Page 119 of Where Darkness Falls

“The Crógemma,” Cara says as she materializes again, standing above me. “It’s the only way, my sister. Tiernan can use it to call us back home.” I reach for the shimmering spirit, but she moves outside of my reach. “Get the blood gem, awaken the Na Fírèin, and bring us home,” she coos. “We can be a family again.”

Then she’s gone.

“No,” my voice rasps out as I strike the cobblestone where she stood moments before. “Come back. Please.”

I scramble, searching for any signs of their spirits, but the courtyard is vacant except for me and the king. My body slumps as guttural sobs rattle in my chest. I scrub a trembling hand down my face as the guilt drowns me in its sweeping undertow.

How could their spirits be here?

They aren’t real, Maeva,Saoirse interjects.

I just saw them,I snap.Emyr said that souls could get trapped here if they were cursed… What if Siorai cursed them because of me?

Siorai wouldn’t do that to them, Maeva,she growls.

You don’t know that,I cry.How could you? You’re just a voice in my head, and the god of the realm hasn’t spoken in years.

Saoirse is silent before finally replying.You’re distressed, which has caused your judgment to become cloudy at best. You must think rationally. They wouldn’t desire for you to be wrapped up in this business with the king—even if it could bring them back.

My nostrils flare.

They’re dead, Saoirse,I reply, my voice monotone.

Suddenly, a heap of stones for a wall appears in my mind between the space of her voice and my own.

Mydear, I?—

They’re dead because of me,I interrupt, laying the stones in rapid succession.And if they’re cursed here because of it…

I lay more stones before continuing.I’ll save them, and you can’t stop me. I’ll storm the gates of the Abyss before I allow them to have this fate.

I quicken my pace to finish the wall that I’m constructing between us.

Maev—

I don’t hear anything else as I place the last stone.

All is silent in my mind once more.

Saoirse’s advice has only ever led me into more danger and trouble than I desired. I had a happy life in Aurelius before any of this started, and I won’t allow her to sway me from desiring to have it back.

Breathe in. Breathe out. In. Out.

Footsteps approach me as the trembling in my body ceases. The dark boots of the king stop just inches away from me.

“Can you really bring them back with the Crógemma?” I inquire sharply.

His soft hand brushes along the top of my head. “I can, my darling… with the help of the Crógemma and the Na Fíréin,” he coaxes. “However, I’m unable to retrieve it without you. If you do this, I’ll bring them back and allow you to live out your days in Aurelius… in peace.”

As I lift my gaze to the king, the hand that was on my head is now extended toward me. I bite the inside of my cheek in contemplation. If accept his hand, there’s no coming back from this decision.

“Will you accept this request, my darling?” Tiernan asks, gaze searching.

I sigh, reaching for his hand. It immediately engulfs mine as he helps me stand.

“I accept,” I reply.

An exuberant smile slices across his features, and he whistles for Domhnall. The strange creature appears in the blink of an eye. “My darling has agreed to the quest,” King Tiernan says to the Scythe. “Bring in the High General and the Cadre. We have much to discuss.”