“Grey!” I screamed, my voice becoming lost in the wind. “Grey!”
There was silence. I staggered forward, sinking up to my shins in the powder. It slipped down the tops of my tall boots, chilling my skin. I barely noticed.
My heart began to pound as I searched for Grey. How would he appear? Was he even here?
No.
I couldn’t doubt. I wouldn’t.
He was here. I would find him.
He’d said this place gave him strength. That it spoke to something in his soul, rejuvenating him. This was his Eve.
I drew in a deep breath and called out again, tears pricking my eyes. I might be confident he was here, but I was terrified I wouldn't manage this. Not because I didn’t believe in myself, but because I couldn’t face a life without him. It wasn’t a world I wanted to live in.
Snow fell all around, sticking to my hair and dress. The cold seeped into my veins, but I welcomed it. It made me feel alive. Present.
I fell to my knees in the snow, sucking in a huge lungful of cold air. Magic sparked through me as I took in the mountains ahead. Cold, hard, strong. But beneath them, far in the earth, was a core of heat.
Just like Grey.
Of course this place spoke to him.
This place was him.
I stared at the mountains through the snow and called on my magic, pulling the book from my skirts. Evangeline’s face whispered though my mind as I clutched it tight. My mother’s face. The faces of all of my family.
Power surged through me, strong and fierce. Just like when I’d tried to bring back Beatrix. My soul filled with it, warming me from within.
The wind began to circle around me, the snow swirling in a cyclone. Energy crackled on the air, joining with my magic. It was so powerful that I felt like I was flying, my entire being lighting from within.
All around me, I could feel Grey. His strength, his honor, his kindness. He was with me. I sank my free hand into the cold snow, clutching a handful tight.
Power flowed between me and the night, between me and Grey. Determination replaced fear.
I could do this.
I would do this.
Suddenly, I could smell the firelight and whisky scent that was so distinctly Grey. Could hear the thunder of his magic, despite the fact that the night was clear.
The wind whipped faster and faster, so much magic contained within it. Energy exploded within me, my power going wild. Tears poured from my eyes, grief and hope and terror and joy.
The wind began to slow, the snow so thick that I could no longer see the mountains beyond. It coalesced in front of me, forming the shape of a man. Forming Grey.
One moment, there was only whiteness around me.
The next, there was Grey.
Healthy. Whole.
“Grey.” I fell toward him through the snow.
He pulled me up, his hands strong and warm and real.
I threw my arms around him, hugging him tight. “You’re okay. You’re okay.”
He clutched me close to him, his warmth surrounding me. His scent and strength filled me. “You brought me back.”
“Of course. Of course.” I pulled back and kissed him, my lips cold against his warmer ones. “I was so scared I’d lost you.”
He kissed me again, seeming to try to absorb me into him. I hugged him close, never wanting to let him go. He was having none of it, though. He pulled back and looked at me, his eyelashes now studded with snow. I could only imagine what I looked like. A snowman, perhaps.
“Why the bloody hell are we in the freezing cold?” he asked.
“We’re in Carpathia. In the mountains you love. I went through the portal in your flat.”
Confusion wrinkled his brow. “Why the bloody hell would you do that?”
“This is the place that gives you strength. You said it yourself. Just like Eve’s magic kept Beatrix going until I could find her again, this place kept you going.”
He smiled, shaking his head. “You ninny. It wasn’t mountains or snow or cold that kept me here. It was you. Since the moment I died, it was your light that kept me here.”
“What?” Confusion flashed. “But I tried to bring you back before. It didn’t work.”
“You didn’t believe in yourself yet. You hadn’t fully embraced your magic. You needed to find yourself fully at the Shadow Guild for it to work. I could feel the difference in you once you had.”
“Oh, my gosh.” I looked around at the snow, at the freezing landscape that could have killed me. “So I imagined that this place did it?”
He nodded. “I believe so. I love these mountains, but they aren’t you. They aren’t what kept me going.”
I threw my arms around him again, so blessedly grateful to have him back with me. He pulled me up into his arms, sweeping me out of the snow. I clung to him, my enormous skirts covered in snow. He strode through the drifts, exiting the freezing landscape and arriving back in his flat.
I leaned up and kissed him, determined never to let him go ever again.
19
Carrow
Two days later, after we’d cleaned up the snowdrift in Grey’s flat and confirmed that we hadn’t changed any of the present while in the past, Grey and I returned to Silviu’s Castle. I raced down the stone stairs into the depths, Grey at my side. We needed to see the seer—needed the confirmation that we’d broken the curse.
I was certain we had, and Grey no longer felt the beast inside him, but I needed to hear it.
We’d approached the castle under the cover of night like last time, but we’d come with a better plan. Meeting Silviu again was out of the question, so the Shadow Guild had come along. Mac, Eve, Seraphia, Quinn, Beatrix, and Cordelia were all currently outside, creating a massive disturbance on the side of Silviu’s mountain.
We’d waited while they set off hundreds of Eve’s fireworks. Unlike human fireworks, they formed monsters and armies, all made of light and fire. It looked like a legitimate attack. It would act like one as well, fooling Silviu for at least a little while. Long enough for us to get our answers, hopefully. And as expected, Silviu had run outside, along with Remington and all the guards in the castle.
Grey and I had made our move, darting through the main entrance and heading toward the seer’s underground lair.
“This is how we should have entered the first time,” he said as we raced down the stairs. “I never should have expected him to be reasonable.”
“It worked out in the end.” I panted, exhausted from the all the sprinting. “How far are we?”
“We’re nearly there,” he said. “Only a couple more flights.”
“Thank God.” There were so many that I’d lost track. If we ran into Silviu, we could fight him. With the Shadow Guild at our backs, we could take out the creepy vampire and all his guards. But it’d be better to avoid it.
Finally, we reached the bottom of the stairs. The enormous cavern echoed with our footsteps, the cool mist making goosebumps rise on my skin. Long icicles hung from the black rock walls.
“I can’t believe it lives down here,” I said.
“I’m not sure live is the right word for it.” Grey reached for my hand, and I gripped his tightly.
As we walked deeper into the cavern, I prayed the seer would come to us. Prayed it would have the answers we sought.