‘Well, whose the hell are they?’ Steph shouted, her voice high-pitched.
I didn’t reply. Instead, I leaned down, knowing what I had to do. ‘It’s always a kiss,’ I mumbled. And then I pressed my lips to his and let him go.
As I kissed him, his soul broke free. It was so painful, as though my very insides were torn away as it leaped from my body and back into its rightful owner. I screamed into his mouth, but I stayed there, forcing myself to keep going, to keep pushing his soul from me until it was all gone.
The moment I knew it was done, I sank to the ground, gasping for air.
Steph dropped beside me. Her hands were shaking as they clung to me. ‘Vi, what was that?’
‘Eyes are the window to the soul,’ Dapper said from the doorway. ‘The girl went and found his soul. Insane as those damn exiles. She should be dead.’
‘What do you mean?’ Griffin pushed. ‘Lincoln?’
Dapper grunted, as Steph held me tight, trying to calm my shakes.
‘Ask her yourself, but I’m betting she just pulled off something only the likes of her could do.’
Griffin crouched in front of me. ‘Violet, is Dapper right? Did you …’ But he couldn’t finish the sentence. Lincoln was his best friend and I knew he blamed himself on some level for telling us to run that day, felt responsible that he hadn’t been there in the end.
I looked up at Steph and saw her sharp intake of breath; my eyes were back to normal. Not that I needed her reaction to tell me that, I could already feel the change. The emptiness in me had returned and I could feel a presence I hadn’t felt in weeks.
Griffin watched me anxiously.
‘He’s back,’ I said.
We could have heard a pin drop. No one knew what to say. Perhaps they thought I’d finally lost it completely and was having delusions. Maybe they thought it was too good to be true.
But not Griffin. He stared right at me. He was a truth seeker; he knew what I said was right. I suspected he simply couldn’t talk. Instead he pulled me from Steph’s arms and into his.
‘You’re a miracle.’
I was stiff in his arms. Just like with everyone else … I couldn’t. Gradually, I wriggled away from him.
‘Phoenix said it will take a few days for him to recover.’ I stood up, still shaky on my feet, though I tried not to show it. I looked at the floor, avoiding the bewildered gazes.
‘Phoenix?’ Griffin repeated, shock rippling through the group again.
I nodded. ‘Phoenix is an angel.’
‘Well, that figures,’ Onyx snorted. ‘Redemption, that sly bitch.’
Everyone ignored him.
‘I’ll be staying here until he wakes up. Phoenix said it would be safest that way since I was the one who brought him back.’ I pressed my lips together.
Griffin nodded. ‘We’ll bring in a mattress and get you settled.’
I shook my head. ‘A pillow and the chair will be fine.’
Griffin nodded, running his hands through his hair. ‘Everything is going to be okay,’ he said, relief flooding his face.
I gave a sorry attempt at a smile.
Gradually, when they realised I wasn’t going to be telling any more of my story everyone filtered out. Steph and Spence were the last ones to leave. Spence didn’t bother trying to hug me – he knew I wasn’t capable. Instead, he got right to the point.
‘Eden, you reckon since you could bring Lincoln’s soul back that you might … Do you think you could find Nyla?’
I had known this question would come up from the moment I considered that this might work. I just didn’t know who would be the one to ask. I was sorry it had to be Spence.
‘If I thought there was any chance, I would. But it was only because of our …’ Love. ‘Connection, that I was able to find him. There were thousands, millions, out there. They go on forever.’ I looked down and shook my head. ‘I’m sorry, Spence.’
He put his hands in his pockets, shrugging to try and hide his disappointment. ‘Yeah. Figured that might be the case, just thought I’d ask.’
I nodded. ‘You’re off to find your partner soon, aren’t you?’ I asked, keen to change the subject.
He smiled. ‘Yep. Can you believe it – I’ll finally be able to stop relying on you to fix me every time I’m hurt. Griff says we’ll start tracking her down in a couple of weeks. You never know, maybe things are starting to look up.’
I wished it were true. ‘You never know.’
After Spence left, Steph stayed with me for a while. I appreciated the distraction. Even though I knew I would be in this room for the next few days, I wasn’t ready to be alone with Lincoln yet.
‘You’re strong, you know that?’ Steph said.
‘I know,’ I replied.
‘You can get through this. What happened, it was … And you had to survive when everyone around you …’
Died. Left.
I nodded. ‘It’s okay, Steph.’
‘Are you ever going to let me back in?’