows."

At that, I smiled. "Do not let that memory leave you."

She looked up at me with those blazing pink eyes. "What is your name?"

I reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear. This close, I could see every freckle covering the bridge of her nose and cheekbones. I ran my fingertips along her jaw, then tipped her chin up. "Do not try to remember me. Not yet. If you see my face, all you must remember is I shall never hurt you."

"That did not sound as comforting as I think you meant it," she said with a chuckle and a slight furrow of her brow.

"I know." I leaned forward and pressed my lips softly to her cheek as my magic coiled around us, then whispered, " It is time to wake up now, Francelina. "

I pulled back and opened my eyes. The bright fluorescent lights of the hospital room stung my eyes. After being in her dream, the stuffy, sterile scent of the hospital burned my senses. The beeping of the machines up and down the hall might as well have been fireworks. I sighed and pushed to my feet. With one last brush of my fingers over her cheek, I took a step backward and then forced myself to turn away from her— and froze.

Her Aunt Kimmy and Uncle Kyle stood in the doorway of her room, their eyes wide and jaws dropped. It was a testament to how off my game I was that I had not registered their arrival. This was a good reminder that I needed to be more careful.

They just stared at me.

Aunt Kimmy's hazel eyes darkened with fear. She pushed her blonde hair back off her face. "You shouldn't be in here. No guests."

Uncle Kyle's silver eyes shot back and forth between me and Francelina in bed behind me. " What did you do? " he growled.

"Nothing I am not allowed to do." I shrugged and gave a little smirk. "Nothing she'll remember."

Their eyes widened.

Sharp, electric pulses slid down my spine. I straightened. My sire bond to Sam was burning. Something was wrong. Sam was terrified. I cursed to myself, then met Kimmy and Kyle's wide stares again. "By dawn. Be ready."

They opened their mouths to speak, but I'd already said too much. I pushed my magic out and let the darkness of the realm take me.