“What happened with Callerya?”
Everard spread his hands in a shrug. “They no longer wanted a kingdom cursed with demons.”
“You told me before that the king won’t put an end to the curse because he uses it to control people.”
Everard nodded. “Yes.”
“And this new portal will strengthen the veil again, so that demons remain on the other side.”
“Correct.”
“Then why are you suddenly in such a hurry? If this is so important to you, shouldn’t you want it done correctly, not haphazardly?”
“I do, Aurelie. But every new invention spawns another demon, and every new demon thins the veil that much more. In the past few months, it has grown increasingly weak. Wisterians are suffering, which has caused them to invent more than ever before. If we don’t do this now, it will be too late. Once the veil is broken entirely, it cannot be restored.”
The words were like a physical blow. Aurelie fell back against the pillows, suddenly exhausted in every way. “Blood and bones,” she murmured.
“Indeed. So you see now why we can’t afford to lose any time? And why Mephisto must be contained, before it produces more demons?”
Aurelie nodded.
“You should get home,” Everard said, rising. “I’d offer to escort you back, but something tells me you’d prefer to go alone.”
“Just tell me one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“What does a person lose when they offer up their soul?”
Everard’s smile was almost sad. “Their humanity. Their mortality. They lose the ability to love or be loved, to show mercy or compassion. I know some people would see those as weaknesses. They might think the deal is worth the making in the end.”
“And was it?” Aurelie asked, realizing that she hadn’t understood Florian at all. That whatever they had in common was far less important than their differences.
Everard sighed, his blue eyes focused on something invisible, or perhaps on nothing. “I suppose we can’t know for sure.”
“Why not?” she whispered.
He brought his gaze to hers, and the absence of any emotion there was more chilling than anything she had seen in him before. “Because we have not yet reached the end.”
Chapter 27
Des
Des watched in horror as Everard scooped Aurelie off the ground, leaving behind a bloody streak on the white snow. He was torn between following her to a townhouse he would never find again on his own, returning to the campus to eliminate the demon, and going back to the fortress for reinforcements.
He couldn’t tell Commander Yew what he’d seen tonight, not without risking Aurelie’s life. Even if they could find the townhouse, any attack on Everard could result in her death—and her uncle’s, apparently. But he was fairly certain that whatever Everard wanted from her now, he wasn’t going to kill her unless he felt threatened. Not when she was clearly useful to him.
With no good options, he clenched his jaw and set out for the fortress. He wrestled with telling Daisy the entire way back, and yet he shouldn’t have. She was already waiting on his bed when he returned, excited to tell him about her trip to visit her cousin. But her mood shifted immediately when she saw the look on Des’s face, the blood staining his tunic.
“We need backup,” she said after he had quickly explained. Everyone else was asleep, but Des knew she was right. He woke Jasper, but it was Daisy who insisted they tell Gareth.
“He’s just a kid,” Des argued.
“Yeah, one who cares about Aurelie.”
Des didn’t like it, but he didn’t know who else he could trust. They met at the obstacle course, armed and buzzing with adrenaline.
“Where do we go first?” Daisy asked. “Should we split up?”