Reflection Pond (31 page)

Ash stared at Rowan
, face tight. Rowan knew the other boy was trying not to laugh.

“Do you,” As
h asked, swallowing laughter, “want to eat the flesh of others?”

“What?” Rowan said, disgusted.
“Of course not.” Bitterness burned his tongue and throat, and though he hadn’t thrown up in years, Rowan thought he might. He jammed his hands into tight fists until his nails dug into his palms. His jaw ticked. He wanted to kill something, which was
exactly
what a fae from
Fraeburdh
would want to do. How could he protect Callie when he had such hatred inside of him?

“Well, good, you had me worried for a second.” Ash shut the book carefully, pushing it just out of Rowan’s reach. He ran his hands through his hair and sat back in the chair with a sigh. “Here’s what I think.”

“Don’t you dare say that my amulet’s here,” Rowan said through gritted teeth.

Ash snapped his mouth shut and swallowed the words on his tongue, reconsidering his argument. “You’re my best friend,” he said finally, quietly, as though the admission hurt to say aloud. “Do you think I want to idly sit by and watch you run away from home? If you say it’s not here, fine, I’ll believe you.
But
Fraeburdh?
Come on, Row. You’re nothing like those…those—useless assholes.” He made a wild gesture. “What about
Macántacht?”

“The City of
Honor?
You’ve got to be kidding.” Rowan couldn’t hide the scorn in his voice, though he was pleased that Ash thought that highly of him. The fae of
Macántacht
were known for their strict belief in right and wrong, just as
Fraeburdh
was known for war and
Eirensae
for fertility.

“Your self-loathing is delightful,”
Ash pointed out.

“I always thought it was one of my best features. The ladies love a tortured soul.”

Ash’s expression turned serious. “Please don’t go.”

“I have to. If I stay, Hazel will strip my powers…my existence. I
won’t
become Fallen.”

Ash hesitated. “I could come with you.”

“You can’t,” Rowan insisted, touched by his friend’s loyalty. “Who would protect the city?”

“Callie, of course.
Isn’t that Hazel’s plan?”

Suddenly Rowan felt the huge wedge that had come between them. They were both in love with the same girl, and though Rowan would deny his feelings until he ran out of breath, Ash
had
to know. They always stepped so carefully around her, and they never talked about her, at least not in any depth. Rowan was fiercely protective, but then again, so was Ash. Rowan should tell Ash that Callie planned on leaving with him, but he couldn’t bring the words up from his chest. It would devastate Ash.

“You love her,” Ash said. It was a statement, not a question, but Rowan answered anyway, surprising them both.

“Yes.”

Ash nodded and pressed his lips together, looking exhausted.
“Me, too.”

Rowan sat back in his chair and the two boys eyed each other, the enormity of each admission heavy between them. It wasn’t news, but at the same time, everything became mor
e real. Was it loyalty that sustained their friendship? Ash had never judged Rowan, never given up on him, not even when the rest of the city had turned their backs. Rowan wasn’t certain what he gave Ash, except maybe that Rowan understood what it was like to want something you couldn’t have.

Callie appeared in the doorway of the library as though summoned by their conversation. Her eyes lit on Rowan’s face and she winced, then they traveled to Ash’s, and her expression darkened. She hesitated, looking panicked. Her hands twisted in the fabric of her shirt. “I didn’t
realize you two were here,” she said, breathless. “I’ll just, uh, study some other time.” She took a step backwards and then another, disappearing into the tunnels.

Both Ash and Rowan stood. Seeing this, Rowan made to sit down again, to let Ash run after her.

Ash sighed and plunked back into his seat. “You go. She doesn’t want to see me right now.”

Rowan looked at his friend. Misery made Ash’s features harder and more pronounced. Ash truly loved Callie, would give anything for her to return that love. And Rowan, who’d been nothing but
himself, bitter, rude, and abrasive, had somehow caught her attention. As Rowan moved toward the doorway, he wished he were a bit more like Ash and a little less like himself.

