"I don't like The Well of Souls," Riella murmured into my chest.
Laughing brokenly, I peered down at her, nuzzling her nose with my own just like her father would do if he were here. "I do not like it much either, little chickadee, but there is one last thing we must do."
Peering into the inky darkness hovering nearby I nodded to the anticipating shadows, "Obtain the souls of the sleepers…all of them."
Their smooth dark tendrils paused and I held my breath with baited anticipation. This would be their first true test on how dependable they could be. We didn't have a few thousand years to grow together, we had a few days, and the quicker we both accepted that, the better off we would be.
I exhaled when they disappeared a moment later.
"They are different from the other shadows," Riella said softly.
Adjusting her crown, I assessed the worry on her face. "How so, little one?"
"They are more…vocal," she explained.
Shifting her to my side, I waved towards the shadow spear and released the island of darkness I had made for her back into the waters. "Anything I should be worried about?"
Riella shook her head, taking the spear I handed to her. "No. Bay is the loudest. She has taken charge as their leader."
I smiled sadly, picturing Bay’s big electric blue eyes and soft voice commanding thousands of vengeful souls was the best way to envision my lost friend. "She would have made an excellent leader for the water fae," I murmured more to myself than to Riella.
"That she would have but then again, the lilin would not have her to lead them either. Fate is a fickle thing,forta."
Stiffening, I held Riella closer to me and turned, seeing a sleek spotted form of a black footed lynx gliding over the water. Yellow eyes glowed brightly over their depths, straight at us, before it spoke again.
“Greetings, Remnant Ezra Solaire Dark. I have been waiting my turn to meet you. Unlike those last souls, I am a patient predator and I have heard many great things about you,forta."
"I suppose that depends on where and who you have heard them from," I said to the lynx, assessing the way the tufts on its ears pulled back at my response.
The beautiful feline laughed softly, a warm and gentle sound that had my tired shoulders relaxing. "I suppose I heard it from your mother, she was a great friend of my soulmate and an even better dodging daggers partner. Although much has changed since the last we saw each other, if what the souls of The Well whisper is true."
I took a cautious step forward, tilting my head, my braid falling over my shoulder. "You are Lova."
The lynx purred, her sharp grin bright in the reflection of the glossy darkness. "Yes,forta."
I smiled. Hearing her sayforta,like the master healer, a term meaning strong female, was like having Jar’s presence envelope me again, chasing the cold and filling me with warmth I was desperately missing. Here before me, was Jarquinn’s lost soulmate. "Why haven't you gone to Eithne? Your soulmate has been searching for you."
Lova’s eyes fluttered wistfully, "My handsome beautiful soulmate, he has not forgotten me even after all this time.” She smiled sadly at me, “When I died I was so angry. At myself for failing to protect my court, leaving my son behind, and for the heartache I had caused Jarquinn. He had never wanted any part of the war but he fought in it to be by my side and to save as many as he could with both his blades and talented healing. I heard your vow. The release of the lilin once the queen has been purged of this universe."
“A fae cannot lie," I said, reaching to Emon's glowing soul inside, feeling solace in the fact that when the end came, it wasn't the lilin that I needed but a future with Emon and Riella in it.
The spotted cat bowed her head, the tufts of her ears twitching again. "You are more than just a fae,forta. I can see why my Jarloves you." Raising her head, her yellow eyes peered into my own. "I know he is waiting for me, I can see it in your eyes and I have heard the whispers through the realms but I also know I have one last journey ahead of me before I rejoin him again in eternal life—if you will have me."
"If that is your wish," I said softly.
She nodded, peering at my daughter. "Once you get back, keep that dying kiss flower on you at all times, little shadow shifter."
Riella nodded and my brows rose but the cat ignored my silent question, instead she bared her fangs at me. "Brace yourself,forta. My death is not for the faint hearted and even the strongest may weep.Ligare."
Chapter 61
Despitehavingfallenintothousands of death memories today, experiencing the physical pain of their last moments, the feeling was still utterly strange and disconcerting.
I felt a heartbeat that was not mine, breathed air into my lungs that were not mine, heard the thoughts and felt the actions that were not mine—and yet they were. I was the bystander, feeling everything and knowing nothing at the same time.
So when the icy cold air hit Lova, I gasped inwardly, all while her shifter lynx form puffed the frigid air with very little discomfort. This cold was different, it was a void, empty, and barren. It soaked through the bones and left a deathly chill that seemed to never end. But despite its bleakness, her world was still awash with color while she scented the air. I marveled at the way her predator saw it—more than transfixed by the blood splattering the frozen ground, barely crunching beneath her wide paws as she stalked the battle around her.
"Welcome to the Sanguine, a barren cold that leaves you feeling nothing but endless despair," Lova whispered in my mind dryly.
