CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

I followed Eric back to the Lorren in silence. His words unnerved me. All of them. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t breathe. When we walked into the golden room, I saw Collin sitting across from an upright Jenna Marie and Lorren. There was a grin on Lorren’s face like nothing I’d ever seen before. He had just pressed a kiss to her cheek, when he saw me.

I couldn’t help but smile awkwardly.

Lorren said, “I sent Eric after you. Collin wanted to go, but I wouldn’t let him. This is the only place that is safe within the Lorren for him and you,” he glanced at Jenna Marie. “I wish I could offer you more.”

“You’re all I could want. You’re all I need,” she pressed her lips to Lorren’s and kissed him deeply. I blushed, looking away. Eric muttered something rude, and sat down on the floor.

Collin walked toward me, cupping my face in his hands. “Why didn’t you tell me? You know I’d do anything for you—anything. I could have saved you a great deal of pain. Ivy, why’d you keep this from me?”

“It’ll change you,” I pleaded. “You’ll be soulless. I don’t know what will happen, or if you’ll even survive. I couldn’t turn you Valefar again—or worse... It’s not like I can just give you back your soul. Our souls are fused together. They had to be or you wouldn’t have survived that night Eric nearly killed you. I felt the magic as it left me and went into you. My soul isn’t mine anymore. It’s tangled with yours. Collin, taking that away from you. I just can’t risk it.” His fingers tangled in my hair as I spoke. His blue gaze focused on my mine. There was an expression in his eyes that was so powerful, I wanted to look away, but he wouldn’t let me.

“You’re worth the risk,” he whispered. His hands slid from my shoulders to my cheeks, slowly. His eyes darted between my eyes and my lips as I spoke.

“I can’t let you,” I replied softly, unable to look away.

He released me, gazing at the jeweled floor and said, “Tell her.” I wasn’t sure who he was talking to, but it seemed that they had already discussed it.

Lorren spoke first, “When I used the stone, it nearly killed me. Ivy, it’ll take every ounce of strength you have to command its powers and live.”

I snapped at him, turning to the spot where he sat, laying back against the wall with Jenna Marie in his arms. “Would you be able to do it? Would you risk losing her?” But he had risked losing her, and did. I swallowed hard. Thinking. Not liking my options, but not seeing another way out.

Eric spoke from his prone position on the floor. His fingers were laced behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. “You know he did,” he replied to the question directed at Lorren. “You’re a smart girl, despite my criticisms.” He paused, staring blankly. His jaw tensed, revealing his anxiety despite his cavalier pose. “When I used the stone, it destroyed me—and remade me. It ripped me apart, seam by seam. And I told them Ivy.”

My heart lurched. He didn’t! That was a secret between us. I wasn’t even sure if it was true—if his curse would affect me. Anger and fear were mixing together, pooling restlessly in the pit of my stomach. “Stop it,” he chided and sprang up. Walking toward me with a fierceness in his step, he looked down, saying, “My curse—the price I paid to use the stone—will affect you. To date it has destroyed everyone I’ve cared about.” His eyes were like golden flames, “Every. Single. One. No one escaped its reach. Everyone died. You know this! We already talked about it, and yet you sit here and act like this won’t be a big deal.” His index finger pressed into my chest where the poison was visible again just above my neckline, “This promises your death as well. The Omen, that dragon—if it’s really the Omen—promises destruction. Your life is over. It’s possible you’ll try to use the stone, and just die before it even does anything.” He removed his hand, and turned his back to me. Tension knotted his broad shoulders.

Eric’s words made me shiver. They presented a finality that I hadn’t heard until that point. They made me face the hopelessness that was presented to me. I had to use an incredibly powerful source of magic, and hope I was strong enough for its magic to course through me, like a piece of wire, without dying on contact. Collin remained leaning against the wall, his hands behind him with his feet kicked out in front. He watched me carefully as they spoke plainly, failing to sugar-coat anything. They said what would happen; they said what was real.

I nodded slowly, then turned to Collin, “And the price I pay for using the stone will be higher... “ A hysterical laugh bubbled to my lips. “Collin, I can’t do this! I can’t. It’s impossible. My body’s supposed to be a conduit for some massive sort of dark power that will kill Kreturus—it sounds so impossible. He could snatch the stone out of my hands before I even have a chance to use it, and use it himself.”

Collin shoved off the wall and stood in front of me. He could hear my resolve shattering, as I spoke. Reaching for me, he took my hands in his, “That’s why Eric and I are going. That’s why we have to be there. We can’t use the stone down here, it has to be above ground, and in front of Kreturus. ”

A puzzled look crossed my face, “Why can’t we use it in secret? Why does it have to be in the open? In front of him? He’ll make a grab for the stone, and if he gets it, everything will be so much worse.”

His hands rubbed smoothly over mine. Assuredly, he said, “He doesn’t get the stone.”

“But how do you know?” I asked.