“Callie, wait,” Rowan called, pounding through the passage. Callie’s hair streamed behind her, billowing like the golden sails of a ship, but she didn’t slow or even turn her head. He chased her through the portal room where the glamoured night sky stretched above them, and into a different tunnel. He knew she’d have to stop eventually, as this path dead-ended. Callie kept up the pace until the shimmering cauldron appeared before them. She stopped just before she hit the invisible barrier, flattening her palms against the ward.

Rowan stayed a few feet away, breathing hard from running. Callie’s shoulders shook and she banged her head lightly on the see-through wall. “Go away, Rowan,” she said, but the order carried no force.

“What’s wrong?” He moved closer now, touched her shoulder. She shivered under the weight of his fingers.

“How can I leave her?” Callie whispered. “How can I just go? Where will we go?” She bit her lip and Rowan saw a tiny line of blood well there.

“I don’t have all the answers, but I think we should tell Ash. He deserves to know.”

Callie shook her head. “No. I can’t handle another goodbye.” She held up her palm. A thin scar traversed the flesh there. “The binding spell is gone.” She lifted her chin and he saw tears shuddering on the edge of her eyelashes. “I’m ready when you are.” She wiped her eyes. “Go spend some time with Ash.”

Rowan wanted to comfort her, somehow make everything better. It was going to be a long two weeks until they left. “Come with me,” he said. “You don’t have to avoid him because of what happened between the two of you.”

Callie swallowed hard. “He’s your best friend. I’m just a girl.” She flashed a quick smile. “I’ll be okay.”

***

“Here,” Ash said, pointing to the yellowed page. The script was cramped and slanted, written in Gaelic. “It says
Immortal.”

Rowan looked over Ash’s shoulder, squinting to make out the handwritten words. The scrawl covered the entire page, margin to margin, as though the author was afraid they’d run out of paper before they ran out of words. “It’s a poem,” Rowan said, translating the language. “It says to
kill an Immortal, discharge the power of four.” His lips moved as he struggled with the rest of the words. “It mentions the four treasures, but I can’t read the rest.”

“The power of four,” Ash repeated. “What does that mean?”

Rowan shrugged. “Hell if I know. Maybe the four treasures, the four cities? In all my research, I’ve never heard of someone actually destroying an Immortal. They’re too strong.” He scanned the text again.

“Forgive me for questioning your renowned battle skills, but you aren’t going to seek out an
Immortal, are you?” Ash stared at the page as he asked.

“I don’t know.
Maybe. Whoever killed the child deserves to be destroyed, it’s faerie law,” he reminded Ash. Not that he intended to fight an Immortal. He just needed to consider every possible situation. He didn’t know what would happen once he and Callie made their way into the human world and he’d made her a lot of promises. He was terrified he wouldn’t be able to follow through. They were the best of both worlds, with his healing ability and her offensive powers, but Sapphire had told him Callie wasn’t invincible. He had to gather as much knowledge as he could before they left, especially with the possibility of Elm being an Immortal. Then there was the Fallen and
Fraeburdh.
And he knew with certainty that Hazel wouldn’t let Callie go without a fight.

“I think I found something,” Ash said a while later. “I keep coming back to the power of four. When the fae lived as one, before the Great War, all of the treasures
were kept together and the fae were bound to them. If an amulet was made to bind the wearer to the four treasures, they would be stronger than any single fae bound to a city,” he said excitedly. “Maybe stronger than an Immortal.”

Rowan nodded, thoughtful. When the fae divided, each faerie chose a home and a new city. But the war did not end and the divergent fae rose up against each other.
Cloch
fell to
Fraeburdh
and the stone of truth was lost. One couldn’t be bound to all four treasures when one was missing. He said as much to Ash.

