I watch Stormy for the go-ahead.
Her lips move silently. “Three, two, one . . . fire!”
We’re on our feet, chucking water balloons into the night. I hear Kuna’s bellowing laugh and Joshua’s easy chuckle. A water balloon hits me in the shoulder and I squeal. Crowe, that’s cold!
Aha. Just as I suspected. Kuna was the culprit. He gives me a grin that says, “What are you going to do about it?”
So I’m snatching more water balloons and cradling them in my shirt and I’m running after him, dodging trees and laughing all the way.
At the end of the Battle de Balloons, Stormy and I are drenched. She slings an arm around my shoulders as we trudge back to the castle. Snow and mud slosh around our shoes. Our teeth chatter. But I don’t notice much.
“I knew you were sidekick material.” She punches me lightly in the shoulder.
I smile. “You’re not too bad yourself.” And even though I’m soaked, freezing, and will probably come away from this hacking and sneezing by morning, I mean every word.
I don’t know how long we sit there in the stables. I don’t know if Stormy fell asleep or if she’s merely gone quiet. But eventually she rises, rage trumping her sorrow. “I saw him.”
“Who? Kuna?”
“Gage.”
Impossible. “But Gage is—”
“He was in the shadows beyond one of the burst windows. He had murder in his eyes. He aimed the gun right at me. Kuna saw. He knew it should’ve been me, and he took my place anyway.” She’s pacing now. I can almost see the fumes putt, putt, putting in her wake. “I still owed Gage two favors. Kuna knew. He knew if he sacrificed himself, the Kiss of Accord would be null. Gage promised not to touch Kuna. Now that my husband has died at the traitor’s hands, I’m free.”
If this is true, Kuna’s death holds more weight than I realized. Except one thing doesn’t make sense. “Gage was blinded the last time we saw him. His eyes were clawed out by Lark’s owl talons, remember? Are you sure you saw his eyes?”
“Positive.” She kicks her water bottle, and its contents create a mud puddle at her feet. “He must’ve found a Physic or something. I don’t know.” She hangs her head again. “What am I going to do? I can’t imagine a Reflection without Kuna.” She makes eye contact for the first time. Her gaze matches her name—stormy. “Can you give me a minute?”
I purse my lips. We really shouldn’t stay here, but how can I deny her when she just lost her husband? I nod, then venture outside. Naked forest encompasses me, its clothing stored beneath snow for the winter. Dead vines wind around formerly charred tree trunks, which are now a muted shade of brown. Each day the landscape alters a bit. Darkness washes away with each new snowfall. Come spring, the Forest of Night and Shadow Territory will be all but forgotten.
I massage my arms through the thin material covering them. I feel bare. Exposed. I’d give anything for my parka right now. I scan the trees, cross to a fallen log, and sit. Wait. I’ll give her a few more minutes, but then we have to move on.
Snap!
I whip my head up in echo to the sudden sound. I dart my gaze back and forth. Just a rabbit or a squirrel or some other woodland creature. Not every animal hibernates, right? I’m being paranoid.
Another noise. Closer. My nerves electrocute every tiny hair on my arms and neck. One drawn-out blink. When I open my eyes I see him through my fogged breath.
Gage steps forward. His scars shine, a brand courtesy of Lark Song. But his eyes are visible, seeing, glaring. Who or what healed him? “Hello, Your Highness.” He bows, mocking me. “It’s a pleasure to see you again.” He straightens. Moves closer. “Such a shame our reunion can’t be a cheery one.”
Then he withdraws a gun from his coat and shoots me in the knee.
ASIDE
KY
Son of a Soulless, that smarts. I limp across the ship’s cabin, seize a pack of ice from the chest. This means one thing and one thing alone.
She’s in danger.
My T-shirt sticks to my chest, damp with sweat. My fingers flex and fist. I hobble to my cot and sit, hissing through my teeth. Since I left it’s been this way. I feel everything she feels. Every scrape. Every bruise. But it’s more than that. There’s a sixth sense, a knowing beyond myself. I can feel her, yes, but I hear her too. Her thoughts carry to mine. It’s as if she’s with me and somehow I know . . .
I know she senses—hears—me too.
Our souls are connected. Could we actually communicate this way, Reflections apart?
Time to find out.
SIX
Make the Clock Reverse
Breathe. Stay awake. Do not, I repeat, do not fall asleep.” Ky’s voice is so clear. I can almost feel his breath warm my neck, smell his distinct fresh-cut grass and earth aroma.
I’m on my rear, hands clutching my right knee. My eyes are squeezed shut and I’m blowing fast breaths through my teeth. I’m connected to Joshua. This will heal. I’ll be fine.
Except Kuna wasn’t fine. The cut on my arm is still fresh.
Holy Verity, I’ve been shot. And I have zero clue if I will ever walk again.
“Deep breaths. Listen to the sound of my voice.”
I shake my head. You’re not really here. My Ever and Physic Callings may not be working, but my Scrib memory is clearly intact. This is just a reminiscence of your voice manifesting—
“You know this is something else. Something more.”
Gulp. I know no such thing.
Gage gives no indication he hears Ky’s instructions. I don’t have time to freak or attempt to comprehend what lies behind my lunacy. This goes beyond the recollection of Ky’s voice in my head. I’m hearing him as if he’s standing a breath away.
“My apologies for the inhumane tactic.” Gage’s tone is too-much-sugar-in-my-coffee sweet. “But we had to know for certain.”
We? And know what, moron? That people bleed when you shoot them? Surprise, surprise—they do.
Gage pockets his gun and crouches before me. The look in his healed eyes is—what? Curious? Crazed? Excited?
I feel five familiar fingers wrap around my left arm, and my stomach does the Macarena. I sneak a sideways glance. Ky’s not there. My teeth chatter, and I force myself to level my gaze with Gage’s. This traitor will not see my weakness. I’m not the girl he tried to abduct in November.
At least, that’s what I’m going for.
“Gage, what have you done?” Stormy’s sudden presence adds to my composure. She’s kneeling beside me in a blink, placing her dainty Barbie-like hands over my blood-spattered ones. She’s both best friend and Guardian, all traces of distress and despair having thawed from her demeanor. No one would ever know she just lost her other half.
“Move aside, love.” Gage jerks his buzz-cut head. I notice his dark-blue braid behind his ear is missing. Of course it is. He doesn’t serve the Verity and he probably never did. “This isn’t about you,” he says to Stormy.
“You made it about me when you killed Kuna.” She speaks of her man as if he were no more than an acquaintance. Coping mechanism?