Page 7

EILISH

The Veil

Kolvar meets me at the entrance of the Echoing Spire. He puts his arm over my shoulder with an infectious smile.

“You ready, lass?” asks the burly satyr.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

He chuckles and we walk over to Dragan, where he stands beside Pyre. Pyre’s mouth flattens into a thin line. “I can only hold the portal open for a few seconds. After that, you’re on your own until Baron and I finish healing the Veil.”

“Thank you, Pyre,” I say.

A swirl of purple energy begins to form in front of us until there’s a break in the fabric of the spirit world—it’s the opening of Pyre’s portal. Without hesitation, I jump through the vortex of power. That unsettling burst of frigid air cascades over me like a winter storm, and then all I feel is sweltering heat.

I drop from the portal and hit something but whatever it is, it’s yielding. I open my eyes at the same time that I feel gritty sand in my mouth, but before I can think another thought, I find myself rolling down a steep dune. My eyes burn against the unforgiving sun as my vision struggles to adjust to my new surroundings. Being in the Veil for so long, I’ve grown accustomed to darker and more subdued colors.

I stop rolling once I reach the bottom of the dune. Catching my breath, I brush the sand from my muslin shirt. At the sound of movement, I turn to see Dragan falling down the dune after me, landing with a loud grunt and a string of complaints. Kolvar is next. He knows to throw his body in the right angle to plant his hooves into the sand and slide down the mound, as opposed to rolling like Dragan and I just did.

“Are you okay?” Dragan asks me.

I turn to look at him and simply nod. I still find it nearly impossible to look at Dragan. Ever since Baron and Pyre took me together, I feel this incredible sense of guilt whenever I look at Dragan. Of course, he has no idea what happened between the three of us… “You?”

“Yes.”

Kolvar casts us a smug look and I shove his shoulder lightly.

The satyr looks up at the sun. “We have maybe five hours until the sun begins to set beyond the horizon and the darkness will make it difficult to make our way.”

“We could magic the light?” I ask.

Kolvar shakes his head. “Don’t attempt to use magic here. The ethers are thin in the Decolate Border, and that means demons could be close by.”

“Demons?” I repeat.

He nods. “And they can sense magic from miles away. Not to mention... magic just ain’t the same here. It’s muffled, like a scream in a hurricane. And stay close, lest you fancy gettin’ lost.”

“How do you know all of this?” I ask.

“My clan has been wanderin’ these wastelands for a long time.” He looks up at the sky, then back at us. “Once the sun sets, I’ll use the stars to chart our way to the Mercenary Stronghold.”

I look around myself at the landscape Kolvar refers to as a “wasteland.” There doesn’t seem to be a bush, tree or an animal for as far as the eye can see. Instead, it’s just a mass expanse of sand and dust.

“How did all of this come to be?” I ask.

“Galmer was the first to lay claim to these lands. His mother was a rebel queen, a human, who led the humans in battle during the first Singularity. That’s where she met Galmer’s father. The surge in magic of the Singularity allowed him to take the form of a human man, and they spent his last night alive together. After Galmer was born, his mother—along with the other humans—were wiped out entirely. Galmer was raised by rebels until he broke away and set out on his own.”

“How did he become a mercenary king?” I ask.

“Galmer’s always had the strength of a soldier and the conviction of a good leader. A natural talent for carvin’ his own way through the world. Folk of all walks o’ life took notice an’ swore their allegiance to him. Galmer wasn’t keen on bein’ a leader, I’ll tell you that much. But he saw how much the realms needed him, and he cast aside his own needs for theirs.”

I listen closely to Kolvar’s tale. The satyr has a way of telling a story with such color, I find myself riveted by his words. “And the clans?”

“Six of ‘em. The Banefire Horde is mine. Then, there’s the Olveroth, who are mostly lycans and beast shifters. Sunder’s Might are of the king’s direct lineage. The Adamante are rock trolls, golems, and gargoyles on rare instances.” He pauses and looks at Dragan with a big smile. Then he turns back to me and continues his explanation. “Mournblades are vampires, demons, and fae creatures who are more assassins than anythin’. The Thradsaryl are wraith warriors and powerful spellcasters. But there are also those who live in the stronghold who aren’t part of the clans. Galmer allows refuge to all wayward stragglers.”