“That’s why no one has ever defeated an Immortal,” Ash said. “The fae swore allegiance to one city, and their bindings to the other three were stripped. Without all four treasures, including the stone, none of us can defeat an Immortal.”

***

Two days passed before Jack and Hawthorne returned with the body of the child. They carried her into the city through the northern gate. Orbs lined the path through the forest, casting pale blue light onto the trees and the newly bloomed flowers that sprang from the earth as though anticipating the child’s homecoming. The fae of
Eirensae
stood vigil on both sides, dressed in green. Only their tearstained, pale faces shone from the darkness. The delicate, sorrowful melody of a pan flute drifted on the night air and slid against the mourner’s skin, providing comfort.

Callie stood between Rowan and Willow, close enough that Rowan’s earthen scent mixed with Willow’s heady jasmine and the light fragrance of the blossoms they held. Ash was across from them, face downcast. Every so often, Callie would catch the movement of his head as though he kept peeking at her. The three of them had spoken little since she’d decided to leave. Callie made
excuses and spent a lot of time with Willow, though the girl usually drove Callie crazy with her triviality. She’d hardly seen Ash, who’d thrown himself into research alongside Rowan. Rowan, however, had resumed his role as Callie’s personal protector. He’d stationed himself outside her cottage door, and could be seen there at all hours. He wore his black eyes like badges, though she suspected he’d let someone heal his broken nose.

Jack came into view first, expression somber as one of the four bearers of the linen pallet that carried the child. Callie had helped construct the deathbed, anxious for something to do. The long, sturdy piece of bleached fabric attached to four thick branches with ropes of hemp.

Hawthorne walked beside Jack, just as slow. Though they’d seldom spoken, Hawthorne’s eyes met Callie’s, and he smiled. The smirk remained as the group came closer, until uneasiness spread through Callie’s gut. Sai followed in the rear, along with a young faerie she didn’t recognize.

Rowan shifted and his fingers brushed
Callie’s. Their energy connected and crackled, drawing her attention from Hawthorne. A brilliant blue lit between Rowan and Callie, and Rowan jerked his hand away, cursing under his breath. Ash’s head snapped up, but then the processional slid between them on the path. Callie shook off the shock of Rowan’s touch and tossed her flower onto the pallet, where it joined a growing mound of blossoms.

The child, who was a few months older than Callie, was beautiful. She had long, dark hair, just discernible beneath the blanket of flowers. They’d draped her in green, the color of death. Her skin was glamoured, angular cheeks rosy, eyes painted dark with kohl. Callie wondered if her irises were blue or green, and if she would’ve felt at home in
Eirensae
. Callie would’ve been the one who prepared the child for the welcome ceremony. Now that Callie was leaving the city, she’d never get a chance to lead another into their new life as fae.

The realization felt finite, and tears burned streaks on Callie’s face. She felt Rowan’s gaze on her, warm as fingertips and soft as silk, as though she could wrap herself in it. She worried what it would be like on the outside.

Rowan’s hand touched hers again, this time with purpose. He stroked the tension of her fist until it unfolded like the petals of bud. Their fingers skated over one another, searching,
searching
. Finally, they linked. The rush of his energy, black and boundless, exploded into Callie’s veins. It pulsed beneath her collarbone and skittered across her stomach. It filled her mouth with sweetness. Security. Callie eyes fluttered shut, sending fresh tears onto her cheeks. Rowan grip tightened, and Callie hoped that meant he wouldn’t let her down. She wasn’t sure she could do this without him.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

With uneasiness roiling in his belly, Rowan watched the child burn. Callie’s hand remained in his, their energy connecting like fireworks.

They would leave tonight, he decided. It’d be a cleaner break if it
weren’t announced. If they just snuck away and disappeared. Callie squeezed his hand and Rowan glanced at her. The colorful flames reflected in her eyes.

Rowan caught Ash’s gaze from across the pyre. Ash wore his jealousy like armor. It blazed in his eyes and rode heavy on the downward turn of his mouth.