Page 20 of Bound Paths
She curled up in her bed. She tried to read, but the words were blurry, and tears rimmed her eyes. She focused again on the page. It was a letter, a report from a Norden fae. The tests hadn’t worked, and the village remainedasleep.
More images flooded in. She stood outside the village of Bury. Mist still hung in the air, and the villagers, in their endless sleep, lay motionless on the ground.
Tara never woke.
The continent was never restored.
Rose looked around. No one was with her as she explored the mist-taken village, her wind-wrapped weapon in her hand. Where were the other Compass Points?
As she stood there alone, a torrential downpour started. The usually peaceful water of the Lake of the Gods rocked and swirled. Waves crashed over the shores. Rose tried to hold it back with her water magic—but she wasn’t enough.
When she returned to Compass Lake, a male who seemed vaguely familiar was Suden Point. Where was Luc?
The gods’ temple, once atop Mount Bury, was rebuilt in a new location near Sandrin. Arie and Aurora took up duties there. Arie waved goodbye as he shifted into a black bird and flew away.
Juliette retired as Osten Point, and Lela’s sneer follows Rose at the circular table in Norden library.
Carter disappeared in his veil cat form. He jumped through a crack between realms, and only a billowing fabric-like essence showed that anything had been there at all.
Rose made herself impossibly smaller in her bed. Alone.
A tug pulled her from the onslaught of images. Her eyes refocused on the present. She stood frozen on the stairs. She needed to get to the portal. How many more steps?
That tug again. This time, a familiar hand slipped into Rose’s and more insistently led her forward. She stumbled but caught herself, her feet finding even ground.
Each step brought with it a little more clarity. Juliette squeezed her hand tight. They were going down the staircase.
Her fears threatened to take over again.
Juliette pulled.
A few more steps, and they’d reach the portal. Juliette wouldn’t leave her here.
Rose’s feet kept pace with the Osten Point. Juliette didn’t let go. Carter wasn’t visible. Had he made it to the portal? A few more steps. They were jogging now—then they fell, plummeting into familiar darkness.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Rose hit the ground hard.
She tried to suck air into her lungs, but each gulp proved useless. Panic rose, and something contracted in her stomach as she tried to force a breath. A cough erupted, finally allowing air to pass. She rested her cheek against the cool, damp ground and waited for the rapid beat of her heart to calm.
Juliette had warned them. The magic in the stairs brought forth their worst fears. But damn. That was…worse than she’d imagined. The scenes were so real, and the fears so fresh in her mind. Rose opened her eyes, trying to focus on something else to flush away the images of failure and loneliness.
Her breathing started to even out as she took in her surroundings. She could only describe her location as a cave. Technically, she wasn’t sure she was underground since she’d fallen through the portal, but it was cooler than it had been at Osten house, and moist air tickled her nose. A flame lit the otherwise dark hall, and the soft smells of chocolate and sandalwood grew stronger by the minute. From what she could see, the walls were jagged rock, reminding her far too much of the large cavern under Mount Bury, where the Compass Points had made their stand against Aterra.
A pair of slippered feet appeared in her line of vision. She pushed up to her arms from her sprawled position on the ground and dared to tilt her head back, glancing at the others. Juliette stood before her.
“Alright, Rose?” Carter’s voice called from somewhere else in the hall.
She shook her head. Why did he sound so chipper? Juliette was used to this. Apparently, she traveled that nightmare regularly. Carter had no such excuse.
“Why am I the only one sprawled on the floor, Carter?” Rose raised her gaze enough to see him shrug as he toed his boot at the packed dirt.
“It did get me at first,” he said quietly. “But I’ve had some practice avoiding things I see.” He shrugged again. “So, I was able to get myself out.”
Rose hadn’t thought about it like that. Carter had been seeing spirits his entire life—when had he realized what they were? She shook her head as she pushed herself to her feet, her eyes meeting Juliette’s green ones. “You came back for me.”
Juliette nodded.
