Jack grinned. “Then she woan miss a measly pheasant or two.”
“Lark’s much stronger now than when you last saw her. She’ll do anything to hurt me—which means hurting you.”
He pried his hand from my weak grip. “It’s the only way.” He stood. When I reached for him, he seemed to force himself to back away. “You woan sway me in this.”
Was he risking his life because he planned on a future with me? He didn’t know everything. “There’s something I need to tell you—”
“His mind’s made up, Empress,” Joules interrupted. “You’ll have plenty of time to catch up later. But for now, you don’t want anything to banjax his motivation or his focus. You don’t want to get him killed, do you?”
I glared at the Tower. Selfish much? “This hunt is not happening. Jack, you’re not leaving.”
Holding his ground, he said, “I know this is tough, but I swear to you I’m coming back.” He turned to Joules. “Anything happens to her . . .”
The Tower created a javelin. “I got this.”
Jack squared his shoulders and faced Kentarch. “Come on, Chariot. Never teleported before, but by God, I’m ready to poach Domīnija’s lands.”
“Do you require a rifle? Something more than a compact crossbow?”
“Goan in quiet, me. Slip in, bag some birds, slip out. They’ll never know we were there.”
If I could manage a vine, I’d tie Jack to me. “I can’t lose you again.” I raised my hand to use my powers, but nothing happened.
“Evie, I promise you I’ll be back.”
“No time to dawdle.” Kentarch took his arm.
A spindly vine finally shot from my palm. It lashed only air. They’d already disappeared.
19
The Hunter
“Mère de Dieu,” I muttered when we touched down in a new snowy landscape. I’d officially teleported. One thing I could say since meeting Evangeline: life was never dull.
When I’d first seen her face out on that road, everything inside me had lit up—the way I always felt around her. This time I hadn’t nearly gone over my handlebars.
I told Kentarch, “You could’ve let me give her a proper good-bye, finessing that situation a touch more. Remember, I just came back from the dead.” And now she’d had to watch me leave yet again.
The last time she’d lost me, it’d broken her. I couldn’t imagine what she was going through back in that cave. It had taken sheer will to leave her.
A million other thoughts swirled in my overloaded brain.
Evie’s hurting. Got to feed my girl. Not my girl—she’s wearing Death’s ring. God, the sight of that . . . like I been stabbed. What’d I expect, me? I left her with Domīnija, left her to think I died. When she finds out the truth of that, she’ll have my ass. Did I really just teleport?
One thought stood out: What will happen between me and Evie now? I’d have to confess that I’d decided to let her go. Because of Matthew, I’d abandoned her to a man who’d then tried to kill her.
Kentarch said, “Trust me when I tell you she has an acute need for food. We have no time to spare.”
He was right. I pictured her back there, looking so fragile. When I returned, Evie and I would have a long talk.
Tugging my ragged coat closer, I surveyed the snowscape. Kentarch had brought me to the top of a large hill. From this vantage, I could see a castle sprawled over the neighboring mountain. A frozen moat with huge shards of ice circled it. A dirty yellow haze cloaked the entire rise like a bell jar.
“That place is creepy as hell.” And I’d thought Haven House had looked spooky?
On this side of the moat, a line of thornbushes as big as trees trailed over the countryside. Evie must’ve created that fortification.
“Creepy as it may be, that fortress is stocked for an extended nuclear winter.”
Yeah, Domīnija had told me about all the luxuries within. That was part of the reason I’d let Evie go.
I pulled binoculars from my bug-out bag to scope the building. Electric lights shone from windows, while torches lit the grounds. Smoke curled from three chimneys. I caught the scent of cooking meat, and my mouth watered. On one of the many eaves, Gabriel crouched like a gargoyle.
I could even make out Domīnija pacing a room. He’d had everything. Everything. Did some part of him comprehend what he’d lost? What he’d done to the woman he loved? She must’ve been so confused.
I stowed my binoculars, and Kentarch and I started down the hill toward the dome. “I gotta get her back inside that castle.”
“Will you kill the Reaper to do it?”
“I’ll kill any threat to her. The rest is up to Domīnija.” I was conflicted. On the one hand, I hated him for what he’d done to her under the influence. But then I remembered when the Hierophant had brainwashed Evie right out of her head. Could Death be held responsible for his actions when he wasn’t in his right mind?
Plus, I felt a deep gratitude to him for saving Evie from Richter’s attack.
“You must want her back,” Kentarch said. “Will you pursue her?”
She haunted me more than ever. Seeing her again just made it all the worse. But she expected to get Domīnija cured—which meant she expected to return to him. I told Kentarch, “I’ll end up doing whatever’s best for her. Story of my life with that one. You ever been in love?”
He gave a humorless laugh. “You could say that. My wife, Issa, and I were separated months ago. I’ve been searching for her ever since. I came to this castle for assistance in finding her.”
Bonne chance, Kentarch. Good luck, because his Issa was most likely long dead.
As we neared the dome, I unstrapped my crossbow. Just beyond the boundary, Evie’s fortification loomed, a frozen forest of towering thorn plants. The foreboding branches seemed to move under the wavering yellow light.
This place reminded me of tales my mother used to read to me, of enchanted winter forests filled with magic and evil villains.
Only this was real.
Snow trails meandered throughout, forged by what had to be large animals. Another grizzly? I checked my bolt-action clip of arrows, knowing it’d take more than this to bring down something so big.
In a hushed tone, Kentarch said, “If Fauna is awake, she will be able to scent you. Should her beasts give chase, your only hope is to make it back here to me.”
I nodded, not looking forward to an encounter with overgrown wolves—or worse. “No pressure.” More snow started to fall. Merde. This wasn’t exactly my preferred hunting environment, and the cold was making my bad leg stiffen up. “I’m heading in.” In case something happened to me, I turned to give him a last message for Evie but decided against it.
If I died on her twice, no message was going to fix that wound.
“Be wary, hunter,” Kentarch murmured. “All manner of creatures prowl within.”