Chapter Twenty-Two

THE GOVERNOR’S MANSION was almost exactly as she remembered it, except for the landscaping. Before there had been perfectly manicured hedges, now the lawn was overflowing with colors. Petunias spilled from the window boxes and tulips grew in rows to line the walk.

The guard at the gate had waved her in. Apparently, she was back in Evaria’s good graces. She pulled at the collar of her button-up. She had needed to dig to the back of her closet to find it but it looked respectable. The kind of thing you wore to ask a favor from the governor.

Before she made it up the path, Evaria swung the door open and snorted, looking her over. “Are those slacks?”

“Shut up.” Briar folded her arms across her chest.

“You’re the one fidgeting like a child in trouble.” She let Briar inside and pushed the door shut.

The mansion was eerily quiet, though Briar had never been there during the day before and never when it wasn’t full of rich people writing checks. Still, she had expected someone to be working. With the size of the house there was no way Evaria kept up with it herself.

The mayor led her down the hallway and into her office. Briar had been in the room before when it had belonged to Jenia Alvier but it was changed just like the hedges. The mahogany desk had been replaced with pale wood and vintage floral pictures covered the walls which had been painted a jade green.

Instead of sitting behind the desk, Evaria sat on a small couch pushed against the closest wall and patted the other side. “I met with Jenia this week.”

Briar’s blood ran cold in her veins. “Evie, that’s dangerous.”

She nodded. “I know, but it’s customary. The mayor of Wesvik and the Prime Minister have always been close. We’re the biggest city in the country. It went…well, it went mostly normal but her vitriol for the fae is like nothing I’ve ever heard from Jenia and I knew her well.” She ran her fingers along the emerald necklace at her throat. “I knew I could win this. I’ve been working up to it for years. I knew the hurried election would lend itself to my victory. I had the money and the name recognition but I wish I hadn’t. I don’t want to do this.”

“I need to ask you to do more.” There was fear in Evaria’s eyes, something Briar had not seen before, and she thought again of her lying on the ground at the temple ruins. All the blood, opening a path for Eliana to terrorize them. To kill Vestia. Jenia. So many others who Briar had no name for. “I need to get close to her.” She couldn’t count on Soren’s plan. Henrik was right, they needed multiple angles, every time.

Evaria’s hand clutched her throat, eyes wide. “I can’t, Briar. I…I can’t…”

Briar took Evaria’s hand from her throat and held it, rubbing her thumb gently over the soft skin. She looked into Evaria’s frightened eyes and prayed to whoever was listening that her mind was free of Eliana, that she wasn’t issuing her a death sentence. “We can get rid of her but I need your help. I’ll end it though, I promise.”

Evaria stared at their joined hands. When she spoke, her voice was a whisper. “The first time I saw you, you were laughing. You looked so full of life and I was jealous because no one has ever looked at me and thought that. I wanted to be like you, be around you, soak up the light you give off. And I’d follow you almost anywhere but I…”

“Don’t say you can’t.” Briar moved closer and dropped Evaria’s hand. She tilted her chin up and forced Evaria to look into her eyes. “You chose this job. You swore to protect this city. I know you’re scared but I’ll be there and I’ll keep you safe this time. I won’t let her hurt you again. I swear it, Evaria. I just need to get close to her.”

“I don’t want to die. I’m just starting to live.”

“You won’t,” she swore though she could promise no such thing.

“When?”

Briar thought of Soren, how he would look in Evaria’s place. His muscled arms slashed and bleeding. His eyes unseeing. She would do what she could. Cut her own arms, add her blood to his, and beg the universe to just give her this one thing. Or let her die with him. “As soon as you can.”

“She’s back in Ourst. I’ll need an excuse to get her here unless you want to fly to her. Which…where do you want to meet?”

Briar stood, looking around the empty room, listening to the empty hall. “Where is everyone?”

“They only come once a week now. I don’t trust anyone. I worry they’re all working for her. I keep the gates guarded but the house stays empty.”

“I need somewhere to…kill her and I don’t know what’s going to happen after. What about here?”

Evaria shook her head, some of the color returning to her face. “No, this is in the middle of the city. The streets are lined with cameras. Everyone would know this was the last place she went.”

“I don’t see a way around that. She’s in the body of the Prime Minister. She has to have bodyguards. People will quickly notice she’s missing no matter what precautions we take.” The possibility of imprisonment was something she had barely thought about. There was too much else to worry over but it did loom, another cloud to add to the storm that followed her around.

“She travels surprisingly light. Ansel set a precedent when he dismissed everyone right before that protest. And Je—Eliana doesn’t like to have her movements tracked. She won’t come with many people but that red-headed bitch will be with her and maybe others.”

“Okay.” Briar thought it over, running through possibilities in her mind.

