Chapter Twenty-Five

Salome

I watched as the elder put the poultice on Gareth’s wound. His skin was clammy and beads of sweat slickened his forehead. The wound had caused his flesh to darken like spoiled meat along the ridge of the cut mark. His face and body were otherwise pale, the normal bronze sheen gone.

“There’s nothing more I can do,” the elder said. “I’m afraid he won’t last the night—”

“No, that can’t be. There has to be something you can do. Some sort of magic that will fix this.” I leapt to my feet. “Please, I beg you.”

The elder’s eyes filled with sadness. “I’m sorry, Lady Salome, but there’s no power strong enough to combat the iron poisoning that has entered his system. Take comfort in knowing that he at least made it home, so you could say your goodbyes.” He spared me a glance, but with nothing left to say, the tall elfin man left the room.

With a sob, I sank into the chair by Gareth’s bed, taking his limp hand in mine and pressing it to my lips. No. The elder had to be wrong. He couldn’t die on me. He couldn’t go back on his promise—he’d promised to always be here for me.

“You can’t leave me, you hear? You brought me back from the dead, you called me back to life and I came. So don’t you dare give up on me now.” My eyes welled. “Please, fight. For me. Fight for us.”

His breathing seemed more labored. Fear racing through me, I turned to Nevin, who stood solemnly near the door. “Nevin, please, tell me there’s something we can do? I-I hadn’t wanted to tell you earlier, but you were right. My powers are real. So help me figure out how to use them to save Gareth.”

“It would take more magic than you could possibly have, Salome. Death is one of the most powerful spells…”

“But Gareth brought me back. Couldn’t we do the same for him? How did he do it?”

“I don’t know. I’m not lying to you—I don’t know. I only remember him calling to you. Him and your grandmother both. What do you remember of your death and resurrection?”

“I was stuck in an in-between, and I heard his voice, and I followed it.”

“Maybe he’s in a place where your voice won’t come through. Perhaps the poison keeps you from reaching him.”

“Nevin, come on. There has to be something we can do.”

He lowered his head. “There might be another way. But I’m not sure you’ll like it”

I shot to my feet, letting go of Gareth’s hand. “What is it? I’ll do anything to bring him back.”

“You could become my queen,” he said.

Anger erupted inside me. Oh. My. God. My boyfriend was dying and he was trying to convince me to be his mother-effing queen. This was low, even for Nevin. “I can’t believe you’d try to manipulate me right now, when the love of my life is dying—”

“I’m not trying to trick you. As the Summer King, I can tap into some of the powers of the kingdom. However, my magic is not, and will not, be at its fullest until Summer has a queen. When both a king and queen rule, all the power is available, both the feminine side and the masculine side of it. I believe that together, with Summer’s powers behind us, that we could beat away this darkness that keeps him from returning to us.”

My fingers knotted into balled up fists at my sides. “Is this another one of your grand schemes? Your tricks? How do I know you aren’t lying to me again? That you won’t deceive me—deceive Gareth?”

Nevin straightened his shoulders. “Gareth is one of my closest companions and has been since we were children; he was the only person I trusted enough to watch after Summer when I was stuck in the human world for all those years. Do you think I want him to die? That I wouldn’t do everything in my power to save him? Because I would—and right now, I’m telling you that on our own, neither of us is strong enough to bring him back. No, I can’t guarantee this will work, but doesn’t he deserve a chance? Isn’t that what you’re asking me to give you?” His eyes burned with fury as he glowered at me.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. What would I be willing to sacrifice to bring him back?

Everything.

If only Gareth could communicate with me—let me know whether I was making the right choice. I could choose to forego my happily ever after in order to ensure that the man I loved would live to see another day. But what if it didn’t work? What if it was a trick? What if my sacrifice caused more harm than help?

“I need time to think about it,” I said at last.

“Time is something we don’t have much of.”

“I know. Just give me tonight.” I plopped back down next to Gareth, clutching his hand to my chest.

“Very well. Try and get some rest.”

I nodded, but I knew I wouldn’t sleep. Once Nevin left, I cried, leaning my head on Gareth’s pillow. “I wish you could tell me what to do. You mean everything to me, I can’t lose you…”

Nevin came into the room the next morning and sat in a chair beside me. “You’ve been locked up in here all night now. You need to eat.”

My head throbbed as I turned my crusty eyes to look at him. “I don’t feel like it.”

