As I ran out the front door in my bathrobe, it occurred to me that someone would surely ask me where I was going. Panic surged through me even as magic coiled up from my feet.
The teleportation spell. I’d never been able to move more than ten feet, and the mill was at least half a mile away. Still, I had to try.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, drawing my powers deep inside myself, trying to calm down. It probably only took five seconds, but it felt like hours until I felt the frigid wind wrap itself around me, felt my blood slow in my veins.
I was almost afraid to open my eyes when the cold subsided, but when I did, I found myself standing right in front of the corn mill. Any relief I might have felt over the spell working faded the instant I stepped inside. I could feel the residual charge of magic in the air. Dark magic.
“Archer?” I called out, my heart pounding so loudly I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to hear anything else.
But then, from the back of the mill, I heard a faint and wheezing, “Mercer.”
A sob burst from my throat as I ran to the alcove. Archer was lying on his back, his hands on his chest. In the moonlight he looked like he’d been splashed all over with ink.
But the substance covering his chest and spreading out in a large pool underneath him wasn’t ink or black paint, or any of the other things my desperate mind tried to tell me it could be. There was a faint metallic smell that reminded me of when Jenna would feed in our room.
I dropped to my knees beside him, touching his cheek. It was felt cool and clammy under my hand. “This is…what I get…for coming early,” he gasped out, trying to smile at me.
“Please don’t joke and bleed at the same time,” I said as I gently lifted his hands from his chest. It was too dark to see the extent of his injuries, which was probably a good thing. Still, his shirt was shiny and slick with blood, and his breathing was shallow.
“It was this guy,” he murmured. “Came…out of nowhere. Think he had…claws.”
Oh, God. That explained the gashes, but the thought of Nick, every bit as savage as Daisy had been, slicing into Archer made bile rise up in my throat.
I breathed in through my nose until the feeling passed. “You’re going to be okay,” I said, but my voice was wavering and I was shaking. “It’s probably not even that bad, and you’re just being a big drama queen as usual.” My magic was crashing around inside me like a choppy sea, and I was too upset to focus on anything. Still, I tried. I stroked his forehead and tried to channel my powers through him, tried to close all the gaping wounds on his chest and stomach.
The bleeding slowed a little, but that was the best I could do, and he’d already lost so much blood. I sat back on my heels, wanting to scream in frustration. What was the point of having the powers of gods if you couldn’t help the people you loved?
Shivering, Archer grasped one of my hands with his. “Lost cause, Mercer.”
“Don’t say that!” I cried.
He shook his head. His teeth were chattering so hard he could barely speak, but he managed to say, “This was always going to happen…sooner or later. Wish…it had been…later.”
I wanted to tell him no again, that he would be fine, but there was no point. Even in the darkness I could see how white he was, and how scared his eyes were. The pool of blood under him was so huge it was hard to believe there was any blood left in his body.
He was dying, and we both knew it. There was nothing I could do.
But there was someone who could.
I leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear, “Cross, please, just hold on for a few more minutes, okay? You promised to make out with me in a castle, and I’m holding you to it.”
He tried to laugh, but it just came out a weak gurgle. I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth to keep from crying out, and stood up.
His fingers grabbed for the hem of my robe. “Don’t leave me,” he whispered.
It killed me to do it, but I stepped out of his reach. “I’m coming right back, I swear.”
There was more I wanted to say, but we were wasting time. If he died before I got back…I couldn’t think about that. Before I had time to second-guess myself or weigh the risks, I closed my eyes and vanished.
I reappeared in the hallway just outside my room, and dashed down to Cal’s room.
When he opened the door, he looked rumpled and sleepy, and pleasantly surprised to see me. That was the worst part.
As soon as he realized I was covered in blood, however, his smile faded, and he clutched my arm. “Sophie, what happened?”
“It’s not my blood,” I said quickly. “Someone is hurt, and I need you to get to the mill as fast as you can. Don’t tell anyone. I’ll meet you there.”
He frowned, confused, but I teleported back to the mill before he had a chance to ask any questions.
I didn’t know if it was all the practicing I’d been doing with Dad, or what, but it hardly took anything out of me to do such a huge spell. When I flashed back to the mill, I felt clearheaded and not even a little bit dizzy. But fear raced through me as I made my way back to Archer. Thank God his chest was still rising and falling when I reached him, but he seemed to be breathing faster, and his eyes were closed.
