“Get on with it,” Tala says, keeping an eye out the door.
“Patience, Halo Knight. You’ll appreciate this tale too,” Luna says, returning to her bed. “After my sister died, I demanded we cremate her. I was hoping to one day discover a way to resurrect Raine from her ashes like a phoenix. I began my journey seeking resurrection and have found myself on the path to immortality after the creation of specters. Around the time I met Santiago, I was learning more about ghosts . . . and he taught me how to bring them to life.”
“A living ghost?”
“Don’t be so surprised—my very first success story is the reason your parents and boyfriend are dead.”
I’m trying to connect the stars. “June is a specter with ghost blood.”
“She is. She was also dead. The practices I inherited from the Córdovas only function for deaths not long past, which was most unfortunate for Raine but has still given me hope. Though admittedly, I wouldn’t bring back Raine if she functioned like June; alive, but not quite.”
“What are you claiming you can do for us?” Tala asks.
“That with knowledge collected from a trip to the past and the ashes of your dearly departed, I can restore them as if they were never away from this world.”
I drop the oblivion dagger and it clatters at my feet. “You can—”
“I can bring Atlas back to life.”
Seventy-Five
Skybreaker and Shape-Shifter
EMIL
The flight back to the Sanctuary is tense.
Nox isn’t super built to carry three people, but he thankfully manages as Wyatt guides him through the skies. I’m tightly holding on to Ness, still completely blown away that he’s alive, that he’s someone I can wrap my arms around, that I can breathe him in. He’s dizzy at these great heights, so I let him close his eyes, but I need him to keep talking because if he passes out I’m not sure he’ll wake up. He keeps thanking me over and over, and when words feel like too much, he squeezes my hands with both of his to let me know that he’s awake; I can feel the thank-you in his touch too.
I don’t know where to begin with breaking down everything I’ve been through to Ness, especially with the handsome Halo Knight flying us to safety, but I pray to all these damn stars that that’s a problem I’ll get to have if Eva heals him in time. Then there’s Wyatt, who put my heart before his so we could save the life of a shape-shifter he doesn’t know.
I’m indebted to them both, and I have no idea how to repay them.
The sun is rising as we fly over Storm King State Park and the castle finally comes into view. A cycle of phoenixes take flight to begin their day right as we’re landing in the courtyard. This is normally when Wyatt and Nox would wake up and fly too, and instead, the obsidian phoenix goes under the apple tree and lies down.
“I’ll go and disturb Eva’s sleep,” Wyatt says, muttering about how envious he is for sleep of his own as he jogs off.
“You still with me, Ness?”
His head is bobbing forward, his body getting limper by the minute. “I’m with you, firefly.” An evergreen blazer the size of a bloated pigeon hops over to us. “Pretty green bird,” he says drowsily.
I’m nervous I might have to start slapping him awake when Wyatt, Eva, and Iris come running through the courtyard, breaking up a fight between sun swallowers. I carefully rest Ness on the grass to prepare him.
Eva immediately investigates his injuries. She takes a deep breath, bracing herself. Her tired eyes glow like a rapid sunrise as colorful lights shine over Ness’s bloody wound from the spell. Iris holds on to her girlfriend as Eva absorbs Ness’s pain. Ness is breathing better by the time Eva heals the other battle scars across his body and face. The pinks, greens, oranges, and blues vanish as quick as a blink when Eva’s work is done.
“You’re okay,” Iris says as she rests her chin on Eva’s shoulder.
“Thank you so much,” I say.
“Wow,” Ness says, sitting up. He lifts his holey shirt and examines the smooth skin that’s still slick with blood but no wound. “You’re a true miracle worker.”
“Happy to help,” Eva says.
“Helping shouldn’t hurt so much,” Wyatt says as he walks toward Nox.
That definitely felt targeted at me.
“He filled us in,” Iris says as she helps Eva to her feet. “I haven’t heard anything from Maribelle obviously, but I’ll wake up Wesley to see if she reached out to him.”