Page 103 of All the Devils are Here

I kept my voice lower than she could hear.

They told me. It wasn’t as much as I expected, but I wasn’t surprised that Meg was now breathing deeply and asleep. Stroking my hand up her blanket covered legs, I watched her. It was so strange how everything had shifted.

She was the center of everything now. I didn’t know close to everything about her, and it didn’t matter. Meg was all that mattered.

“The magic in her?” The violet magic swirling under her skin entirely consumed her limbs now, and it was way too close to her heart for my comfort.

“We have to keep holding it back,” Ariel said. “Until he offers the trade or his body dies. I don’t see another option.”

“She has enough power inside her. Do you think she could approach the real heart? Give it back?”

Laurent shrugged. “It’s possible. Maybe you can take her to the edge of the boundary after she’s awake.”

“We need to think about the reality,” I said. “If he doesn’t give in, and it’s about to take her.”

“I’ll kill him,” Laurent said. “Or his body. Risk whatever magic he has left and take him out. He says he can’t be while she has the magic, but he could be lying. Then you’ll be free of his commands, and Ariel can get to the island’s heart.”

If Ariel could get there, maybe he could make a different deal. One that would save her life. Other than that, I didn’t see a way out of this, and that was terrifying. After so long, finding our mate only to lose her? Unthinkable.

“If the magic technically belonged to him, if he dies, any chance the magic dies with him?”

Ban looked at me, and I read pure hope in his eyes. That would be the easiest way.

“I don’t know,” Ariel said, pushing to his feet, unable to stay still. “I wish I fucking knew, but I don’t. The island is fucking unpredictable.”

The magic here was a reactive force. It responded, and it took action based on its own instincts. But it didn’t havethoughtas far as we knew. And even after eight hundred years, there wasn’t a sure way to say how it was going to react.

“How long do we have?”

Laurent’s face was grim. “The magic has been moving fast. Even faster after today. It seems to have paused, but we need to watch her to make sure it’s not progressing too quickly.”

“I need to get in the water,” I said, standing. “I’ll be back.”

It should have been the first thing I did. My tentacles had been touching water in my room—I was sure I could thank my brothers for that—but I still felt dry and like I was ready to crack.

Sinking beneath the surface, energy and life flooded into me. Every bit of exhaustion and residual pain melted away, and I stretched, feeling the luxury of healthy skin.

As soon as the pleasure of the sensation faded, I felt it.

The water was different.

Similar to the way the ocean had felt tainted when all the sharks were aiming for Meg, the water’s energy was strange. Not in a good or bad way, but in adistinctway. What was it?

I dove through the holes and natural tunnels that riddled the bottom of the island, heading for the center. There was only so far I could get. The island’s power was too fierce to let anyone get close, but it was the source of the difference.

Something changed while I was unconscious. The energy pulsing out from the bright core of power wasn’t as blinding or harsh. But it felt… stronger somehow. I didn’t know what the change meant, but I could get much closer than I’d been able to before.

It wasn’t much to go on, but I still had a renewed sense of hope. Maybe after all this time, what was needed was simply forsomethingto change, and the magic would take care of the rest. But until we knew for sure, I would make sure my mate was safe.

Swimming for the edge of the island, I put on speed. While she was sleeping, I would circle the perimeter to make sure nothing else had changed.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

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MEGHAN

Iwas in the violet void. Though I guess void wasn’t the right word for it. This vibrant, misty place that was filled with glitter and magic and the curious presence of the Island.

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