17. Seventeen

Seventeen

After a dinner of venison and awkward conversation, the hunters got up to return to their cottages.

Max stood particularly close to Matthew, the hunter who’d joked with Felix. She nodded to me. “There should be plenty of beds upstairs. Unlike me, my father was always prepared for guests. The great hall is yours for the evening. I’ll be staying ... elsewhere.”

I winked and leaned in, whispering, “He’s a total silver fox.”

Max smirked and turned to follow the other hunters outside.

“Finally,” Felix said once they’d all left. He stood and swept me into his arms. “I’m exhausted.”

I hung on tight and allowed him to carry me up the stairs. The other guys carried our bags.

“Felix never carries me,” Shael said, pouting.

Skye shouldered his way past his brother on the narrow staircase. “You weigh like a hundred pounds more.”

“Plus, Arsyn is cute.” Felix opened the first door, revealing a large bedroom.

“Don’t listen to them.” I reached over Felix’s shoulder to boop Shael on the nose. “You’re very cute.”

Felix dropped me on the bed and flopped down next to me, making me bounce. I giggled as he nuzzled his face in my neck.

Cyrus and Quillon found other rooms across the hall while Shael peeled off his shirt and snuggled under the covers of our bed.

“Goodnight!” I called to the others and glanced at Skye.

He sat in a chair in the corner by a lit candle. He was rummaging through his bag but paused when he noticed me staring at him. “What?”

“Aren’t you going to claim your room for the night?”

“I’m staying here.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Why?”

“I don’t trust hunters.”

I shut my mouth. Did that mean he wanted to ... protect me? No, surely, it was just because there were more of us in this room. More body shields he could throw in front of himself to escape.

He pulled out a small book with the Morgan crest on the cover. The journal from the basement.

“You took the journal?” I climbed out of bed and walked over to him. “What are you looking for?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Anything.”

I shrugged and went to my bag, pulling out a soft long-sleeve shirt and fresh panties.

He ran his finger over the name on the first page. “Constance Morgan. An ancestor of yours?”

“Yep. Now turn around. I need to get changed.”

Skye looked up from his book. “But you’ll change in front of my brother?”

“I like your brother.” I twirled my finger. “Now, turn around.”

Skye rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

I quickly dressed, leaving my pants on the floor. I already missed the nightgowns from the Qaanir palace, but touring Earth searching for a lost reaper meant I needed to pack light.

I slid into bed between Shael and Felix. “All right, it’s safe.”

Skye grumbled something under his breath and returned to reading the journal. I rested my head on Shael’s chest while Felix molded himself to my back.

Felix and Shael fell into sleep, their breathing evening out. I snuggled into their bodies and quickly drifted to sleep.

Blood. The coppery tang filled my mouth.

Blood painted my lips, dripped down my chin and matted my hair. But it wasn’t my blood.

“Give in, Syn,” Sebastian said in his smooth voice.

I saw ... me. Standing at the top of a stone staircase. White light illuminated my horrific form. Red streaked my skin and stained my clothes.

Bodies littered the ground around me, almost unrecognizable. But I knew them. My men lay twisted and mutilated at my feet.

“Give in to the power.” Sebastian walked up the staircase until he stood before me. “Join me.”

He cupped my cheek, raising my face. The light reflected white in my black eyes. Black veins pulsed under my skin. And I smiled.

I broke into a sweat as my body heated to boiling point. I was going to be sick. I slipped out of Felix’s arms and out of bed. I looked around frantically. There were no mana creatures. That wasn’t a vision. It was just a nightmare.

Skye’s forehead furrowed. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I wasn’t sure anymore if I was trying to convince him or myself, but judging by the look on Skye’s face, he wasn’t convinced either. “I just need some fresh air.”

I snagged a heavy blanket from the foot of the bed and wrapped it around me. The nightmares were back. I thought I’d gotten past them with my bloodforged iron choker and the guys with me, but now it didn’t seem to matter.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Skye asked quietly as I gripped the door handle.

