“No detours, I’m afraid,” he said, though his voice did carry a surprising hint of compassion.
“Yeah, I figured.” I glanced out across the water, wishing I could flash back to the ship and climb back in bed with Hook even as I fought his magnetic pull. “In that case, I’d really like to get this over with.”
Maybe it would be easier once I was in a different realm. Maybe that gnawing ache inside me would subside. Except, deep down, part of me was clinging to the hope that it wouldn’t. I might be ready to settle things, but that didn’t mean I was ready to let go.
“We can, but given your situation…” He tipped his scythe my way. “I cannot take you as I would a normal human or demon.”
I nodded because I knew that bit too. Hook hadn’t beenprotecting me from someone dragging me off to the Alius. According to Nerebis, thanks to the combination of my human side, my demon blood, and Hook’s godly—but decidedly cursed—power, I was something of an unholy unicorn. The powers that be could only take me out of this realm if I wanted to go.
And wasn’t that the real bitch of it? I could stay with Hook forever if I dug my heels in. No one could stop me. But knowing I was—or might be—the reason for things going all fucking haywire? I couldn’t live with myself if I turned out to be that selfish.
I blew out a resigned sigh. “Just tell me what I need to do.”
“Place your hand on my staff,” Tenebris said.
I knew he meant the handle of his scythe, and despite the slew of inappropriate comments that skipped through my mind, I trudged over and grabbed it.
His charcoal hood tipped quizzically.
“What now?” I asked, before he could say anything. “Do I need to think of my happy thought?” Because that would take me right back to the ship. “Or maybe wish on a star?”
“Just focus your mind and power on leaving this realm,” he said.
I closed my eyes, and not just to stem the burn of tears that were threatening. Blocking out everything else really did help me focus. My lids had barely closed when I felt the change. It was like the last crawling seconds on the uphill climb of a giant roller coaster, when my heart would start racing because I knew the plunge was coming.
I wasn’t that far off either. The ground fell away, and I held that staff in a freaking death grip. When I cracked one eye open, a thousand streams of light sailed past me in a darkness that seemed to go on forever. My stomach tried to leapfrog into my throat, and I slammed my eyes shut again before the falling sensation and the visuals made me sick.
It didn’t matter much because by the time I dragged in my next unsteady breath, the ground had returned. Hot, dry air flooded in around me, and every hair on my body stood on end.
“You may open your eyes now,” Tenebris said.
At least he wasn’t a dick about it. There was a genuine softness to his voice.
I blinked at my new surroundings. It was dusk, or maybe dawn, I couldn’t really tell, but the limited light tinted everything varying shades of red. And it was uncomfortably hot, but not like sear-the-flesh-off-my-body scorching.
“This doesn’t seem so bad,” I said.
“The landscape isn’t what makes this realm what it is, Never,” Tenebris replied.
No shit.It was the demons, but I’d been imagining dealing with them in a world of fire and brimstone. Not an unnaturally warm forest at sunset. And the energy coursing through the place had every nerve in my body on high alert.
There was a fuck ton of power floating around in the Alius. I couldn’t see it, but damn, I could feel it.
“What happens now?” I asked. “Are you going to give me the grand tour?”
The hood moved slowly from side to side, but I still couldn’t see even a flicker of life coming from the dark interior.
I folded my arms over my chest, feigning resolve as I fought to keep my real thoughts and emotions bottled up tight. “What do I owe you for the ride?” I couldn’t help letting a glimmer of my snark slip through.
Except when I blinked, he was gone. No rustle of a breeze. No whoosh. He was right there in front of me one second and the next, it was just empty space.
“I take it you’re not really one for farewells, huh?” I called out. Not that I had any room to talk. I’d snuck out in the dead ofnight to avoid getting into another argument with Hook about coming here.
And here was, well, all kinds of creepy.
It took me a minute to pinpoint why the dim forest seemed off. You know, aside from the steady hum of teeth-numbing power pulsing from everywhere all at once.
There were no birds. No insects. No signs of wildlife of any kind that I could tell. Enormous trees that might have been redwoods in my world stretched high into the crimson sky, but with the tinted light, they all looked like they were half dead.
