Page 100 of Claim the Twilight
I knew I should be running away, trying to wake up. This was insane. It could be a trick from Loviator. But my instincts had me moving toward the cold one. Toward the gaping wound. I reached out and touched the bloody flesh, heart pounding at the thought of having to dive into it.
The cold one’s eyes widened. “Oh…” Her gaze intensified. “I see now…”
“What?”
Her eyes smiled. “The resonance.”
“I don’t know?—”
“Think of him. Think of Hemlock.”
Hemlock filled my mind. His sarcastic drawl and cocky smile. The feel of his hands cupping my face and the whisper of his breath on my lips.
Blinding light stole my vision, and a moment later, I felt a tug at my solar plexus that reminded me of my connection to Ezekiel.
The light died, leaving me in Hemlock’s bedroom. But not alone.
Hemlock turned from the window, his chest heaving with deep breaths at the sight of me, and the next moment we were bridging the distance and crashing together, bodies colliding, lips seeking lips in a kiss that left me dizzy.
He broke it first, cupping my face and staring at me in wonder. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
My throat pinched, and I swallowed the knot forming there. “I’m here. I’m not sure how, but I am.” I stroked his cheeks, kissing his lips once more. “How is this possible?”
“I’m not sure.” Hemlock looked over my shoulder. “I don’t think even she knows how she does it.”
I followed his gaze to find a spectral form hovering in the far corner of the room. Her gaunt cheeks and hollowed eyes sent a shiver down my spine.
“Thank you,” Hemlock said to her.
“I didn’t do it,” she said. “She did.” She looked at me and smiled, and for a moment, her face was no longer gaunt and drawn but a full oval of delicate beauty, but the moment was nothing but a flash, making it hard to hold on to the details. “I can’t stay,” she said. “But you can. Not long, though, orshemight feel it.” She hovered closer, her hand coming up as if she wanted to touch me, and something inside me tugged, urging me to accept the caress, but I fought the urge, pulling away.
The specter dropped her hand, her face falling. “I have to go. I’ll find you,” she said to Hemlock. Then she vanished.
I turned back to Hemlock. “Where are you? Who’s the specter, and what the fuck is going on?”
“I’ll explain everything, but first tell me, did Padma get back with the information we need?”
My stomach quivered. “No. Loviator gave us seventy-two hours to decide if we were going to fight her or let her emerge in peace. She gave us her word she wouldn’t attack in that time, so I’m evacuating everyone. I’m not going to lose the people I love.”
His throat bobbed. “Good. Get out while you can.”
He thought I’d leave him, but that was never the plan. “I’m not going anywhere, Hemlock. I’m staying, and I’m going to find you and get you out. We’ll leave together. Loviator will be so busy playing god, she won’t even notice. We’ll have to make sure Ezekiel is the last to be moved, because she’s connected to him now, and—” Shit, I hadn’t explained that part to him yet. “Loviator marked Ezekiel. She’s controlling his body now. But Lorenzo thinks that if we get Ezekiel far enough away then?—”
“I know about Ezekiel. It seems that Loviator has blocked your connection to him, but the echo was able to take me to him for a little while.”
“You spoke to him? How is he?”
“He’s worried about you, but he’s fine. And you’re right; if you put enough distance between Ezekiel and Loviator, then he might be able to fight her influence and nullify the mark.”
“Would taking him to Morningstar be enough distance?”
“That would work.” His eyes narrowed. “Your plan to come find me…are the others okay with it?”
I looked away. “I didn’t exactly share that part.”
He pinched my jaw and forced me to look at him. “You’re insane.” His eyes darkened. “Fucking crazy.”
“Crazy about you.”
