Page 15 of I Am the Night

Entering the portal is easy enough—it's like sliding through warm butter. It's when he dematerializes us into black mist that things go from manageable to what the actual hell.

I feel as if I'm being turned inside out and shredded into tiny pieces, then blown apart like some kind of macabre wishing flower.

I exist in nothingness. It's not black, or dark, it's just nothing. Cole's voice reverberates around me, coming from all directions and no direction at all at the same time. "Embrace your darkness, Eve."

I swear to all the gods if I get one more bumper sticker motivational talk from him, Callia, or any of the other Night brothers I might scream.

Hell, I might be screaming at this very moment. Since I feel as if I've ceased to exist, it's hard to tell.

When we finally materialize, I hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of my lungs, despite my budding mastery of my air magic.

"Was that absolutely necessary?" I ask Cole once I can speak again.

He is standing over me looking as if he just had a leisurely stroll through the Garden of Eden and not a hellscape ride through the Underworld.

"How else would you propose we get here?" he asks, gesturing around us.

For the first time, I take note of where we are. And how freaking cold it is. I tap into my fire magic to warm myself up, now that physical sensations are returning, and I turned slowly to look around. To the west of us is a vast expanse of pristine topiary gardens, featuring mythical creatures of all kinds carved from bushes the color of eggplants, dotted with pure white flowers that form their own designs. Everything is covered in a thin layer of fluffy white snow, though the sky is clear and sunny at present. To the east of us is nothing but sky. We landed dangerously close to the edge of the world, or so it would seem. We are surrounded by clouds, and it's impossible to tell how far up we are.

In the distance is a castle that looks made of crystal, glistening in the sun.

The sun! I look up and see it peeking through the clouds and close my eyes, enjoying the warmth against my face for a brief moment before I remember why we are here.

"We are back on earth?" I ask.

"We are, though you will not find this place on any maps. It exists in a hidden realm—a floating island that belongs to my client."

"The client you still can't tell me the name of," I say.

"Correct."

He holds his arm out to me in a gentlemanly fashion. "Shall we,mon coeur?"

Every time he calls me one of his terms of endearment, I melt a little inside, but I must be careful with him. So I ignore his offer of an escort and begin walking to the castle on my own. He dashes to catch up with me, the cheeky grin he wears never slipping from his face.

"I see we are still on the outs?" he asks, keeping pace with me as we weave through the garden.

"Cole," I say as steadily as I can. "You pretended to be my dead twin and confessed to a heinous crime, all in your efforts to hurt your brothers. Then you disappeared. So yeah, we're a bit on the outs."

For the first time, his grin slips and a look of serious contemplation replaces it on his devilishly handsome face. "I didn't think about what my pain would cost you," he says softly, and my heart cracks a little at his vulnerability. "When we are broken, we tend to break others until we mend our own brokenness."

"And are you mending yours?" I ask.

He stops walking to face me, taking my hand in his and running a finger over his ring. "I am trying my very best. When the cracks in your soul run this deep for this long, it is not an easy process to heal. But I will do anything to repair what I have broken between us."

"Swear to me you didn't have anything to do with Lyx's murder," I say.

"I swear it to you," he says. "I want to catch her killer as badly as you do. She was my mentor, and my friend. Her death is a great loss to all."

"Then let's solve this murder and see where things lead between us. And between your brothers."

He squeezes my hand, and he doesn't let go as we continue walking. This time I don't pull away as I tell him about my training, about Callia, and about my confrontation with the Mother of Dragons. "And you should know, the Order of Druids has reformed," I say. "Your brothers swore oaths to me, though I'm not entirely sure what it all means."

He stiffens and glances at me curiously. "That is significant. But if anyone is worthy of that power, it is you."

I wonder what is going through his mind at this news. The Order did not treat him well, to say the least, particularly the Maiden Fate, my past self, who destroyed his life. But that was such a long time ago and so much has changed. I may be the Maiden Fate reincarnated, but I'm also still me. I will not become lost in who she was, which, by all accounts, wasn't always good. I will temper her influence with my own sense of right and wrong. Hopefully that will be enough.

We arrive at the castle a solid hour later, and I'm slightly out of breath from the altitude.

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