“Because of the thirteenth prophecy.Because the depiction of power on the stem of the cup was of you—not him. Kreturus knows he’s fighting a losing battle without you. That’s why he wanted you. That’s why he waited...”

I studied Collin’s hands, the strong fingers that tapered as gently as a sculpture. “He said he waited because my powers aren’t fully formed. He made it sound like they were only in infancy.”

Collin brushed a curl away from my eyes, “He doesn’t realize you have the stone. The only thing he knows is that your powers change, and you become strong enough to destroy him as if he were nothing. He assumed your powers weren’t fully formed, but they are. It’s the stone that’s changing things. It’s the stone that gives you the power to destroy him, and make you the goddess you saw on the stem of the chalice.” He leaned close, keeping his hand on my face, rubbing his thumb slowly across my cheek. “Let me give you this. Your sacrifice saved me. I’ll always be yours. It won’t change me—I promise.”

“But how can you be sure?” Tears were pricking my eyes. I knew I had to accept his offer. I knew I had to drink his soul to reclaim my own. It was the only way we could win. There were no other options.

His voice was a whisper that only I could hear, “Because we were soul mates before we shared a soul, and we’ll be soul mates after.” He leaned closer, his dark lashes lowering as his full lips pressed into mine. His hands slid down my sides, pulling me closer as the kiss deepened. That was when I felt it—our conjoined soul was deep within him—mashed together like a ball of Playdough that had once been separate colors. They were now woven so tightly together that there was no way to pull the two souls apart. It was the gift that restored his life. And now I was taking it back. No, he was giving it. I kissed him deeper, wrapping my arms around his neck.

Our souls were floating freely, tantalizing my senses, and awakening the darkness that craved souls within me. At first the sensation frightened me, causing me to tense. I almost pulled away, but Collin slid his hand around to the back of my head, as his other hand lowered to the small of my back, pulling me even closer. Every inch of my body was pressed against his. When I stopped fighting what I was, his grip on me loosened, gently moving up my back, and cupping my face.

As Collin’s soul was called to me, like a butterfly on a breeze, I thought I could hear him. His voice brushed my mind gently, but there were no words for what he felt. It was a mixture so intense that tears formed in the corners of my eyes. He thought I was brave and beautiful like a Greek goddess, like the version of me on the goblet. Confident and certain of what to do and when to do it. Admiration and adoration thickly coated his thoughts. The thing that startled me most was that there was no hint of fear, no underlying thoughts of losing me. He was certain we’d always be together. He was confident that nothing would tear us apart.

As his soul floated past his lips, I felt him sigh in relief. The mental connection I’d had vanished, and the only thing I could feel were his arms around me, his lips against mine. I kissed him deeper, as his soul melted into my body like it belonged there. It felt like wrapping your body in a warm blanket after being frozen. I felt stronger as the piece of lost soul fit back into the place I’d torn it from. Afraid to break the kiss, afraid to pull away, my lips lingered pressing gently to his.

Collin was breathing hard. He held our faces close, gazing at me. His chest swelled as his ragged breathing slowed. Finally he spoke, “I’m still here—and I still love you.”

Eric’s voice pierced my ears, clanging annoyingly like someone beating the bottom of a pot, “Lorren, heal her before I hurl.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Having the remaining sapphire serum removed was somewhat humiliating. The only person who wasn’t watching was Jenna Marie. Collin held my hand, as I squeezed mercilessly. As Lorren spun the rose, it made the venom move through my body. The pain was the only thing that distracted me from having three guys staring at my exposed chest. My back arched off the table as I grit my teeth.

“Almost done,” Lorren said, swirling the rose so quickly that it was a silvery blue blur.

I gripped down on Collin’s hand, trying hard not to scream.

Eric said, “Why is it hurting her like this? It seems to be draining her.” But Lorren remained silent, working quickly to remove the rest of the poison. When no one answered him, his irritation became audible, “Lorren,” he snapped, “is the venom spreading? What the hell’s happening?”

“Don’t know,” Lorren replied. It sounded as if he couldn’t speak as he concentrated on what he was doing. “It’s close to her heart. She’s weak. The poison may be spreading.”

Another gasp of air and a silent scream ripped from my mouth, as I crushed Collin’s hand. I could feel the venom ripping through my chest. It was like a wave of ice burning through my veins as the sapphire serum moved. The voices around me started to sound distorted, like we were under water.

“Her grip’s weakening,” Collin said quietly. His fingers remained wrapped with mine. I could feel his gaze on the side of my face.

“Awh, fuck,” Eric growled. He hesitated, hovering over me as if he could do something but wasn’t certain if he should. In a second, I understood why. Eric leaned down, and before I knew what happened I felt his lips on mine. It wasn’t a kiss—it was a transfer of power. Eric infused me with some of his. As he did so, a cold rush of air filled my lungs. The trickle of power continued, and the pain that was shooting through me dulled.