Shadowland (The Immortals #3)

I run.

Past cars, houses, stray dogs and cats. Legs moving, muscles pumping, carrying me forward with hardly a thought. My body moving like a well-oiled machine with shiny new parts. And even though it’s only seconds, it feels like hours.

Hours since I last saw Haven.

Hours ’til I’ll see her again.

And the second I get there I see him. Arriving at the same time as I do.

The mere sight of him causing everything to fade—of no possible consequence now that he’s standing before me.

My heart caving as my mouth goes dry, overcome with such longing, I can’t even speak—gazing upon my sweet, wonderful Damen—more glorious than ever under the glow of the street-lights. The sound of my name on his lips, so charged, so loaded, it’s clear he feels the same.

I move toward him, pent-up emotions rising to the surface, bubbling over, I’ve so much to tell him, so much to say. The words fading the second we meet and my body’s overtaken by tingle and heat—wanting only to melt into him, to never be separated again—

His hand at my back, propelling me closer, as Roman opens the door, glances between us, and says, “Ever, Damen, so glad you could make it.”

Damen charges the door, pinning Roman to the wall as I slip right past and head for the den, eyes seeking Haven only to find her stretched out across the couch, pale, unmoving, and from what I can tell, barely breathing.

I rush toward her, dropping to her side as I grasp her wrist, fingers seeking her pulse like I once did at Damen’s.

“What did you do to her?” I glare at Ava who’s crouched right beside her, knowing she’s working with Roman, they’re on the same team. “What. Did you. Do?” I repeat, knowing a swift kick to her root chakra, the center for vanity and greed, would take her down in an instant if it should come to that. Wondering if Damen’s already done the same, plunging his fist into Roman’s sacral center, and no longer caring if he did.

Not after what they’ve done to my friend.

Ava looks at me, face pale against her wavy auburn hair, brown eyes wide and pleading, reminding me of something—something I’ve no time to grasp—when she says, “I didn’t do anything, Ever. I swear. I know you don’t believe me, but it’s true—”

“You’re right, I don’t believe you.” My focus back on Haven, pressing my palm to her forehead, her cheek, her skin cold and dry as her aura grows dimmer, darker, and her life-force energy slips away.

“It’s not what you think—they booked me for a reading—said it was for a party—and when I showed up—this is what I found—” She gestures toward Haven and shakes her head.

“But of course you showed up! It’s your dear friend Roman after all.” I gaze at Haven, searching for signs of abuse, but I can’t see a thing. She looks peaceful, unaware, clueless to the fact that she’s not long for this world. Well on her way to the next one, the Summerland, unless I can stop it.

“I tried to help—tried to—”

“So why didn’t you? Why’d you call Jude instead of nine-one-one?” I glare at her as I reach for my bag, my phone, remembering too late that I came here without it, manifesting a new one just as Roman storms into the room.

I look past him for Damen, my heart lurching when I don’t find him.

But Roman just laughs, shaking his head as he says, “Moves a bit slower than me. He is older, you know!” Snapping the manifested phone out of my hand when he adds, “Trust me, luv. It’s well beyond that. Seems your friend had herself a very potent cup of belladonna tea—” He motions toward a fine china cup on the table, its contents recently drained. “Also known as deadly nightshade in case you’re not familiar, and she’s so far along, she’s way beyond medical help. No, the only one who can save her now is you.”

I narrow my gaze, unsure what he means, seeing Damen now standing behind him, eyes guarded, troubled, as they look into mine. And I know he’s trying to tell me something, send a telepathic message I can’t seem to grasp. Getting only the faintest echo of sound, but unable to determine the words.

“This is it, Ever.” Roman smiles. “The moment you’ve been waiting for!” He sweeps his arms wide, motioning toward Haven as though she’s the grand prize.

I glance between him and Damen, still trying to receive Damen’s message, but nothing will come.

Roman’s eyes roaming over me, slowly taking me in, my bare feet, damp, clinging dress, wetting his lips as he says, “It’s real simple, darlin’, simple enough for even you to decipher. Remember the day you came to my house and we talked about the price?”

I glance at Damen, catching a flash of alarm, disbelief, hurt, before quickly looking away.

“Oops!” Roman lifts his shoulders and covers his mouth as he glances between us. “Sorry. Forgot your unauthorized visit was our dirty little secret. Guess you’ll just have to forgive my indiscretion, what with the life and death circumstances we’re in. So just to catch you up to speed”—he nods at Ava and Damen—“Ever swung by my house looking to broker a deal. Seems she’s extremely eager to bed her hunky boyfriend.” He laughs, his gaze landing on Damen as he heads behind the bar, reaching for a cut crystal goblet and filling it with elixir as Damen fights to stay calm.

I take a deep breath but stay put. Knowing it won’t make the slightest bit of difference if Roman’s dead or alive, either way he’s still in control. His game. His rules. And I can’t help but wonder how long he’s been at it—how long I’ve been fooling myself that I’m actually making progress when I’m just blindly following along. Just like the vision he showed me at school, all of us are under his rule.