“I have an old lake house. I’m not sure what my excuse would be to get her there but I could try. It’s about an hour outside the city, on Lake Grimelsda.”

“Thank you.” Briar swallowed down her guilt. “For everything, Evaria. Thank you.”

*

THERE WAS NOTHING left to do but worry and take stock of every bad decision she’d ever made. She grabbed a coffee from her favorite shop and sat outside it for a long time, staring across the street at Fauna’s building.

Soon, the mourning period would be over and Fauna would be expected to take over Vestia’s job at Constance Steel. They’d talked about that moment often over the years, about all of Fauna’s fears and hopes. That fear was what had led her to a string of fiancés, desperate to have someone by her side.

Briar was supposed to be there when it happened. They’d planned for it. She’d promised they’d get drinks after her first day, even joked she’d be her secretary.

Now, Fauna was alone and she never did well by herself. She needed Briar.

Standing, Briar threw her cup of coffee in the trash and steeled her resolve. Fauna had been mad at her before. They had to work together now. She still had to find a way to contact Soren without Eliana knowing and she needed to talk to Lillia, though that never went well anymore. She didn’t want to die with things like they were, with all the relationships she cared about broken and faded.

She pushed open the door and a security guard moved forward. “Ms. Constance, how are you today?”

“Fine.” She tried to step around the man but he moved again, blocking her path.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Constance, but you are no longer allowed upstairs in the building unless escorted by a resident.”

Her heart cracked and the words echoed in her head. “Fauna asked you to ban me?”

He nodded. “Yes, ma’am, I’m afraid she did.”

Heads were turning. A man walking in stopped to watch the conversation. Briar could feel her cheeks heat. But short of fighting her way inside there was nothing she could do, no matter how much it hurt. “Okay, she’s a little miffed with me. Sorry to bother you.” She turned and headed back outside.

The day was turning stormy. Large gray clouds blocked out the sun and the temperature had dropped. She could smell the rain, she should get inside soon, but how many more times would she walk the streets of Wesvik?

She looked up, as though she’d be able to see Fauna peering out of her window at her but there was nothing but a vast expanse of empty windows and concrete walls. She pulled out her phone, fingers hovering over the keys for a long time, unable to decide what to say.

I love you, Fawnie.

As thunder rumbled overhead, and she ignored the attempts of Nilaja to get her attention, she pondered how best to get in touch with Soren. She’d never put much stock in his plan to get close to Bastianna but it still seemed dangerous to let the Goddess see them working together. She didn’t know how she’d learned of their last plan but they couldn’t risk being caught again. Separate was better.

But even with their precautions there was no way of knowing when or how she was watching. Each person she passed on the street could have Eliana in her head, which made her feel paranoid on top of everything else.

So she went to Lillia’s. The walk was long and by the time she got there it was drizzling. This felt like a tour of penance and perhaps it was. She was relieved when it was Lillia and not her sister who opened the door.

Her face softened at the sight of Briar, something like relief washing across it. “I’m sorry I lost my temper last time,” she said, glancing up at the dark sky. “I’m glad you came by. It’s safer for you to come here when you work on the spell.”

“I think I have it. It wasn’t hard.” Briar peeled off her wet shoes and put them beside the door. “I had some old spell books of my own and I combined the spell we used on her before and the summoning spell and added some flair of my own that just felt right.” She had thought it would take longer, be harder, until Nilaja had shown up and confirmed it—and confirmed her suspicions that she was doing the right thing. The universe wanted her to do this and for some reason the Gods did not. They were hiding something. They were dangerous. The truth struck her. They had not left to protect the humans; they had left to protect themselves from magic they could not control.

“You’re really going to do it?” Lillia pulled at a piece of her hair, straightening it, then letting it bounce back. “You’re going to go up against her?”

“Gotta keep you safe.”

Their eyes locked and Lillia was upon her, her hands tangled in Briar’s hair, her lips pressed against hers. She pulled her into the house, keeping their bodies pressed together while they moved recklessly into the living room, knocking over a vase as they went. Together they tumbled onto the couch.

Heavy breathing tinged with magic floated around them. Lillia’s curls tickled her face. Then something wet and hot. It took Briar a moment to realize she was crying, and Lillia pulled away.

She pivoted and laid beside her, pushing one arm under Briar and holding her to her chest. “Part of me was hoping you wouldn’t figure it out.”

“I know. I was hoping for the same thing,” Briar said, stroking the arm wrapped around her. “But Nilaja basically confirmed the spell will work. They told me not to do it.”

Lillia stiffened behind her. She was silent for a moment. Lightning flashed outside the window and thunder boomed. Lillia pressed her lips to the back of Briar’s neck. “Try to survive. Please.”

