Page 86 of Claim the Twilight
“Nothing ever dies. Not truly. We are energy, and that energy merely changes form. It’s the same with gods. Elanthra and I, together, have the power to end Loviator’s godly existence, but I’m useless without my power.”
His desire to regain his power wasn’t selfish. He’d hoped to save his sister. “I’m sorry.”
He glances at me in surprise. “You’resorry?”
“Yes. For what happened to you. With Loviator and then Lantana. Being imprisoned for so long…We may not be able to stop Loviator without your power, but maybe we can still find a way to free your sister.”
He studies me intensely for several seconds. “I do believe that Moringa may have put the best part of her soul into her tether.”
“I’m still not entirely sure what a tether is but thank you. And I mean it about your sister.”
His eyes brighten a little. “Hope…It’s all we have now, isn’t it? Hope that Mother let Elanthra live. She loved her the most. Her only daughter. With me gone, separated by an untenable barrier, there would have been no reason to end her life.”
But he doesn’t sound too sure, and when I think on it, surely Encantor being free, as powerful as she knew him to be, would have been more reason for her to eliminate the half of the key that could bring about her demise. But if she loved Elanthra as much as Encantor said, then maybe she did keep her alive. Maybe he can be united with his twin one day.
Encantor sits back in his seat. “Not that it matters now. It’s over. There is nothing we can do.”
I’m not ready to accept that. “You’re not being a prisoner again.”
He cants his head, a slight smile curving his lips. “Oh, I don’t know. It might not be so awful with company.”
I narrow my eyes. “I’m not interested in your company. I have someone already.”
“Ah, yes. Edwin, the hero.”
I lift my chin. “Yes. He’s my hero, and I will get out of here so I can be with him.”
“If he ever comes back.”
“He will. I know it.” I chew on my cheeks, turning over my options. “What if we summon the spirit again? Tell it what happened to Moringa and ask it to help us?”
“I’m not sure you’d be able to, and now that I think on it, I doubt Aster would have succeeded either. There was a rumor that Moringa and Aster were of different sires. That Moringa’s sire was a wild one. If that is true, then it would explain why the spirit came when she summoned it. Aster would not have succeeded, and you…you’re a tether. Your soul holds a mere echo of Moringa’s.”
“What does that mean exactly?”
“It’s an ancient practice, and one not many witches can successfully do. In the old days, there were wars between covens and clans. Power was stolen, connections broken and taken. The most powerful witches would hide a sliver of their soul in mortal bloodlines, ensuring that no one could claim their power in death as a piece of them would continue to live. While they waited to be reborn, their power would wait for them, untouched and unclaimed.”
“Okay, I get it. But this echo”—I touch my chest—“was enough for you to be drawn to me.”
His eyes narrow, nostrils flaring. “Even if it was enough, the spirit will hold you to the bargain made. I cannot return to Moringa what she believed I took. It is an impossible task, and I wager she knew it when she wove it.” He looks down at his hands. “In the end, she hated me that much. In the end, she could not believe that I might be innocent, and I…I did not trust it either. Aster tricked us both. And now we’re trapped here.”
My heart sinks. “They’re locking down the whole Isle in a couple of days. If we don’t find a way off it by then…” It hits me that I’m going to die here. Consumed by the mullo infection. I lightly touch my shoulder, rubbing through the material of my shirt where I know the black veins to be.
“It won’t take you,” Encantor says. “Here, in this magical place, the infection that ravages you has no power.”
My gaze flies up to meet his. “Like…stasis?”
“You will not age, and you will not die.” He taps the table. “I might plant some more herbs tomorrow. Check on the vegetable garden.”
His casual plans make my stomach hurt. “We’re truly trapped here, aren’t we?”
“I’m sorry,” he says.
I won’t get to help my friends or know the fate of Dracul, and I won’t be there when Edwin comes back. My heart aches. I closemy eyes. “I’m going to need meat. Please tell me this bubble extends to the forest behind the cottage and we can catch…something.”
The corner of his mouth lifts. “It does, and we can.”
Chapter 35
