See How She Falls (The Chronicles of Izzy #3)(53)

“No pressure," I muttered.

“All of the pressure. If you fail, so fails the world.” The jerky angel didn’t seem to understand sarcasm at all.

“Sarcasm, Uriel. Surely you’ve heard of it?”

“I have.” Uriel’s voice began to fade, to be replaced by my aunt. “So, that’s who that voice belongs to? Huh. Not at all who I would’ve guessed.”

My aunt approached me, wrapping her arm around my shoulder and pulling me close. We stayed like that for what felt like a small eternity. Just breathing in the thick air, listening to the sounds of the swamp.

“You are a very brave girl, Izzy. Your mother would be very proud of you," Mona said quietly.

“I don’t feel brave. I feel selfish. I keep thinking of everything I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to end my life. I don’t want to die," I sobbed into her shoulder.

“Do we ever really die? No, we live on in those we love. You will never truly die, Izzy. What you do in the next hours will live on for an eternity.” My aunt held me close, stroking my hair as my mother had done when I was young.

“But I won’t be here. I won’t be able to marry Kennan. I won’t have children. I won’t ever grow old. I won’t ever reach thirty. There is so much that I will miss out on. I know I must do this. Ultimately, there is no other way. I just wish that I’d had more time.” Every thought I’d kept to myself came rushing out. I confessed to my aunt what I’d been afraid to tell anyone else.

“None of us are ever guaranteed any amount of time. At least you know your day and you can face it bravely. All will not be lost, Izzy. You will be reunited with him one day," she promised.

“Do you know that for sure?”

“No, but I still hope," she replied honestly.

“We need to get moving. The longer I dwell on this, the more I feel the pull of the darkness. Everything in me is crying to submit.” I pulled away, trying to get my thoughts under control.

“Then move we must. I will go gather everyone.”

“Is it far?” I looked out into the swamp wondering just what sort of journey awaited us.

“No, not even a mile away. We will be there soon.”

“Onward to destiny, then," I mumbled.

“Don’t jump in the swamp while I’m gone!” My aunt shouted as she moved back into the house to gather everyone.

“Would you really jump?” Conall’s voice sounded from my elbow.

“It’s tempting.”

“You’re much more than I ever thought you would be, Izzy. I see now what my mother saw in you. I can’t imagine how hard this is. I want you to know that I will be there for him, the same way he was there for me. He helped me out of the darkness when Cait died. I won’t turn my back on him," Conall swore to me, and I could feel the binding of his words. He’d given me an oath.

I threw my arms around Conall, hugging him tightly. My pirate-patched friend. He knew exactly the right words to say.

“I hope that you and Sena find the sort of happiness that I had with Kennan. It would be a shame for that sort of love to just blink out of existence," I said between tears.

“Well, I don’t think anyone will ever have the kind of love the two of you have, but I will try.” Conall’s voice seemed strained, as if he were holding back.

“We are ready," Eleanor said, causing me to jump away from Conall.

I quickly dried my eyes, erasing any of the emotions I’d been fighting. Kennan didn’t need to see how scared I was. He needed me to be strong.

“Then let’s go fight some demon.” I moved in line behind one of the Order’s Guardians on the boardwalk.





Chapter Twenty Seven


We moved through the swamp, unspeaking. The weight of what we were about to face settled down on us like a lead blanket. There was no escaping what would come. I just hoped that whatever we faced, I would be the only one to die.

Glancing back on the people walking behind me, I was surprised. We truly had an army marching into battle. There were at least twenty Guardians, all wearing new marks. Scattered amongst the behemoths were several Seers. I worried for them. Surely, they would be in danger, yet they still came. Eleanor and Mona walked along silently in the back of the group.

I wondered how much further it would be. Even with the runes being blocked, I still felt the pull on my energy. Just as the thought crossed my mind, the cypress trees parted to reveal the church I’d been seeing for months. My breath caught in my throat as I took it in. I knew, the end would be here today. I had no more days. Where Cait had been given an extra one, I would not.

“It’s coming," I whispered.

“What is coming?” The Guardian ahead of me asked.

“The darkness. Don’t you feel it?” I questioned as the dread multiplied inside of me.

“I don’t feel anything.” The unnamed Guardian supplied.

“We don’t have much time!” I shouted to the group, breaking into a run, heading for the chapel.

I reached the edge of the cemetery and looked up to the thunderheads forming overhead. I knew that the battle raged on above me. I’d seen it more times than I could count. The end was here, my grand finale. I looked back to Kennan, who stood far off in the distance. “I love you," I whispered, hoping that the wind would carry my promise to him. My last chance to tell him how I truly felt. Time had run out.