Page 105

Hanging from a gelatinous stem on the ceiling was a pod. It wasn’t the outline of a body, but a shapeless formation of wet yet solid material. My mind went to the cocoon of a caterpillar, except this dripped as though the Creator’s tears had coagulated into a mass that held its shape, whilst dripping pools of bright blue water onto the stone floor.

I stepped free of Erix’s shadow, feet squelching over the thickened liquid. The evening breeze continued to blow against the many brass bells, filling the space with a light tune. But there was another sound to accompany it. The definite thump of a heart.

Duncan’s heart.

To prove my sanity, I laid a hand on the outer shell of the pod, and through it I felt Duncan’s strong beat echo against my palm.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

It was my Duncan, loud and strong – his beat as proud as I remembered it.

I trailed my hand over the wet pod, wondering if Duncan was conscious within. Could he feel me? Sense me? My fingers came back webbed with slime, but I didn’t care.

I leaned in close to the scentless material and whispered. “I’m here, Duncan. And I swear to any god, I won’t leave you again.”

“Rafaela said to wait for him to wake in his own time,” Erix said, closing the door, sealing us in the room together. “I didn’t imagine this was what she was referring to.”

I could barely understand what she meant, and I was stood looking at it. Like the transformation of a weak creature into a beautiful butterfly, I could only imagine what was happening to Duncan. As much as I wanted to claw my way through the pod to reach him, deep down, I knew better than to do that.

I was toying with a pawn of a god, a player on a game board. The unknown was frightening, yes. But when the unknown was in relation to the man you loved, it was world-shattering.

Erix walked in from behind me. His hand found its way atop mine, resting so we were both connected to Duncan’s cocoon. My heart swelled in my chest, so large my ribs ached. Seeing his hand splayed on mine, pressing against the strange shell encasing Duncan, filled my soul with a sense of calm.

“Do you think he knows we’re here?” I asked, the words echoing around the chamber.

“I think he will always know whenyouare close,” Erix replied. “It is impossible not to.”

I dropped my hand, forcing his to come with me. I turned and faced Erix, leaving my back to the cocoon. “He’ll be happy you’re with me too. Duncan, I mean. Your presence is important to him: I know that, as do you.”

Their private conversation replayed in the back of my mind, warming my soul from the inside out.

Erix swallowed, a smile creeping at the corners of his mouth. “I do.”

We were so close to one another, Erix had to look down at me where he stood. He lifted a finger and traced it down the curve of my cheek, sending shivers across every inch of my skin. “Duncan has two reasons to get better and see this through to the end. Then he can tell us exactly how much he cares for us himself.”

I shivered but the feeling wasn’t unpleasant. My thoughts, although frantic and unorganised, seemed to go back to something I hadn’t had time to think about in the moment. “There is something I need to admit to you.”

I hoped Duncan really could hear me as well.

“Tell me,” Erix encouraged softly.

Stealing myself, I refused to look away when I spoke again. “When you went to check on Duncan, I heard you speaking. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I did, and I admit it.”

“Then you know what we spoke about,” Erix said plainly.

“I know,” I said, hearing the words repeat in my mind. “Me. I mean us, the three of us.”

The kiss of fingers melted into the soft caress of a palm against the side of my face. Erix released a sigh, followed by the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen. “The conversation was brief,” he explained. “Duncan reiterated his reasoning behind wanting me with you. He truly believed his end was near, and he seemed content knowing you would not be alone if death came for him. But that wasn’t all. I think even Duncan sensed a hope that if he was to survive, his desires going forwards would be the same. The three of us. Me, you and him.”

“Together,” I added. “Not just for the present, but for the future too.”

Erix bowed his head. “Duncan has had time to contemplate this path forwards, but I had to ask him why. Why he feels as though he can share you with another person, when the thought of that has never crossed my mind until now. I knew there was a reason, something he wasn’t telling us. And it was because he knew he was dying. I understand now. He loves you so much, he cannot fathom to leave the world knowing you would be alone in it.”

Duncan knew that I had Erix, and that if he were to die, it would be with the peaceful knowledge that Erix would still be by myside. And yet, something still didn’t make sense to me about that.

“Duncan is a man of his word, Erix.”

“As am I,” Erix replied, dropping his hand and stepping back.