“Ever—” Damen looks at me, telepathy no longer working, forced to voice his thoughts to the room. “Is this true?”

I swallow hard and look away, not looking at either of them when I say, “Just get to the point.”

“Always in such a hurry.” Roman shakes his head and clucks his tongue against his cheek. “Seriously, Ever, for someone with nothing but time, it doesn’t make the slightest bit of sense. But fine, I’ll play, so tell me, any clues, any ideas as to where this all leads?”

I gaze at Haven, barely breathing, barely hanging on, unwilling to admit that I have no idea what he wants, no clue as to what’s going on.

“Remember the day when you came to see me at the store?”

Damen shifts, I can feel his energy shift, but I just shake my head, glancing over my shoulder, eyes narrowed when I say, “I went to see Haven, you just happened to be there.”

“Details.” Roman waves it away. “It’s the riddle I’m getting at. Remember the riddle I presented you with?”

I sigh, grasping Haven’s hand in mine—cold, dry, and still—not a good sign.

“Give the people what they want. Remember when I said that?” He pauses, waiting for me to respond, but when I don’t he adds, “The question is—what does it mean, Ever? Exactly what do the people want? Any clues?” He lifts his brow and waits, nodding when he adds, “Try stepping out of yourself for a moment and take a more populist view. Go ahead, give it a whirl, try it on for size, see how it fits. It’s quite unlike the elitist view you and Damen hold, I assure you of that. No hoarding of the gifts where I stand—I share them freely. Or at least with those I deem deserving.”

I turn, turn until I’m facing him, suddenly beginning to understand. Voice hoarse, barely discernible when I say, “No!”

Glancing between Roman and Haven as the truth of what he wants, the price he insists on, becomes clear.

No!

My gaze locked on Roman’s, as Ava and Damen remain silent, clueless as to what’s truly transpiring here.

“I won’t do it,” I tell him. “There’s no way you can make me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, luv. Where’s the fun in that?” He smiles, slow, lazy, like the Cheshire cat. “Just like you can’t make me do your bidding with pathetic attempts at mind melds and the dark forces you so recently called upon.” He laughs, wagging his finger at me as he adds, “You’ve been a very naughty girl, Ever. Messing with magick you don’t understand. Never realized when I sold the book all those years ago it’d end up in your hands. Or maybe I did?” He shakes his head. “Who’s to say?”

My eyes meet his, the truth of his words hitting me at full speed. Jude. Is he the one who sold the book to Jude? And if so, are they in this together?

“Why are you doing this?” I narrow my gaze. No longer caring that Damen’s now privy to my long list of betrayals, or what Ava’s thinking off in her corner, focusing only on him and me—as though we’re alone in this creepy, Godforsaken room.

“Well, it’s really rather simple.” He smiles. “You’re so set on drawing lines, setting yourself apart—so now’s your chance to really lay it down, now’s your chance to prove you’re nothing like me. And if you succeed, if you can prove beyond a doubt that we’re nothing alike, well then, I’m fully prepared to give you what you want. I’ll hand over the antidote to the antidote, the cure to the cure, and you and Damen can proceed to the honeymoon suite and have at it. It’s what you’ve dreamed of all along, right? It’s what you’ve been scheming for all this time. And all you have to do to get it is to let your friend die. If you let Haven die, the happily ever after is yours, satisfaction guaranteed—more or less.”

“No.” I shake my head. “No!”

“No to the antidote or the happily ever after? Which is it?” He glances between his watch and Haven, smiling as he adds, “Tick-tock, time to decide.”

I move toward Haven, her breath coming hollow, frail, as Ava sits nearby, shaking her head, and Damen—my eternal love—my soul mate—the guy I’ve failed in so many ways—pleads with me not to do the very thing I’m inclined to.

“If you hesitate for too long, she dies. And if you bring her back, then, well, it can get a little messy, as you well know. But if you save her now, just slip her the elixir, well, she’ll wake up feeling fine. Better than fine. And, the best part is, she’ll stay that way forever. Which, after all, is exactly what the people want, isn’t it? Eternal youth and beauty. Everlasting good health and vitality. No old age, no illness, no fear of death. An infinite horizon with no end in sight. So, which will it be, Ever? Stick to your high-minded, elitist, self-serving views, prove you’re nothing like me, continue to hoard all the goods, say good-bye to your friend—and the antidote is yours. Or—” He smiles, gaze fixed on mine. “Save your friend. Give her the backstage pass to the sort of strength and beauty she could only dream of before. The very thing she’s always longed for, the very thing everyone longs for. You don’t have to say good-bye. It’s entirely up to you. But, like I said, daylight’s burning, so you might wanna hurry.”

I take in her pale, fragile face, knowing I’m responsible, completely to blame. Vaguely aware of Damen beside me, urging, “Ever, baby, please listen, you can’t do it. You can’t save her.” Unwilling to look at him when he adds, “You have to let her go—it’s not about us—not about us being together—we’ll find a way, I promised you that. You know the risk this brings—you know you can’t do this—not after experiencing the Shadow-land,” he whispers. “You can’t resign her to that.”

