Natalia had been watching from the shadows. She was never certain which Eric was the real Eric. He was always so bipolar, wanting her near, but pushing her away. And all this time, she only followed him knowing she’d destroy him and the rest of the assassins. All this time, she thought she was alone. She thought there was no one like her. No one who understood. The only being that had any inclination of what she goes through on a daily basis was being forced to his knees and dying. Natalia watched, torn. Part of her wanted him to suffer. There were years she didn’t know what she was, didn’t know to hide it. It cost her more than she could bear, and destroying him had become her lifelong goal. But now that he was fading, she couldn’t. Something snapped inside of her. She knew Ivy was stronger than she was. She knew that blue flame was draining his life, ending it grain by grain, retracting something that was supposed to be hers.
Natalia was aware of some of her abilities. She knew that draining someone gave her additional power. It could shield her from death. The question was, did she have enough power to shield them both from that? She watched the blue flames destroying Eric and couldn’t sit there anymore. He was hers. Natalia took off at a full run, headed directly for Eric. He didn’t see her coming. No one did. The demons that were there were few, the Queen’s servants, and their eyes were on the man dying on the ground. Eric’s eyes were closed, his chest barely moving. By the time she got to him, it could be too late. Her long lean legs practically flew, each step bounding off the ground like she’d taken three strides. She felt the power drain from her with each step. The demons saw her run, and moved to intercept her, but Natalia passed effortlessly over them and bounded to Eric. Leaping over the blue flames, she crouched over Eric, trying to protect him.
Ivy saw Natalia run into the circle, and completed the spell. The girl arched her back and a scream ripped from her lips. Blue sparks were flying through the cavern. Natalia scooped up a lifeless Eric in her arms, and turned trying to find a way out. Eric didn’t move. He didn’t speak or open his eyes. It was the way Ivy wanted it. It appeared that he died, a spell of false death. She’d deal with him later.
Natalia screamed when the sparks bounced off of her. The Queen’s magic was stronger than her own. There was no way to stop the spell that was encasing Eric, and now it trapped her, too. When Natalia scooped up Eric’s lifeless body, she was worried that this might be for nothing. He was so pale, his beautiful body perfectly still. Angering the Demon Queen and alerting the Underworld of her presence wasn’t something she wanted, but Eric was hers. Any torment he deserved should come from her hand, and yet, part of her wanted him. The conflict would have torn her apart if the searing pain wasn’t splattering off of Natalia like raindrops. When the blue sparks hit her skin, torment ensued. There were no words to describe it. Her spine arched with Eric in her arms. Stumbling forward, she could feel her body weakening, dying. It was too late. Natalia could no longer support her own weight. The spell pulled them both to the ground. Eric fell, motionless at her side. Tears welled in her eyes. If she had everything to do over again, oh, God… she’d made a mistake. An unforgivable mistake. And now it was too late.
Ivy held the spell, sealing it and holding both of them prisoner within the charm. The pain that ricocheted though Natalia’s body wasn’t something that Ivy could control. It was coming from Eric. Ivy wasn’t certain how she knew that, she could just sense it. The manifestation of the agony Eric felt every day poured from him and interacted with her spell. It was as if the curse was confused, accepting Eric’s false death, but refusing to leave his body. Instead, the curse arched, showering them with blue sparks as it barreled into Ivy’s spell.
Regret coursed through her. Ivy didn’t want this. It was bad enough that Eric had to be treated this way, that he forced her to do this—but this girl. Who was she? Who was crazy enough to follow Eric into the Underworld? And then she threw herself into the spell. It was a desperate act, an action to protect him. Ivy knew the severity of Eric’s agony, of the pain that coursed through him. But this girl didn’t. If Ivy held the spell much longer, it would destroy her.
Natalia slumped, her head was too heavy to hold. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Eric. The sparks were killing her, at least she thought that was what was happening. Why else would she feel like this. Her body had withstood pain before, but it was nothing like this. This torment was soul-twisting, relentless agony. It never ceased. With each spark of light, Natalia thought she’d die. She glanced at Eric once more, thinking she failed, and then the world went black.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Collin stood next to Ivy, at the edge of the water. The Pool of Lost Souls spread behind him like an endless lake of pure blue. He slid his hand onto her shoulder. When Ivy turned to look at him her eyes said everything. Every ounce of betrayal, every drop of remorse was visible in her gaze.
Collin hated Eric when he was alive, but this—whatever this was—was something beyond hideous. Even for Eric. He shook his head, pulling her closer, trying to comfort her, “There has to be a reason for it. He wouldn’t do this to you.”
Ivy felt Collin’s hands on her, holding her chilled body tightly to his. Collin was like her, a soul with no body. But it didn’t matter how alike they were, he didn’t understand her relationship with Eric. At times, neither did she.