“See, told you I’d be back,” I said as I crouched at his side. I tried to keep my voice light, like if he thought I wasn’t afraid, he wouldn’t be either. I’m not sure it worked, but he took my hand and, without opening his eyes, pressed my palm to his lips. I held his other wrist so I could feel his pulse.
I focused on that, each steady beat underneath my fingers, until at long last I heard Cal call out, “Sophie?”
“Back here!”
I could hear him stepping over the loose rocks and fallen beams, and when he finally appeared in the doorway, I thought he might be the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. “Oh, thank you,” I breathed, but whether I was talking to Cal or to God, I couldn’t have told you.
“What happened?” he asked, moving toward me.
And then he saw.
A mix of emotions crossed his face. He looked shocked at first, but that gave way to a cold, quiet anger. His eyes went hard and his mouth tightened.
“Cal,” I said, but it came out like a whimper.
“Move,” he said tersely. I scrambled to my feet, walking around to Archer’s other side as Cal knelt where I’d been. He grabbed Archer’s arm with none of the gentleness I’d seen him use healing other people, me included. It was like he was trying to touch him as little as possible. I had one horrible moment of doubt, but then Cal dropped his head, and little silver sparks started running over Archer’s skin.
So I sat on the grimy floor of an eighteenth-century corn mill and watched my fiancé heal the guy I loved.
“Wow,” I muttered. “I’m gonna have one messed-up ‘How I Spent My Summer Vacation’ essay when I get back to Hex Hall.” I lowered my forehead onto my knees, debating whether I should burst into tears or hysterical laughter.
After a few minutes, I heard Cal say, “There.”
When I looked up, the blood underneath Archer was completely gone, and even though he was still unconscious, his breathing was slow and regular. I scrambled over to them. “Thank you so much,” I said, laying my hand on Cal’s arm.
But he threw it off as he stood, and turned away from me. Fury was etched in every line of his body, from his tense shoulders to his clenched fists.
I followed him and started to say, “I’m sorry,” but he cut me off.
“Don’t. I knew you could be naïve, but I never thought you were stupid. He’s an Eye, Sophie. They kill our kind. What part of that don’t you understand?”
All I could do was blink at him.
“And this one is worse than any of the others,” he continued, “because he’s technically one of us. He’s a traitor to his own race, and you just keep letting him in, and pushing…everyone else away.” He looked up at me, and what I saw in his eyes made me flinch. Cal was so good at hiding his emotions that I’d never realized…God, how could I have been such an idiot?
“I am so sorry,” I said again. “I-I never meant to hurt you, Cal.”
As quickly as it had appeared, the flash of pain was gone. “This isn’t just about me,” he said. “You’re supposed to be head of the Council one day. Prodigium have to trust you, and that’s never going to happen if you have one of them in your bed.”
A combination of anger and embarrassment rushed through me, burning my cheeks. “Okay, first of all, no one is ‘in my bed.’ Second, Archer has saved my life more than once. He’s not what you think he is.”
Cal made a sound of disgust. “Oh, come on, Sophie. Don’t you get it? He’s L’Occhio di Dio’s ultimate weapon. They used him as a spy at Hecate for years, so what makes you think that’s stopped now? This is probably just his new assignment, getting close to you so he can use you for information about the Council.”
“Actually, I was just going to use her for her body, but that’s a good idea, too.”
Cal and I whipped our heads around to see Archer sitting up against the back wall, his dark eyes glittering. He was still pale, but other than that, there was no sign that he’d been at death’s door only a few minutes ago.
“So if you’re so convinced I’m a spy, why did you heal me?” Archer asked, wincing as he pushed himself to his feet. “You could’ve just let me bleed to death and saved yourself a lot of hassle.”
Cal scowled at him. “I did it for her.”
Archer’s smirk faded. “Fair enough,” he said softly. “Thank you.”
They stared each other down, and while the dorky eleven-year-old in my soul kind of hoped that two hot boys might fight over me, the rational, seventeen-year-old knew that Archer needed to get out of here, fast.
“Okay, look, we can talk this out later,” I said, walking over to Archer. He slipped his hand into mine and squeezed it.
Cal’s glance fell on our joined hands, and he turned away. “I’m heading back to the house,” he muttered, but when he turned to go, the doorway was blocked.
Dad, Lara, and the other three members of the Council were standing there, staring at Archer and me.