“Ooh! The Shadowland—sounds scary!” Roman laughs and shakes his head. “Don’t tell me you’re still meditating, mate? Still trekking the Himalayas searching for meaning?”

I swallow hard and look away, ignoring them both. Mind crowded with arguments, both for and against, as Ava adds, “Ever. Damen’s right.”

I glare at her, the woman who betrayed me in the very worst way. Leaving Damen vulnerable and exposed after promising to look after him, a willing partner in Roman’s game.

“I know you don’t trust me, but it’s not what you think. Listen, Ever, please, I don’t have time to explain, but if you won’t listen to me, then listen to Damen, he knows what he says, you can’t save your friend, you have to let her go—”

“Spoken like a true rogue,” I hiss, remembering how she took off with the elixir, which I’ve no doubt she drank.

“It’s not what you think,” she says, “it’s nothing like that.”

But I’m no longer listening, my attention returning to Roman, now by my side, jiggling the goblet of elixir, the liquid flashing, sparking, as he swirls it around and around, warning me the time has come, it’s time for me to choose.

“Haven wanted her fortune told, and who better to tell it than you, Avalon? Too bad Jude’s not here, or we could really have ourselves a party—or wake—depending on how things work out. What happened, Ever, you two looked pretty tight last time I checked.”

I swallow hard, my friend now hanging by a string. A string I can either cut—or—

“Hate to rush you, but it’s the moment of truth. Please don’t disappoint Haven, she was so looking forward to her reading. So what’s it going to be? What do the cards say? Does she live—or does she die? The future is yours to decide.”

“Ever,” Damen says, hand on my arm, veil of energy hovering insistently between us, one more reminder of my mounting mistakes. “You can’t do it, please. You know it’s not right. As hard as this is, you’ve no choice but to say good-bye.”

“Oh, there’s a choice.” Roman jiggles the bottle again. “Just how far are you willing to go to maintain your ideals and get the one thing you most want in the world?”

“Ever, please.” Ava leans toward me. “This is all wrong, it’s against the law of nature. You have to let her go.”

I close my eyes. Unable to act—unable to move—I can’t do this—I can’t make this choice—he can’t make me do this—

Roman’s voice hovering over me when he says, “So I guess that’s it then.” He sighs and moves away. “Good for you, Ever, you proved your point. You’re nothing like me. Nothing at all. You’re a true elitist, a person of lofty ideals, higher mind, and now you get to sleep with your boyfriend too! Well done! And to think all it cost is the life of your friend. Your poor, sad, lost friend, who only wanted what everyone else wants—what you already have and are in the perfect position to share. Congratulations—should I say?”

He heads for the hall as I kneel before Haven, face streaming with tears as I gaze at my friend. My sad, lost, confused friend who didn’t deserve any of this, who’s always paying the price for befriending me. Damen’s and Ava’s murmuring voices beside me, a lullaby of promises, promising me I’ll get through it, that I did the right thing, that it’ll all be okay.

And then I see it, the silver cord that attaches the body to the soul. Having heard about it but never actually seeing it until now. Watching as it stretches so thin it’s ready to snap—send my friend far from here and straight into Summerland—

I spring to my feet, ripping the bottle from Roman’s grasp, and forcing Haven to drink.

Immune to the cries all around me, Ava’s piercing gasp, Damen begging me to stop, and Roman’s one-man applause accompanied by his loud vulgar laugh.

But I don’t care about that.

I only care about her.

Haven.

I can’t let her go.

Can’t let her die.

Can’t say good-bye.

Cradling her head in my arms and making her drink—the color instantly returning to her cheeks as she opens her eyes and gazes at me.

“What the—?” She struggles to sit, and looks all around. Squinting when she glances between me, Ava, Damen, and Roman, and says, “Where am I?”

I stare at her, mouth open, but with no idea what to say. Knowing that this is how Damen must’ve felt with me, only this is much worse.

He didn’t know about the death of the soul.

I did.

“Damen and Ever decided to join us, luv, and guess what? The future’s looking brighter than ever!” Roman swoops in beside me and helps her to her feet, winking at me when he adds, “You weren’t feeling so well, so Ever gave you some juice, thinking a little sugar might perk you right up—and damn if it didn’t work. And now, Ava, be a luv, and go fetch us some tea, would ya? There’s a new pot on the stove.”

Ava gets to her feet, willing me to meet her gaze as she heads for the hall. But I won’t. Can’t. Can’t look at anyone. Not after what I’ve just done.

“Glad to know you’re on board, Ever.” Roman pauses just shy of the door. “It’s like I said—you and I—we’re the same. Bound to each other for all of eternity. And not because of the spell, darlin’—but because it’s our fate—our destiny. Think of me as yet another soul mate.” He laughs, voice a whisper when he adds, “There, there, luv, don’t look so shocked. I, for one, am not the least bit surprised. You’ve never once strayed from the script. At least not so far.”