“Gareth wouldn’t want you to waste away. I don’t want you to waste away.” He reached for my hand, cupping it in his. “Everyone is worried about you. The people of Summer look to you as a savior—you give them hope. And now, they worry for your health.”

“I didn’t ask for them to put me on this pedestal,” I said in a hoarse voice. “Besides, your nobles have a very different opinion of me.”

He gave me a sad smile. “Perhaps, but the heart of the kingdom stands behind you. Please don’t take their hope from them. It’s all they have—all we have.”

Irritation radiated through me. How dare he make me feel bad? “The man I love is dying—can’t I mourn for him? For shit-sake, this isn’t like some beloved pet or stranger. This is the man I planned on spending the rest of my life with.”

“I understand you’re hurt, but right now, you need to take care of yourself. Hiding out in here isn’t helping you.”

My bottom lip trembled as tears burned my raw cheeks. “What do you know about losing someone?” I glared. “I can’t come out, and I won’t. Just leave me be.”

“You can come out.” He took my chin in his hand and made me look at him. “I’ll give you until tonight—then I’ll force you from your room, even if I have to carry you out myself. You can’t be sitting in here, watching him waste away.”

He released me, stood, and then walked out of Gareth’s chambers.

With a sob, I screamed, picking up a cup off the dresser and throwing it at the wall. God, Nevin didn’t get it. Gareth’s life was on the line. He might not come back. And right now it felt like I had this giant hole in my heart, like a piece of my soul was missing. I wasn’t complete without him.

The scent of autumn encompassed me.

“He’s right, you know,” Darach said. “You can’t hide away forever. Sooner or later, you’ll have to face the world.”

“But it hurts so bad, just the thought of him not being here.” My eyes burned as tears that I thought were all dried up started to stream down my face again.

“I know.” Darach’s arms surrounded me, blanketing me against the world. He felt so solid.

I faced him, still in his embrace. “I loved him so much… H-he promised to never leave me. He promised.”

More sobs raked through me like waves crashing on the ocean.

“Shh…Salome. Come here.” He tugged me closer, and we sank together. It was like being in a cocoon—surrounded in his very being, his spirit. Like that alone could shield me from the hurt I felt.

A sense of security settled over me like a soft whisper.

“You’ll stay with me, won’t you?”

Mahogany eyes met mine. “I can’t promise forever, because I don’t know how long I’m here for you. But I’ll stay as long as I’m able to.”

A strange glowing aura wrapped around us, and for a moment, I swore I heard his heartbeat again.

But that’s impossible. He’s a ghost.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

We stood in silence for long minutes before Darach spoke again. “How did you meet Gareth and Nevin?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat then went on to explain my fall through the ice covered pond when I was six. How Nevin saved me. And I told him of my fear of winter. He listened intently as I reminisced about Nevin and Gareth, and my final decision to come to Faerie.

Remembering my time in the human world with Gareth brought on a fresh set of tears. If I closed my eyes, I saw him standing across the pool at the water park; I pictured him in his tux when he agreed to bring me to prom. My heart ached for him. And it killed me that I’d spent my last night with him angry.

“I think you were meant to come to Faerie. To be a part of our lives. To be a part of something even bigger than us. Nothing happens without reason.”

I opened my eyes, and the droplets that’d clung to my eyelashes splashed down my face. He wiped them away. Maybe he was right. Maybe everything had led to this very moment for a reason. I had to make a decision, and I’d have to make it soon, no matter how hard it was.

“I’ll have to leave his room, won’t I?”

“Yes, the sooner you face reality, the sooner you can heal.”

But somehow, I didn’t think it’d be that easy. Besides, I didn’t want to exist in a reality where there was no Gareth. Where my light was plucked out. “Thank you,” I said again, clasping his hand.

“No. Thank you. If you hadn’t come to the Ruined Court I’d still be tethered there, stuck in misery.”

I wanted to remind him he was still stuck in this world, between life and death, and that I didn’t think I’d done him any favors. But his smile changed my mind.

“Instead, you’re anchored to me—and I’m not exactly Ms. Happy right now.”

“No. But you will be.”

Is he right? Will I ever get beyond the sadness?

As he attempted to comfort me, my thoughts drifted to Gareth.

“I wish you were here,” I thought.

But instead, I settled for the ghost who’d become my best friend.