When I was ten, my hamster died. I don’t even recall the stupid thing’s name. I just remember standing there, watching through the plastic pane of its cage, waiting for its furry belly to rise and fall. Rise and fall.
Rise. And. Fall.
As I stare at Kuna’s motionless middle, all I can think about is my childhood pet and how, if I had done something more—different—maybe it—he—would’ve survived. Despite the screaming and the clambering and the shattered glass reflecting the ruins of my heart, I experience a moment of unequivocal clarity. Time is nonexistent. It’s as if I’m standing behind a window, just like with my dead hamster, removed but here. I see but don’t feel. I know but can’t believe.
Kuna is really dead. And he’s not coming back.
Stormy lies crumpled beside him. She pulls her knees to her chest, and she hugs Kuna’s arm as if it’s a life preserver.
I stroke her short hair, smoothing the fringed locks between my fingers. My chest constricts, and I have to bite my lip to keep my own emotions from surfacing. We all loved Kuna, but no one will be as affected as the Guardian lying beside me, resembling a helpless toddler more than the fearless warrior she is.
Joshua places his palm on Kuna’s forehead, then sweeps his hand over Kuna’s eyelids. The big lug could be sleeping. I half expect him to sit up, slap his knee the way he does, and laugh, “Gotcha!” Stormy would be furious, and they wouldn’t speak for days. But they’d make up eventually. This horrific event would be forgotten.
This can’t be the end for him—them.
It is.
I glance at Joshua. Any second he’ll snap out of his trance, tell me what to do. I’m the Verity’s vessel for crying out loud, yet even I couldn’t bring Kuna back. It doesn’t make sense. First me, and now Joshua’s Ever blood? Why here? Why now?
Why Kuna?
“If someone is already meant to die, if it’s their time, nothing can change that. Not a touch from a Physic or a drop of Ever blood. Death is a Calling all its own.”
Ky’s words come screaming back to me. The explanation is so close, so fresh, it’s almost as if I hear him speaking aloud. This happens sometimes. When I miss him or feel particularly worried about the burden he carries. That’s when his voice calls to me—like a voice in a dream.
“Leave. Now.”
It’s what Ky said to Gage the night he tried to kidnap me at Wichgreen Village. It’s what he’d say now if he were here.
Panic wells as the memory melts away the numbness, giving way to pain and fear. We have to get out. Whoever did this didn’t go to such lengths to kill Kuna alone. We need to move. I need to find Mom and Robyn and everyone else I love.
“Joshua, help me get Stormy.” I try to unwind her arm from Kuna’s, but the attempt only causes her to wail louder.
Joshua doesn’t respond.
I touch his knee. “Joshua—”
He pounds the floor with his fist. Tears at Kuna’s extra-large shirt, ripping it open. Buttons fly. Joshua cuts his hand again, deeper.
Bile rises into my throat, burns, but I can’t look away. I’ve never seen him so—gulp—afraid.
Blood smears Kuna’s chest. The rusty scent forces me to cup my hand over my mouth and nose. When Joshua presses his bloody palm onto the wound, his arm shakes and his bicep flexes. He knows as well as I do Kuna is gone. But, just like Stormy, he can’t let go.
“Come on,” Joshua whispers through clenched teeth. “Come on.”
“Joshua.” I reach out and brush his hand with my fingertips.
He rejects my touch, flicking it away like a pest.
Now I know something’s off. It’s as if we’ve switched places. The calm that surfaces isn’t the same cloaking warmth of the Verity I’ve grown so fond of, but it’s enough to make me act. We’re running out of time and I seem to be the only one here coherent enough to see it.
I don’t have to worry about Mom. Makai would’ve made her his first priority.
The Guardians have things under control. The people are well cared for. No question.
The best thing I can do now is protect myself—protect the Verity.
Joshua hangs his head, grabs a fistful of Kuna’s newly dyed shirt. Everything in me pleads to comfort him. I can see he’s holding back the emotion threatening to break and curl over him like a tumultuous tidal wave. But Joshua doesn’t drown. He’s a survivor and he won’t give in.
Eyes rimmed in red, he faces me. “El, you have to take Stormy.” His voice is choked but firm, reiterating what I said only moments ago, as if it were his idea.
I nod, thankful he’s returned to the present. The noise surrounding us, warbled before as if we were underwater, pulses against my skull. Guardians bark orders. So much pandemonium. It’s hard to tell who’s friend and who’s foe at the core of it all.
But where are the attackers? People bleed. Cry out. Take cover. Popping and shooting sounds resound. Yet there’s no one aside from the guests and the Guardians and staff. The Maple Mine Fairies have abandoned their lantern havens, probably returned to the safety of the mines. I know Makai can become invisible, but a whole group of villains? Or maybe there’s just one. No way to tell.
Joshua rises and helps me pry Stormy from her husband. Together we bring her to a hunched stand. Pain skewers my arm. When I notice the blood seeping from the space beneath my torn sleeve, I draw in a sharp breath through my nose. I’d almost forgotten I was injured.
Joshua reaches his bloody palm toward my cut.
I shake my head. “I’m fine.” As a Mirror I contain all the Callings, so I heal quickly. But even if I’d lost my Calling, the way I should’ve when the Verity chose me, it wouldn’t matter. My connection to Joshua acts as an automatic repair. Because he gave me a Kiss of Infinity, his life replaces mine. And his Ever Calling takes it one step beyond. It’s almost as if his blood runs through my veins, healing me from the inside out.
Joshua knows all of this, yet he presses his skin to mine anyway. But the ache does not subside. We exchange a frown. Kuna was one thing, but now Joshua’s blood can’t even heal a small cut? My temples pulse against my crown. This is bad.
Stormy slumps into my side as our trio hobbles toward the dais. We climb the steps, skirt the upended table, trip over chairs with legs akimbo, and stand before the wall concealing the passageway where Mom has no doubt already escaped with my uncle-slash-new dad. The tapestry decorating the wall is torn, folding down on itself like a droopy eyelid.
Joshua taps a ten-digit code into the keypad to the tapestry’s left. He faces me as the wall grates open. “Once you’re inside punch in the code to close the wall. You know it?”
I nod. The code is changed weekly, and only a handful of castle residents are trusted with the information.
“Good.” He removes Stormy’s arms from around his shoulder, transferring her full weight to me.
I’m stronger now than I used to be, but with Stormy hanging on to me alone, I realize I’m still weak. When this day ends I’ll have to work harder. The people now count on me to protect them. My Calling and the fact I’m the Verity’s vessel aren’t enough. I need to stop relying on these things as a fail-safe and find my own strength.
With one last kiss to my temple, Joshua hurries us through the opening and stands back. I set Stormy down with as much care as I’m able and rush to the interior keypad. It consists of letters, numbers, and symbols.
Five. B. Handprint. Eight. Moon. Four. A. T . . .
When the final piece of the code is in, I train my eyes on Joshua. He stands just past the opening, watching until we’re secure. The wall revolves inward, scraping closer, closer, closer. It takes everything in me not to pull him back here with us. Just as I’m about to lose sight of him, my gaze falls to his bloody palm, the one he sliced deep in an effort to save Kuna. I turn my own hand over and trace my fingers across the unharmed space.
The stone wall closes with a finalizing thunder. I clench my fists and swallow back the tears over what has been lost. This confirms the fear I’ve had for two months.
Because Joshua cut himself.
And I didn’t feel a thing.