an ice pick. But she agreed to come pick Jasmine up in forty minutes.
Luc put down the phone, feeling slightly better. Aunt Hillary’s house smelled like peppermint and lavender. She kept about a dozen cats around, too, and she had a way of making even comments about the weather sound like insults. Jasmine would be bored out of her mind.
Which was kind of the point.
Jas emerged from the bathroom in her familiar pink robe, her long hair, now dry, hanging loosely down to her waist. For a moment, Luc imagined it was a normal day—before the earthquake, before Jasmine’s capture by Miranda, before the Land of the Two Suns and Rhys and the world of memory mists.
Before Corinthe.
But when Jas scooted past him and reached for a mug, the long red scratch on her arm proved the past few days hadn’t been some kind of crazy, tangled dream.
He swallowed the lump in his throat. He would never be at peace until he found a way to save Corinthe. In a universe full of hundreds and thousands of worlds, there had to be a way to bring someone back from the dead. Giving up was not an option.
“That shower felt amazing.” Jasmine smiled, and he felt a surge of hope. His sister was okay. She was home safe.
Anything was possible and that proved it.
She filled the mug with water, stuck it in the microwave, and punched start. “Tea?”
“No thanks.” He took pleasure in watching her stretch on her tiptoes to reach the tea, rustle through the cabinets for honey—familiar, everyday motions. But it couldn’t last. Not yet. He cleared his throat. “Look, I need you to get dressed and pack a bag with some things.”
She looked at him with her eyebrows drawn down. “Where are we going?”
“You are going to Aunt Hillary’s for a few nights. I have something I need to do.”
“Aunt Hillary?” Jasmine echoed. She shook her head and returned to spooning honey into the mug. “No way. I’ll just hang out here. I’ve stayed alone a thousand times.”
“I don’t want you home alone,” Luc said sharply. Jasmine looked at him. He took a deep breath. “Look, there are things going on that I can’t explain right now. I need to know you’re safe.”
Jasmine turned to face him, crossing her arms. “Tell me,” she said. “Whatever it is, I can handle it.” She looked away. “Did I … was it something I took, Luc? Is that why I can’t remember anything?”
Her voice trembled a little, and it made his heart ache. Jas had OD’d earlier in the spring. A combination of Ecstasy and alcohol. Since then, she had sworn she would stay off drugs, sworn she would stick with a psychiatrist. But Luc had spent months feeling like at any second, disaster would strike and he would lose her.
And then he had lost her—to Miranda, and the Forest of the Blood Nymphs.
He reached out and touched her shoulder. “You didn’t do anything wrong. And when this is over, I’ll tell you everything.” Maybe.
Jasmine’s dark eyes clicked back to his. “Promise on Mom?”
He made an X over his heart. “Promise on Mom. But for tonight, you go with Aunt Hillary. I already called her and she said it was okay. She’s on her way.”
Jasmine groaned. “What am I supposed to say when she starts asking about Dad?”
“You like fairy tales,” Luc said, cracking a small smile. “Spin her a good one.”
“Do I have to?” Jas asked as she sipped her tea.
Luc lifted his hands behind his neck and looked at the ceiling. After a long exhale, he let his hands fall to his sides and glanced at Jas. “It won’t be for long. Just trust me, okay? Now please go get dressed and pack a bag so we don’t keep her waiting.”
Jasmine sighed exaggeratedly, but she didn’t protest any more. She went down the hall to her room and closed the door. Luc glanced at the time. Ten o’clock. As soon as Jas was safely off, he’d use the archer to begin his search for the Crossroad.
He already knew where he would look first: the Land of the Two Suns on the outskirts of the universe. Rhys knew secrets about the universe; he was the one who had told Corinthe and Luc about the flower needed to save Jasmine from the Forest of the Blood Nymphs.
Rhys would know how Luc could undo everything and save Corinthe.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her slipping from him, the sky lit