ran out into the brilliant dawn sunlight of Guild City. I cried out and covered my eyes, blinded by the brightness of the sun. I hadn’t seen anything so bright since I’d left here days ago.
“Are you all right, dearie?” Small hands gripped my shoulders, steadying me.
I blinked, my vision slowly returning, and looked up. An old woman was trying to keep me upright. I gasped and stood, pulling away. “I’m fine. Sorry. Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, dear. You look like you’ve seen the devil.”
“You have no idea.” I gripped her arms, staring hard into her eyes. “I’m sorry to ask this of you, but you need to keep anyone from entering the library. It’s deadly in there.”
Confusion flickered in her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t have time to explain, but I’ll be back. Just please . . . don’t let anyone go in there.” He wouldn’t be able to leave it. He never had been, and nothing had changed in that regard. The woman would be safe.
She nodded, her jaw firming. “I’ll watch it like it were my own.”
“Thank you.” I hugged her briefly, unable to help myself. I was so glad to be home. Guild City had its problems, and plenty of them. But women like this—helpful and strong—were a dime a dozen here, and that was the best part of it.
I turned and raced down the street, my lungs burning. I must have moved like the devil himself was on my heels, because people parted to let me pass, their eyebrows raised and whispers traded behind their hands.
My lungs were about to explode as I raced down the alley that led to the Shadow Guild tower. But I didn’t slow. I’d tried so hard to get here and for so long, done such damage, that I couldn’t fail now.
I spilled out into the empty courtyard and ran across the scrubby grass, headed straight for the tall tower that loomed ahead. The door was open, and I raced inside.
“Mac! Eve!” My voice was weak, but loud enough.
Footsteps clattered overhead, then down the stairs. I collided with Eve at the base.
“Seraphia!” She flung her arms around me, hugging me tight.
“Mac,” I gasped. “Is she okay?”
“Holding on, but barely.” She pulled away, and her face was paler than I’d ever seen it. More drawn and shadowed. “Did you . . .?”
“I got a cure.” I pushed past her and raced up the stairs, lightheaded with adrenaline.
Mac lay in a small bed that had been pulled into Eve’s workshop. Beatrix sat next to her, cross-legged in neon orange leggings. Her eyes widened when she saw me, and my heart leapt.
She’s really okay.
I’d believed Hades, but it was still a relief to see her.
Mac, however, looked like hell. She was nearly transparent, with a gray cast to her skin. As if the mist were absorbing her. Making her part of it.
I stumbled to my knees next to her bed, gripping her hand. “Mac.”
“Seraphia.” She smiled, weak but genuine. “You’re back.”
“Better than that.” I shoved the vial of potion at Beatrix. “Your hands are steadier.”
She laughed, tears in the sound. Eve crowded behind us as we watched her pull the cork off. Mac struggled to sit, and I helped her, horrified by how weak and frail she seemed. She was the strongest of us normally, tall, tough, and brash.
“Here Mac, steady now.” Beatrix held the vial to her lips, and I held my breath as she drank it down.
Tension sparked on the air, terrible and tight.
Mac finished it and blinked. “I feel . . .”
It happened in the flash of an eye. Her color returned and her eyes brightened. She was no longer transparent, and I could feel the change in her energy.
“Seraphia.” She flung her arms around me, hugging me tight.
I nearly choked, but I hugged her back, so grateful that I didn’t have words. Tears streamed down my face, hot and pure. For her. For me.
Maybe for Hades, too, as much as I hated him.
Maybe hated him.
Finally, she pulled back and swung her legs to the side of the bed, climbing out with the grace and strength I was used to. “If I never sit on that damned thing again, it will be too soon.”
Eve laughed. “Don’t complain. I made it nice and comfy.”
“You did.” Mac hugged her, and I slumped back against the side of the bed, the cold hard ground as comfortable as any feather mattress.
Beatrix leaned close, her eyes worried. “What happened?”