Tears flooded her eyes, but they would not fall. Souls cannot shed them. “But he did. And that girl—what was that? Did he plan that? Did he drag her down here with him? It seems like he wanted me to destroy him. He did everything to provoke me into destroying him.” She shook her head sadly. She couldn’t destroy them. It just appeared that she had and now she didn’t know what to do.
T’gar approached her, “My Queen,” he begged, awaiting her command. The demon was covered in black scales, his back hunched making his body bend in a permanent bow. T’gar’s voice sounded like he was drowning in tar. The demonic inflections that hurt her ears at one time, sounded normal now.
She released Collin and turned to face the demon. Her voice was firm, powerful, “Send word to their messenger that it was done. Eric Masterson is no more.”
The demon bowed, his head touching the ground. When he rose there were grains of sand between his eyes. “It will be done as you command.” He bowed again, and withdrew.
Ivy waved her hand in a broad arch, telling the rest of her demonic court to leave. The signal was one of power. A small pulsating vibration shook the Pool and the sands surrounding it. The demons that tended to her left and Ivy was alone with Collin.
She turned back to him, her eyes wide with worry. “What happens when they find out? Or if they require proof?” She just lied to the Archangel. They had suspected her of deception from the beginning, but until this day, Ivy had never misled them. The thought made her feel sick, but she couldn’t destroy Eric. There were only two people she cared about who were still around, and Eric was one of them. She didn’t want to kill him. She didn’t want to try.
“Where are they?” Collin asked. Before now, he didn’t ask her. He hadn’t been sure what she would do. Ivy had tried to be a fair Queen, but this was beyond her. Eric ripped open her heart, but she couldn’t strike him down.
“I trapped them in a cell below the Lorren. Eric can’t effonate out. I placed charms on the prison that will drain his power, and the girl’s—assuming she’s like him. There’s no way out.” She looked up at Collin, “What am I supposed to do? The Accords were broken, and I lied to them. They’ll want more than Eric’s head if they find out… ” Ivy’s hands were at her throat. Although she wasn’t human anymore, it still worried her. She could be destroyed. Kreturus was ended. She could be as well. Collin pulled her tightly in his arms, kissing the top of her head.
“Then we make certain that they don’t find out.” Collin was silent for a moment. He didn’t ask Ivy what she planned on doing with him, and until then she hadn’t spoken about it. The idea of justice seemed cruel at times. Ivy didn’t deserve this, but she bore it with strength and compassion. After a moment, he asked, “Eric didn’t notice, did he?”
She shook her head. “I tried to get him to come several times, but he wouldn’t.” She touched her dress, feeling the lightness against her fingertips—the dress that she wasn’t supposed to have. It didn’t conceal her body entirely, but it meant something, something she needed him to discuss, but he wouldn’t come. “He doesn’t know the curse is malleable… that it can be changed. Whatever compelled him to do this was for nothing. And now, he’s condemned himself, and taken that girl down with him.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The sound of dripping water echoed through her head. Natalia’s temples were pounding like she’d… She didn’t finish the thought. Her eyes shot open and she stared at the ceiling. It was made of solid gold vines. The walls were dark as ink with no texture, no shape. Her eyes shifted side to side. It took a moment to realize that she was alive, that she was still in the same form. The Demon Queen didn’t kill her. She was alive—and trapped. Natalia sat up slowly, rubbing her throbbing head. That spell was wicked. It seemed to suck the life out of her, but she didn’t die. Natalia wasn’t sure what Ivy had done. Maybe it meant that she couldn’t be killed. She was blood of the Omen, and that thing was around much longer than she was. Maybe that was why she locked her down here. Maybe she knew what she was—an Ori. The gold encrusted vines made her think that she was below the Lorren. The inky walls reminded her of the River of Night that flowed deep below the Underworld. There were drawings of it in Eric’s book. It marked a place in the Underworld that he never wanted to go, ever again. His drawings brushed her mind, and she could almost hear his voice again. Natalia could hear his words, warning her not to touch the flowing inky substance that surrounded her, it would trap her within it like a fly frozen inside an ice cube. Although the river appeared fluid, and moved, it wasn’t.
Eric. Her heart plummeted. She wasn’t able to save him. She held him in her arms, but her power wasn’t enough. Natalia couldn’t overpower the Queen. She couldn’t save him. Before she could consider how she felt about that, a moan came from the other side of the chamber. Natalia’s heart raced. She sat up quickly, instantly regretting it. Crawling, she dragged her weakened body toward the sound. Reaching through the darkness, she could see him—Eric. He was lying on his side, his golden hair hanging over his eyes. Her fingers pushed back his soft hair. His face was contorted like he was in pain, but it looked like he was asleep. “Eric?” she asked, trying to rouse him, but he wouldn’t wake up.
When her hand touched his shoulder, an ear-piercing scream ripped out of Eric’s mouth. Natalia immediately released him, but he didn’t stop. His body writhed, his spine going rigid as his hands pumped into fists trying to control something that was clearly beyond him. Natalia didn’t know what to do. There was no help. She didn’t know what was wrong.