“He sounds like a good man,” I say.

Kolvar nods. “That he is.”

***

DRAGAN

Mortal Realm

Ripples of heat waft from the dunes beneath our feet. The sun is still high and Eilish hasn’t complained once, while I can hardly keep my mouth shut. My boots sink into the sand, the heat is oppressive and I’m in a shit mood. Gargoyles aren’t meant to live in the sunlight, not when our kind thrives in the night. Almost as quickly as I arrived here, I yearn to return to the Gorge, where shadow and stone reign above all.

Eilish brushes the sweat-dampened strands of hair from her face and knots it atop her head. Lean muscle etches its way across her body, making her as strong physically as she is magically. Even the scent of her sweat is beguiling, tinged with the fragrance of her soaps and the very essence of who she is.

She catches me staring at her and immediately looks away. I feel as if she’s hiding something from me, though I don’t know why I feel this way. She just seems… distant somehow.

“How are you handling the sun?” she asks.

I lift my arm to show the cuff Pyre gifted me. “I haven’t turned to stone, so I guess Pyre’s bracelet is working.” At the mention of Pyre, she immediately drops her attention to the ground before her. Hmm…

Eilish looks forward once more and shouts to Kolvar. “How far?”

“Another hour until we reach the end of the border,” the satyr replies. “Then we’ll make camp in the desert plains for the night before we start a four-day trek through the valley at the base of the canyon.”

“And from there?” Eilish asks.

Kolvar nods. “The Mercenary Stronghold is carved deep into the canyon, surrounded by high walls. It can’t be seen by anyone who doesn’t know what to look for, perfectly camouflaged with the terrain.”

I’m itchy. I’ve got sand in places it shouldn’t be, and my already piss-poor mood is souring by the second. Something’s going on with Eilish and I want to know what the fuck it is. But, I’m not eager to open that conversation with the fucking satyr right here. So, we push on through the flat, open expansion of cracked earth.

“Had I known what this placed looked like, I never would have agreed to come,” I grumble.

“Ah, does the sunlight not agree with you?” Kolvar asks in a patronizing tone.

“This place is a shithole,” I answer.

He nods, his eyebrows reaching for the sweltering sky. “That it is.”

The only thing in sight for miles and miles are spatterings of completely dead grass and the cacti that call this barren land home. Eilish explores her surroundings with exuberance, as if she doesn’t find fault with anything around her. And she looks different in the daylight as well. Her skin appears pinkish and her white hair is even brighter, aside from the strands of black that remind me she needs to feed from a man of the light and soon.

A man from the light? I think to myself and scoff inwardly.

The only “man” of light from whom Eilish can feed is Cambion. No one else, with the exception of Variant, would be able to survive her hunger. And clearly, neither one is an option. And I’m both pleased with that fact and disturbed by it. Pleased because I don’t want Cambion to have her. I’m already torn by the fact that I have to share her with that fucking vampire. But, I’m also disturbed because I know Eilish needs to feed from the light, so she doesn’t lose herself to the darkness within her.

I’m so occupied with watching Eilish that I don’t notice Kolvar’s change in mood until Eilish catches on and lifts a finger to her lips. She creeps along the ground with skill I hadn’t known she possessed.

With lightning-quick reflexes, she snatches a snake from the ground before it can lunge for Kolvar.

“Come on, I’m not going to hurt you,” she says to the snake as Kolvar and I exchange a look of surprise.

She laughs openly as the thing wiggles around in her hand, tail rattling fiercely. And, once again, I’m captivated. I know what I feel isn’t a result of her seduction, but, instead, it’s Eilish’s unique charm. A charm that’s been in the process of unveiling itself. Eilish wasn’t always this confident. In fact, this is a new side of her—and I’ve loved witnessing the changes in her. Where once she was meek and passive, now she’s a force to reckon with.

