“Where are you going?” CJ asks.
“To get Dante.”
I turn to go, but they grab my arm. “This wasn’t the plan. Melody will show me where he is, and we’ll get him next time.”
“We might not have a next time,” I argue, shaking them free. “Besides, who knows if your cover is even still intact?” I’m already backing down the corridor. “I’ll see you guys in a minute. Just trust me.”
“If someone tells you to trust them, it’s because you can’t trust them!” CJ calls after me, but I’m already gone.
TheAll-In
Thirty-Three
If I ever see another spiral staircase, it’ll be too soon.
The good news is that the tower appears to be empty of guards and demons alike. Shout-out to Heather and her army of vengeful spirits.
By the time I reach the top floor, I’m struggling to breathe. I try to convince myself otherwise. I don’t evenneedto breathe because I don’t even have lungs at the moment. But it’s a hard habit to break. I hunch over, gasping, my metaphysical chest burning. I take deep breaths until I get it under control, eyes closed on one more exhale. Then I open them and see exactly what I’ve been looking for.
I’m at the center of a round room, so tall I can barely see the ceiling. The curving wall is filled with shelves, ornate and Gothic, and on each shelf, a single glowing orb about the size of my fist pulses in a white-hot glow.
Ethereal souls. This is exactly what I saw right before Dante disappeared. Right before Infamous Pete did too. And if Pete could be brought back to corporeal form, then surely so can Dante.
I approach the nearest one. It sits at eye level. I notice what’s missing, and my stomach drops.
There’s nothing, no plaque or label, indicating whose soul this is. It could be anyone. And there are millions of them.
Shit.
Even if I had hours, days, weeks, I might not be able to find Dante among them, and I have mere minutes. A little voice insideme tells me to just grab a soul and go. One in a billion is a better chance than none at all.
But I don’t play by those odds. It’s always been 100 percent or nothing.
I take a deep breath and close my eyes.
I think of Credence recognizing her name, of knowing the code phrase from Rook. She wasn’t in ethereal form, not like these souls, but she wasn’t corporeal either. She didn’t even seem like a person, but she still knew herself, still knew her brother’s name.
“Dante?” I breathe. “Can you hear me?”
I open my eyes, still surrounded by a million glowing orbs, no indication of which one is my brother.
“Dante,” I say louder. “It’s me. It’s Elle. I’ve come to take you home.”
I scan the souls, hoping to see some…change or shift in one that shows it recognizes me.
“Dante? Dante?” I yell even louder, until I’m screaming. “Dante!”
My voice echoes hollowly, lost in the impossible ceiling above. I don’t notice Poppy until she’s right behind me.
“I can’t find him,” I tell her. “There’s too many of them. I don’t know where he is.”
“I’m sorry, Elle,” she says.
I turn to her. “I just thought—”
I freeze. Behind her are dozens of guards. In the center is Nyx.
“Poppy?” I ask, but I already realize what’s happening.