Briar twisted, turning to face Lillia. She took in the deep brown of her eyes, like the bark of old trees, strong and enduring. The way her eyelashes framed them and the pink of her lips. The curve of her jaw softened by the padding of hair that fell around her face. “You are so beautiful. Keep flowers on my grave, okay?”

A tear slipped from Lillia’s eye and ran down her cheek. “I want to come with you.”

“No, I want you to live. I want you to be happy.” She kissed her softly, trying to memorize the way she tasted. She wanted to say so much more but none of the words seemed right. There was nothing to fix their problems, nothing to mend all the things that were broken between them.

“I’m sorry I started that fight. I was…jealous. Nilaja is a God and I see the way you look when you talk about them.”

“Haven’t you seen how I look when I talk about you?” She wouldn’t mention what had passed between her and Nilaja. It might be wrong—it was probably wrong—but wasn’t the hero supposed to get the girl at the end? And it felt like the end. “I’m sorry I never got to take you to all the places I said I would. I wanted to see you on top of one of the rolling hills in Beisha, to ride one of the boats down the rivers in Evicia. Just promise you’ll think of me sometimes.”

A tear dripped from Lillia’s nose and fell onto the cushions. “I wanted to see Morelia. I’ve heard that the capital is beautiful. They built it right into the jungle and there’s vines falling from the buildings. I’d like to see it—with you.”

“You’d like the little monkeys. Worse than squirrels, they’ll steal your things.”

“Ry, are you really going to sacrifice Soren?” Lillia’s eyes pleaded for an answer Briar couldn’t give.

Pushing herself up to sitting, Briar rested her head against the back of the couch and cradled one of the throw pillows to her chest. Lillia mirrored her, pressing their shoulders together in the cramped space, and Briar was engulfed in the sweet floral scent of her. “I’ve never been a good person but this just keeps pushing me further and further. I don’t want to…I don’t want to kill him but I have to stop her. I did this, no matter what all of you say, I’m responsible for her freedom. Without my power she wouldn’t have succeeded.”

Lillia’s lips pressed against Briar’s, soft and delicate, but insistent. Her hands cradled Briar’s face, wiping away tears with her thumbs. “Oh, Briar.” She kissed her nose then her eyelids. “Baby.” She stood and put out her hand and Briar took it. “This is cramped. I need more space.”

What Briar needed was more time. A lifetime of it. But all she had was now. She followed Lillia to her bedroom. Lillia kissed her again, deep enough to ignite a fire in her, then she lowered Briar onto her bed.

Her movements were slow and gentle as she pulled Briar’s shirt over her head and trailed kisses down her throat and between her breasts. Her tears had ended but her eyelashes were wet as they fluttered against her abdomen.

Briar closed her eyes and tried not to focus on anything but the woman whose kisses had now moved lower still, making her breath hitch in her chest.

Lillia braced herself with one hand on Briar’s hip. The other undid the clasp of her shorts and pulled them down her legs. Briar tensed, feeling exposed.

“Stop?” The pressure of Lillia went away and Briar opened her eyes to find her on her knees beside her.

“No.” She shook her head. “I’m just afraid of everything that comes when I leave.”

“Then stay for a while.” Lillia lowered herself back down, her breath caressing the plane of Briar’s abdomen. “I’m not a Goddess but perhaps I can make you forget, for a moment.”

“You are a Goddess.” Briar tangled one hand in Lillia’s hair, the other in the sheets, letting her knees fall apart.

Lillia ran her hand up Briar’s thigh, then back down. She brushed her thumb against Briar’s core and her world narrowed while her back arched off the bed. But Lillia held her, one hand on her hip, the other drawing slow, excruciating circles.

When she couldn’t take it anymore Briar opened her eyes to find Lillia looking at her, her eyes full of shadows. The corner of her mouth twitched toward a smirk and she pressed harder and Briar gasped. She slid a finger inside her and lowered herself, replacing the slow rotation of her thumb with more urgent movements of her tongue.

She moved another finger and another, filling Briar as she feasted upon her. Briar wanted to touch her too, taste her but she couldn’t make her body respond. It answered only to Lillia. Her breasts tightened and her body shuddered. Lillia let out a groan, her own legs twisting in the sheets.

Briar pressed her deeper, fisting a handful of her hair. “Fuck.” She ground into her, the pressure and heat in her core growing deeper, curling her toes. She wanted more, more of this, more time, more tongue against her clit driving her closer to the edge.

When she finally came, it was with magic, indigo and gold sparking against the sheets. Her chest rose and fell and Lillia started to sit up but Briar grabbed her. She flipped her down and clawed at her clothes until they were off. “Can I spend the night?”

“Only if you make breakfast and—”

Briar silenced the rest of her sentence with a kiss.