Did I? Yes. I did. I didn’t want to be alone. I never wanted to be alone again. But the corruption twisted and roiled in my belly. I didn’t want Skye to see me struggle again. I didn’t want him to see my weakness.

I shook my head and walked out the door, padding on bare feet across the hallway and down the stairs until I reached the trapdoor. The pressure in my chest finally lessened as I descended.

The hard-packed dirt was cool against the soles of my feet in the darkness. I didn’t need to see. Enoch was like a beacon to me. Now that I’d found him, I’d never lose him again.

I curled up in the cell with him, resting my back against the bars.

“Enoch?” I whispered. Sound seemed muted in the dark cellar.

It wouldn’t hurt to try to give him mana again. Maybe I’d been too emotional before. I just needed to focus.

I placed my hand on his. His skin was icy cold and rough. I focused on that touch, pushing my raw mana to our joined hands. But as my raw mana rose, so did the corruption. It outpaced my mana. Overpowered it.

It was hungry. Eager.

I gasped and pulled my hand away before the corruption could reach Enoch. I didn’t know what would happen if a reaper got infected, and I didn’t want to.

I gripped the cold bloodforged iron bars behind me until my fingers hurt. Eventually, the corruption retreated. It was taking longer each time.

The others knew about the corruption now. But they didn’t understand what it was like having this dark passenger. Constantly waiting for my guard to slip. Waiting for me to lose control.

Ari understood. If only he was here.

What would Skye have thought if I’d let him come with me down here? I couldn’t let them see how much the corruption was affecting me. Cyrus would call me a liability. A danger to the team. And he’d be right.

I sighed. I missed Em. She always helped me see through the fog and get out of my own way. But I couldn’t teleport to her. She was at the tower of Izik.

I buried my face in the blanket. I’d never been surrounded by so many people I cared about. Who cared about me. Yet I’d never felt so alone.

“Enchanter.” A large hand squeezed my shoulder, making me jump. “Skye told me you might be down here,” Cyrus said.

I blinked into bright golden light. The sun? Was I outside? I rubbed my eyes. I was in the basement of the Arden compound. I must have fallen asleep.

“The Grays are ready to go.”

“The Grays?” I climbed to my feet and wrapped the blanket tightly around myself. “Right.”

Cyrus’s icy gaze slid down my bare legs. “I see you still need to get dressed.”

Today we were going to the Morgan compound to convince them to use their powers to revive an otherworlder and strengthen their enemies’ magic.

Whose idea was that again?

Oh right, mine.

“Anything change?” Cyrus jerked his chin at Enoch, lying still as a corpse in the corner.

“I’m starting to think he really may be dead this time.”

“Reapers are tied to the Aether in a way no other being is,” Cyrus said. “With the Aether so depleted, Enoch likely has nothing to draw on.”

I sighed. “We need to get him mana.”

“I hate thinking about you anywhere near your father.” The light at Cyrus’s chest dimmed and went out. I could see only the shadows of him and our surroundings.

I leaned back against the bloodforged iron bars. “They’re our only chance. We have to take it.”

My mind drifted to a girl in the outer ring of Qaanir who dreamt of learning how to use the magic she no longer has.

“I know you feel deeply,” Cyrus said. “It’s one of the things I admire about you.”

A blush crept into my cheeks, and for once, I was thankful for the darkness.

“You feel the Aether’s dying heartbeats like they’re your own. You’d lay down your life if it meant saving a single soul.” He leaned closer until I could smell nothing but mint. The warm rays of the sun caressed every inch of my skin. “But I won’t let you do that.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but he grasped my chin. His thumb brushed my lip.

“I’ve laid down my life for a cause I believed in more times than I can count. But I’m bennu. I’ve always come back.”

I reached for him, the darkness making me bold. I pressed my palms to his hard chest. He was closer than I thought. Just inches separated us.

“I’ll die again before I let anything happen to you.”

“But the Aether,” I said, my voice breathier than I’d meant it to be. “You won’t reincarnate.”

Cyrus’s long fingers slid through my hair. He gently tugged on a lock. “So don’t do anything stupid. For both our sakes.”