it was a good idea that he held out hope for Petra, and I told him so back at Arcadia. But now that I was getting to know her, I realized she wasn’t as evil as I first thought. I don’t know…maybe there was hope after all.
But Petra looked at me as if the idea disgusted her. “If I never talk to him again, that’s fine with me.”
Okay then—scratch that. No hope at all.
She lightened her tone. “You, however,” she said, squeezing my hand. “I will miss talking to you once you leave this place.”
“Same,” I said, meaning it.
As she went down the steps, I sighed. I’d been thinking about leaving ever since we arrived, but I hadn’t considered what that meant. Petra was stuck here forever, and it wasn’t fair. She should have been in my life before, just like she should stay in my life now. But pledges were more binding than curses. Pledges were a conscious choice. Whenever mages pledged themselves, the magic was unbreakable. Their pledge was just as much attached to them as their own limbs. As much as I wished I could bring my mom home with me, that would never be possible.
30
The trampled snow coating the alleys in the market was all gray and black from the passing carts. Mages and creatures had flocked to the city center in hordes, setting Grey on edge. He held my arm protectively, mumbling curses under his breath. “Should’ve never agreed to this today.”
“But I need to buy presents,” I reminded him sweetly.
“Aye, I know. For Christmas, or whatever nonsense holiday you have.”
“You don’t celebrate Christmas in the Underworld?” That wasn’t surprising though. Nothing about this place was remotely jolly.
“Definitely not.” Grey sniffed. “Let’s see, we have Dragon’s Day, the Festival of Tears, Parade of Monsters, All Hallows Eve—”
“Oh, we celebrate Halloween, too. In the human world,” I said, glad to find something we had in common.
His voice lowered to an anxious growl. “Let’s just get your gifts and get out of here, fire-blood. It’s much busier than I expected.”
I nodded and the two of us pressed on, heading to a jewelry stand. The idea of buying Riley a charm bracelet made me smirk. She would, no doubt, wonder if I had poisoned it. As hilarious as that would be, I’d better not. This particular gift needed to be a peace offering. A final white flag.
“These would look pretty on her,” Grey said, pointing to a pair of yellow jade earrings.
“They would,” I agreed, my lips curving on one side. “You should get them for her.”
“Me?” Grey sputtered, blood rushing to his scaly cheeks. “But I—that wouldn’t be appropriate.”
“Why not?” I placed my hands on my hips. “You’re her friend, after all. Friends get each other gifts, and Riley would love those.”
He stared at the earrings, deep in thought, as if he were considering it.
“I’ll just be over there while you decide.” I nodded toward the following cart.
Grey waved me on. “Don’t go too far,” he warned.
“I’ll be fine.”
As I ambled toward the next set of wares, Grey stayed back and bartered over the price of the earrings. I smiled to myself. His and my sister’s weird relationship was kind of sweet.
“See anything you like, miss?” A spiky-haired dwarf peeked out from behind his cart’s table. He wore a cheery red scarf and he smiled at me—a gesture I rarely came across in the bleak and dreary Elysium.
My gaze stopped on a pair of burgundy leather gloves with silver buttons. They looked like something Petra would wear. I was about to ask for their price, but several shouts distracted me—some kind of commotion. The crowds shifted toward the market’s center fountain, where a line of Hollowed Guard emerged. In a big, booming voice, one of them shouted, “Clear the street!”
“What’s going on?” I asked the dwarf, curious.
He rolled his eyes. “The royals are visiting today. People always lose their minds when they’re in the city.”
No wonder it was so crowded. Clearly, Grey and I chose the wrong day to shop. I pointed to the gloves, ready to get out of there. “How much for those?”
“Two wots.”
An extravagant price, but I didn’t want to waste time bartering. “Wrap it up for me please, and quickly.”
A gleam filled his eyes at the ease of the sale. “Right away, miss.”
He went to work, making friendly conversation as he rolled the gloves in decorated paper. “The crowds aren’t usually this terrible, but everyone wants to catch sight of the hollowed prince.”