I thrashed my head away. Nooo. Now awakened, the witch had no desire to yield. Evie a sliver of me! I can protect the baby better than anyone. We’re stronger like this.
“Come back to me, peek?n. The fight’s over.”
But it wasn’t. The monsters would just keep coming. And I couldn’t keep doing this without drowning in the well. “It’s better this way, Jack.” My voice even sounded different, breathy and evil.
I’d never felt so in line with the red witch, so unified. Maybe my split personality was melding. Maybe it should.
“I’m right here, bébé. You have to come back to me.”
With each second that I clashed against the witch for control, Lark seemed to be emerging from her own inner battle. Eyes lost, she gave a heartbreaking sob.
That sound was like an alarm going off inside me, warning me of danger.
I was the danger.
Damn it, Lark was my friend! I never wanted to hurt her. I peered up at Jack, holding his gaze, taking deep breaths.
The witch finally began to recede.
“Ma bonne fille, that’s it. You’ve got this.”
In time, I met eyes with Lark. “Are you with us again?” Her tableau appeared—right side up.
She nodded. “Yeah. I’m back now.”
I glanced out the window. The sphere had dissipated. The pall was gone, but had I gotten to the Hanged Man in time to stop Gabriel? “Can you see if Death is safe?”
Looking for him through her creatures, she said, “The boss is closing in fast.”
Relief overwhelmed me.
“I’m so sorry, Evie,” she said, tears welling. “For everything.”
“You couldn’t help it. It’s not your fault.”
“Great trick, by the way.” Her voice broke as she said, “F-Finn would’ve loved it.” She lurched away.
I hurried after her. “Lark, wait.”
Glancing over her shoulder, she held up her claw-tipped fingers to stop me. “Need to go lick my wounds. Alone.” Her gaze flitted past me to the blood. Was she staring at it hungrily? Red of tooth and claw. Maybe I wasn’t the only one wrestling with the heat of battle. “Just give me a t.o.” She turned once more. Her wolves followed her, severed limbs dangling from their jaws.
Jack grabbed my shoulder, enfolding me in his arms as much as the armor would allow. “Let her go. Finn’s death is probably hitting her for real for the first time.”
I couldn’t even comprehend how she must be feeling. Oh, wait—yes, I could.
Jack pulled off the helmet, setting it on Aric’s desk. “You okay? Can’t believe that bastard shot you.”
“Yeah.” I checked the wound. Regeneration was kicking in slowly. “It’s nothing. Already healing.”
“If Domīnija had been here, he could’ve prevented that.”
“It was close quarters. Are you okay?” Without that armor, he might have died.
“I’m good.” Jack drew back and started to remove the onyx pieces, piling them next to the helmet. Breastplate. Left armguard. “But I want this off me.” He reached down to unbuckle the last leg guard.
I frowned at the discarded armor. “That suit probably saved your life. Gabriel’s strike could’ve broken your back. At the very least, Scarface would have taken your arm.”
“Wearing this made me understand some things.” He straightened. “This suit isn’t just Death’s protection against the world; it’s the world’s protection against him—a cage. Domīnija told me I’d walk a mile in his shoes. I have. And inside this armor is the loneliest place I’ve ever been, the most separated from everything I’ve ever felt.”
I thought back to all the times I’d asked Aric to wear it. “He must hate it.” But he’d still worn it to allay my fears.
“Ouais.” For the first time, Jack’s attention strayed from me. Details of the study caught his eye, the books and scrolls, the scepters and crowns on display. His curiosity was clearly redlining. “So this is the Reaper’s lair. Mind-blowing, non? One thing to hear about it; another to see it inside. I was slack-jawed the whole way in. Almost forgot to act like an asshole to you.”
And now, by rights, the castle of lost time was his. Yet as much as I tried to picture living here with Jack, I couldn’t see it.
He must’ve picked up on my shift in mood. “You never intended to send Death packing, did you?”
“I didn’t make any decisions about him or you, but it felt wrong to oust him from his home.”
“For true.” Another glance around the room. A rueful exhalation. “Nice place to visit . . .”
Despite everything, Jack made me want to smile. “When Aric brought up his idea, I just kept my mouth shut and went along with it.”
At the same time, we both said, “Kick the can down the road.”
I gave a weak laugh. “Yeah.”
He took my hand in his. “But now we’re at the end of the road. Castle or no, ousting or no, how’re you feeling?” He took a step closer. “Just so we’re clear about how I’m feeling . . .” He leaned down to press his lips to mine. The tender kiss told me more than words ever could.
I love you. I desire you. I need you. He drew back to gaze down into my eyes, leaving me breathless.
“Jack . . .”
“Pardon me,” Aric said from the doorway, his expression stricken, his lungs heaving. With his hair disheveled and still wearing Jack’s careworn clothes, he looked as far from the perfect nobleman as I’d ever seen him. “I heard a gun go off.” His brows were drawn, his eyes searching. “And your scream.”
I said, “Only got a nick on my arm.”
Grave nod. “Very good. I am relieved to hear it.” He swallowed hard and his gaze dipped to where Jack clasped my hand. “I will gather some supplies and be on my way.”
I hadn’t even noticed we were holding hands.
Jack frowned. “What about your armor and swords?”
His eyes flickered over what was left of Paul. “You will need them more than I will. To protect her.” With a last glance, he left us.
Jack whistled low. “He would truly give up everything for you. Everything.” He muttered, “Fucking stand-up Death.”
I said, “That armor belongs with him.”
“I sure as hell doan want it.”
Gabriel rushed into the room, his gaze frantic. “Empress, I’m so sorry! Your babe? The avalanche! You lost so much blood.”
“I’m still pregnant.” I needed to reach Aric. I would hear his anguished roar for the rest of my days. What must he have thought? I absently said, “You saved me, Gabe. You saved us.”
Gabriel put his head in his talon-tipped hands, then slid down the wall, losing a couple of black feathers. “My God, my God. I would have stabbed you.”
Jack released me, hastening to the Angel’s side. “Easy, podna. Just breathe.”
“And I nearly killed you, Jack. I was a hair’s breadth from slitting your throat.”
“But you didn’t.”
He grabbed Jack’s arm. “Where is Patrick?”
“With the Chariot. They were okay as of a few days ago. But we got separated. I think they might be in the DC area.”
“I threatened him.” Gabriel curled his wings around his body, seeming to hug himself. “Would have killed my best friend. How will I find him?”
Jack turned to me. “I got this, Evie. Damn it, go stall Domīnija.”
I nodded, then hurried after Death.
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