“What were you—” I think back to the castle and the last time I saw Elizabeth. She’d been snuggled up with a very attentive Clara. I grab her arm. “Did you? With Clara?”
“And Cora,” she replies, ears tipped in red. “Something just came over me.”
I nod. “The magic was strong.”
“It wasn’t just the magic. I’ve had a crush on Clara for a while.” She wrinkles her nose. “I mean, nothing I’d ever act on—well, not at the Academy. She’s evil. But…just really sexy.”
I think about it. Yeah, there’s a certain appeal. Marshal seemed to think so. That memory pisses me off.
“I’m sorry,” she says. “I was supposed to be there to help Rupert and keep an eye out for you and I totally succumbed to temptation.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Was it worth it?”
She laughs. “Alternate universe sex with an evil witch? Yeah, it kind of was.”
I toss my arm over her shoulder. “Good, that’s all that matters, because we’re literally trapped in hell and something good has to come from it.”
This place is draining and overwhelming—a different kind of battle than I’d expected. I could say that about every step of the way with this mission. I never expected the Academy or the challenges that came with being surrounded by a bunch of spoiled immortal brats, or the humiliating tactics Roland and Victorine used to try to break me. Every move has been emotionally taxing, including the relationships with the Immortals. My Immortals. It’s caused a bone-aching exhaustion that I don’t know if I’ll ever recover from.
Up ahead, I see Luke standing at the ridge of a cliff, the wide sky and endless desert ahead. He covers his eyes and searches the distance.
“Are we lost?” I ask, catching up to him. Elizabeth holds back for Armin and Rupert.
“I don’t think so.” He scans the horizon. “There.”
I follow the direction his finger points to. I don’t see anything.
“What am I looking for?”
“Halfway across the desert—do you see that glint?”
I shade my eyes and peer in the direction. “See what?” I ask, trying desperately to find what he’s referring to. I can’t find anything but miles and miles of dry, deserted sand.
“Here,” Luke says, coming up behind me. He presses his body against my back and takes my head in his hands, adjusting it to where he wants me to look. His hand are strong, and his breath tickles my ear. “There, do you see it?”
Far in the distance, probably miles away, I do finally see a shimmer of light. “What is that?” I ask over my shoulder.
“The one thing you always want to find in a desert.” He replies, slowly releasing me. “An oasis.”
18
Luke
Once everyone catches up, I offer to hang back. I need a little distance and possibly some self-reflection. Getting close to Hildi like that…close enough to feel the curves of her body and her soft skin. To smell the sweat on her neck…well, it was not a good idea. It was a stupid, stupid idea. And if we were already trekking through Hell, I’d probably send myself here as punishment.
What am I doing?
The apocalypse is not the time to make a move on a female, particularly one magically bound to five other men. Immortal, bone-crushingly strong men. Not when we have so much on the line and the odds of us actuall
y making it through this in one piece are slim. I sense what my father is doing with this game. He’s wearing us out, breaking us—particularly Hildi—down. Sure, she has a slight advantage with the rings and book Dylan gave her, but it’s not enough.
To beat my father, we’ll have to be at the top of our game, mentally, physically, emotionally.
“You look like someone kicked your dragon,” Elizabeth says, dragging me from my thoughts.
“Dragon?”
“Or whatever kind of pets you have down here.”