“Don’t go,” I pleaded. “I can’t be without you. I can’t not know you.”
“You’re the only one who ever really did know me. And I’ll always be with you. I promise you,” he said, his voice strong with conviction as he stood up, still holding my hand. As his first tear fell, Logan stepped away from me, his hand slowly slipping out of mine until it was just our fingertips that were touching. And then his touch was gone, sending a bolt of pain through my arm and into my heart, which truly and finally shattered.
Logan stood in front of the portal before turning and giving me that smile that melted me every time.
“I love you.”
And with that, Logan began running into the portal, sacrificing himself for me and for our world.
Chapter 16
THEY SAY LOVE gives you strength. Before that day, I always thought that was a platitude, meant to be embroidered on a pillow or stitched onto an embarrassing sweatshirt worn by some weirdo aunt.
But when I saw my love about to take a leap into certain, agonizing death to save the world, whatever reserves of energy I had left pooled together, giving me strength.
It wasn’t a lot of strength. It was just enough to launch myself from my collapsed position on the rocky floor. I stumbled forward—my fatigued feet tripping on the rocks as I wildly reached out for his hand. They also say the course of true love never runs smooth. Well, in my case, it runs like an uncoordinated, broken-down shell of a person.
But it didn’t matter. Because as Logan jumped through the portal, I was there—my hand wrapped around his, his face turning to register in surprise and grief before we were sucked into the doorway.
And then pain. Pain that I’d always associated with a time before medicine, pain that came with scary medieval words like disembowelment. Somehow I kept Logan’s hand in mine as our bodies were being ripped apart and soldered back together with fire, only to be shredded into pieces again. And then it was over—my body shaking with the aftershocks of the brief, but immeasurable pain—as I was sprawled, facedown, on a bed of rocks.
My fingers flexed, searching for Logan—and the movement sent another tremor of pain through my body. But before I slipped into blissful unconsciousness, I felt his warm hand twitch in mine.
Dimly, I became aware of movement—my body shifting, although not of my own accord. The burden of my weight fell to my back as something held me, rocking me gently.
“Why did you do that? Why?” I heard his pleading voice as he cradled me in his arms, soothing me with his touch before I faded back into the blackness.
“Wake up. Please, wake up. Paige, you can’t be gone. You can’t be gone and I’m still here. Please come back to me.” His whispered voice was frantic, grief-stricken, pulling me again from my euphorically numb state. I felt my hair being brushed off my forehead as Logan’s hands pressed against my neck and inside my wrist.
“Come back to me, please,” he begged, repeating that mantra, and I felt his lips touch my skin as he continued pleading with me. I fought the lure of unconsciousness, forcing myself to face my pain to end his.
“Logan?” I whispered, and he pulled me into a tight hug, exhaling in relief as he stroked my hair.
“Are...we...alive?” I asked, and Logan pressed a kiss against my temple before answering.
“For now,” he replied.
“Where are we?” My voice sounded foreign to my own ears. I opened my eyes to see that we were tucked behind a pillar, hidden in an alcove similar to the one we had been in minutes before. Had it only been a few minutes?
Chalky white rocks lined the ground underneath us, and I struggled to sit up in Logan’s arms. Relief briefly flashed across his face as I came out of the pain-induced fog, before pure grief took over. He gently brushed my hair over my shoulder as he cradled me close.
“Why did you do that?” he asked, covering my face with gentle kisses before pulling back to stare at me mournfully. “You would have finally been safe. Why didn’t you let me go?”
“I couldn’t let you die.” My answer was simple, but it was the truth.
“But—”
“You would have done it for me. Like you said, life-altering relationships don’t come around all that often.”
“But you’re in the Dark World now.” The words had barely left his mouth when a roar echoed in the tunnel, as if to drive his point home. Logan held one finger over my mouth, and we cowered behind the pillar. Something solid—and heavy—scuffled through the tunnel behind us, weighty footfalls hitting the rocks with a thud that reverberated with a dull echo. I could feel Logan’s heartbeat matching mine as I buried my head in his chest, his arms wrapped around mine, relaxing only when the creature had moved past us.
“When we know those...things...aren’t nearby, just use me to open up another portal,” I said, looking up at him.
“Paige, I don’t think you could open a book right now, let alone a doorway to another dimension. It’ll take days before you’re strong enough.”
“But I’m already feeling stronger,” I insisted, sitting up straighter to illustrate my point.
“You’ve also been unconscious for hours,” he revealed.
“Hours?” I repeated, panicking as I reached into my pocket, automatically looking for my cell phone among the spare change. “I have to call my dad. They’re gonna...”
My voice trailed off as I realized what I was saying.
“I promise I’ll find a way to get you home, Paige. I just don’t know how to do it right now,” he said, quickly pulling me into his arms, muffling my cries as the weight of what we’d done settled over me, crushing me.
“Can’t we at least try to open a portal?” I begged, looking up at Logan with a tearstained face.
“I don’t know how to do it,” he admitted, shame reddening his cheeks. “I’m not a full-blooded Regent, and I’m not a full-blooded warlock. I only know basic spells—most of my training has been physical. Swords, weapons, hand-to-hand.”
“So that’s it? We’re both going to be trapped here forever? I’ll never see my parents again?” I asked, my voice very small.
Every bratty retort, every temper tantrum, every snide, ungrateful remark flashed through my mind, countered by my parents’ desperate attempts to keep me safe and healthy, and it unleashed a fresh round of tears.
When was the last time I’d told my parents that I loved them? Would they know? Would they think I ran away, abandoning them?
Logan studied me, his eyes darkening with resolve.
“No. You’re not going to lose your family,” he said, his jaw set in determination. He gently unwound my arms from around him before standing up, unbuttoning his oxford and letting it fall into a puddle around his feet. Logan’s forehead wrinkled in concentration as the subtle transformation took place—the enhanced definition of his muscles, his eyes paling from cocoa to violet, and those large black wings, which unfurled behind him in the dusky light of the tunnel.
Logan crouched before me, slipping his arms underneath me as he picked me up, curling me against his chest.
“What are we doing?” I asked, sliding my arm across his shoulders.
“We’re going to fly to Rego.”
“Fly?” I gasped. “You really can fly?”
Logan looked slightly offended.
“They’re not just decorative,” he replied, giving them a quick flap. “It’ll be the fastest, and probably the safest, way to get to him. But I’m really out of practice, so hold on tight.”