“But what if you’re not?” My lip quivers, my eyes sting, and if I didn’t know better, I’d swear that my heart has splintered into a thousand jagged shards. “I can’t do this alone! I can’t lose you too!”
“But someday you will.” His gaze is resigned, leaving no doubt he’s fighting to hang on long enough to convince me to leave. “If not today, then someday, and it’s perfectly okay. Paloma is waiting for me, and when my time is up, I’ll go gladly. I’m ready to find her. So don’t you worry. My breath may cease, but my soul will transcend. So go, Daire. Trust in your abilities. Trust in Paloma’s teachings. Trust in the wisdom of your ancestors. But most importantly, trust in your heart. It will never lead you astray.”
My eyes meet his, and I instinctively know he means Dace.
“Love is a powerful force. If anyone can save him, it’s you. So go. Go do what you were born to do.”
I cup a hand to either side of his face, tip onto my toes, and press my lips to his forehead. Hoping he can somehow intuit all of the words I’m too shaken to say. Then, with a heavy heart, I turn on my heel, and race to catch up with Eagle.
THIRTY-TWO
XOTICHL
The second I discover we’ve landed in the Lowerworld, my first instinct is to flee.
The place I once begged to visit—the place I once held so dear—the place that bestowed me with what I once considered the most incredible gift by restoring my sight—has descended into a scene so hellish, it’s like a mirror image of the wasteland of emotions warring inside.
I pound my fists into the dirt.
I thrash, kick, and scream with all I have in me.
Driven by an all-consuming hatred for this place—blaming it for fueling my dreams and encouraging me to believe the old me wasn’t quite good enough—that I needed improving.
But mostly, I hate myself for relinquishing my blind sight with barely a thought, in a desire to be normal, like everyone else.
It’s the reason I couldn’t get a read on Luther.
Why I couldn’t warn Auden against signing that contract.
Couldn’t warn Daire that something awful was afoot.
And because of it, the three worlds, like our lives, are in ruins.
Those weren’t sapphires embedded on that pen, they were blue tourmalines from Cade’s mine.
And the blood Auden spilled on that contract—the blood he accidentally spilled on my cheek—ties us to the Richters for all of eternity.
Because he agreed to beat the drum that illuminated the portals allowing Coyote unhindered access to the worlds long denied them, Auden will have unlimited riches, unsurpassed fame and success.
He’ll live the life of his dreams
But the fame will be fleeting.
The success comes with a shelf life of one single lifetime.
While our souls are doomed for all of eternity.
“Flower, hey—you okay?” Auden crawls up alongside me, brings a hand to my tearstained cheek. “Are you injured?”
I shake my head.
“Scared?”
“Not in the way you might think.”
“So what then?” He brushes a hand through my hair, tucks the strands back behind my ear. His touch so tender, his gaze so caring, I can’t bear to tell him the truth.
Though I guess he reads the look on my face, because he takes my hand and says, “How long have you known?”