The boy was so much like Amarie, so stubborn and fearless. He was so much like his mother, loyal and honest, and bound for the heartbreak that came from loving a Caster. Macon was still thinking about Jane when his mind faded.
When Macon opened his eyes again, the fire was gone. The smoke, the roaring of flames and ammunition — it was all gone. He felt himself drifting in the darkness. It wasn't like Traveling. This void had weight. It was pulling him through. Yet when he reached out, he could see that his hand was hazy, only partially materialized.
He was dead.
Lena must have made the Choice. She had chosen to go Light. Even in the darkness, knowing the fate of an Incubus in the Otherworld, a sense of calm washed over him. It was finished.
“Not yet. Not for you.”
Macon turned, recognizing her voice immediately. Lila Jane. She was luminous in the abyss, shimmering and beautiful. “Janie. There's so much I have to tell you.”
Jane shook her head, her brown hair falling over her shoulder. “There's no time.”
“There's nothing but time.”
Jane stretched out her hand, her fingers glimmering. “Take my hand.”
As soon as Macon touched her, the darkness began to bleed into colors and light. He could see images, familiar shapes and forms swimming around him, but he couldn't anchor them. Then he realized where they were. The archive, Jane's special place.
“Jane, what's happening?” He saw her reach out, but everything was blurry and unclear. Then he heard the words, the words he had taught her.
“In these walls with no time or space, I Bind your body and from this Earth erase.”
There was something in her hand. The Arclight. “Jane, don't do it! I want to be here with you.”
She was floating before him, already beginning to fade. “I promised if the time came, I would use it. I'm keeping my promise. You can't die. They need you.” She was gone now, a voice, nothing else. “My son needs you.”
Macon tried to tell her everything he had failed to say in life, but it was too late. He could feel the pull of the Arclight already, impossible to break. As he spun into the abyss, he heard her seal his fate.
“Comprehende, Liga, Cruci Fige.
Capture, Cage, and Crucify.”
Macon dropped my hand, and the vision released us. I held it in my mind, unable to let her go. My mom had saved him, using the weapon Macon had given her to use against him. She had given up the chance for them to finally be together, because of me. Had she known he was our only chance?
When I opened my eyes, Liv was crying, and Ridley was trying to pretend she wasn't. “Oh, please. Enough with the drama.” A tear leaked onto her cheek.
Liv wiped her eyes, sniffling. “I had no idea a Sheer was capable of anything like that.”
“You would be surprised what we are capable of when the situation warrants it.” Macon clapped his hand on my shoulder. “Isn't that right, Mr. Wate?”
I knew he was trying to thank me. But as I looked around our broken circle, I didn't feel like I deserved thanks. Ridley had lost her powers, Link was wincing in pain, and Liv had destroyed her future. “I didn't do anything.”
Macon's hand tightened on my shoulder, forcing me to face him. “You made yourself see what most would have overlooked. You brought me here; you brought me back. You accepted your fate as a Wayward and found the way here. None of that could have been easy.” He looked around the cave at Ridley, Link, and Liv. His eyes lingered a moment on Liv, and then his eyes locked on mine. “For anyone.”
Including Lena.
I almost couldn't stand to tell him, but I wasn't sure if he knew. “Lena thinks she killed you.”
Macon didn't speak for a second, but when he did, his voice was even and controlled. “Why would she think that?”
“Sarafine stabbed me that night, but you died. Amma told me. But Lena can't forgive herself, and it's … changed her.” I wasn't making sense, but there was so much Macon needed to know. “I think she may have made a choice in her heart without realizing it.”
“She didn't.” Macon dismissed me.
“It was The Book of Moons, Mr. Ravenwood.” Liv couldn't help herself. “Lena was desperate to save Ethan, and she used the Book. It made a trade, your life for his. Lena had no way of knowing what would happen. The Book can't be properly controlled, which is why it's not meant to be kept in Caster hands.” Liv sounded even more like a Caster librarian than usual.
Macon tilted his head slightly. “I see. Olivia?”
“Yes, sir?”
“With all due respect, we've no time for a Keeper. This day will require certain actions best left unkept. At the very least, untold. Do you understand?”
Liv nodded. Her expression said she understood more than he knew.
“She's not a Keeper, not anymore.” Liv had saved his life and destroyed her own in the process. She deserved Macon's respect, at the very least.