Not to mention the skills she showed in our fight against Theren and the Unseelie army in the clearing at Pyre’s cottage. She was nothing but fearless in the face of what could have been her end. But she didn’t drop back and she didn’t bow down to Theren.

I’m proud of her.

My hands clench with the urge to grab her and steal the air from her lungs with a searing kiss, but I hold myself back. I don’t like this power she has over me, but I’m also powerless against it.

As we approach a small cluster of rocks above a prickly sprout of foliage, Kolvar drops his bags and Eilish climbs up the rocks to watch the sunset. Streaks of crimson and orange stretch across the sky as I climb up beside her.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” she asks.

“Yeah, it’s great,” I grumble and then shake my head as she pulls her attention from the sky and faces me.

“You have no idea what you’ve been putting me through,” I groan.

She appears perplexed. “What I’ve been putting you through?”

“I can’t take my fucking eyes off you,” I confess. “If that fucking goat weren’t here, I’d have already had you at least three times by now.”

She looks over at Kolvar and smiles. “Don’t tell him your nickname for him,” she whispers.

“You’ve grown, Eilish,” I say in serious contemplation. She turns to look at me and there’s surprise in her gaze. “I used to think of you as innocent and na?ve, but now I realize you’re far from it. You’ve impressed me.”

“Thank you, Dragan,” she says, her grin broad. “To hear you say that means a lot to me.” She leans against my shoulder as the last of the daylight is chased across the sky by an ebony sea of clouds.

Stars twinkle above our heads. Though it’s not as vibrant as the churning galaxies of the Veil, it’s beautiful nonetheless. Pale moonlight illuminates the regal features of her face and reflects against the white ocean of her hair.

“I know something’s bothering you, Eilish,” I say, my voice deep.

She tenses immediately. “Nothing’s bothering me,” she says.

“I know you well enough to know when you’re bullshitting me,” I respond. “Not to mention, you’re a terrible liar.”

She tilts her head slightly and toys with the loose thread at the cuff of my sleeve. The temperature begins to drop, and I wrap my arms around her to keep her warm.

“Some things are better left unsaid,” she whispers.

“Tell me.”

She’s quiet for a few seconds. “I don’t want secrets between us, Dragan,” she says. “But I’m worried about how you’re going to react if I tell you…”

“You need to trust me and be able to speak your mind,” I say. “We can’t have secrets between us, no matter how difficult they might be.”

She takes a deep breath and looks up at me, those blue eyes swimming with unshed tears. “Baron and Pyre,” she starts and then swallows the words. She takes a deep breath and nods, as if she’s encouraging herself. “They both had me the other night.”

I feel my stomach drop. “They both fucked you?” I ask, not intending for my words to sound angry but I’m fucking pissed off as much as I am shocked.

“Yes,” she says.

“How?”

“What do you mean?”

“How did they both fuck you?” I demand.

“Does that matter?”

“It does to me.”

She swallows and doesn’t say anything for a few seconds. “They were both… inside me at the same time.”

I nod and feel my anger swell. My hands fist at my sides. “When you went to the spring?”

She nods.

“And no one told me.”

She appears perplexed. “I… Maybe they didn’t feel as if they needed to tell you?”

“Was this planned?”

“I don’t know,” she answers as she takes my hand but I pull away from her. “Dragan,” she starts.

“Did you enjoy it?” I demand.

She gulps. “Dragan, please.”

“Did you fucking enjoy it?” I ask as I glare down at her beautiful face.

“Yes,” she answers and drops her attention to the ground.

“They didn’t ask me to come with them,” I say, more to myself than to her.

“Come with them?”

“They didn’t invite me.”

She nods. “Maybe they thought you’d be angry.” She takes a breath. “Baron and Pyre share a special friendship, you know that.”

“Yeah, and Baron and I fucking hate each other,” I respond. “And now I want to fucking smash his face in.”

“Dragan,” Eilish says as she reaches out and grips my hand, not allowing me to pull it away. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you.”

I nod and try to calm myself. “It’s not fucking easy, Eilish,” I say. “Having to share you.”