What Lurks Between the Fates (Of Flesh & Bone, #3)(79)

Only when Mab raised her crown to her head did the connection sever. Caldris nudged me forward as if he was completely, blissfully unaware of the woman I’d seen trapped within the gem. Unaware of the woman staring through from the other side, robed in darkness and bathed in serpents.

I shook off my disorientation, stumbling forward at his urging and trying to make sense of what I’d seen. But as we approached the opening at the bottom of the passageway, I stared into the lushest forest I’d ever seen. The waters of the Cove glimmered like the brightest turquoise I’d ever seen, surrounded by pink sand and small rodent-like animals that carefully dug through it.

They scurried into the woods as our party of the Gods stepped into the clearing, disappearing into the tree line that surrounded the Cove on three sides. The trees were taller than any I’d ever seen, enormous, towering things that created a shaded canopy. A glimpse through them was rare, the inside of the Faerie hill looking like white limestone as it curved overhead to protect the Cove.

The Cove waters drew me forward, compelling me to approach their depths. My insides burned, that hollow within me shifting as if the creature could rear her head, sensing what was close. I stepped forward as if in a trance, the sounds of the Gods around me fading into the background. They existed as if I were in a bubble, only the glimmer of the water penetrating it. The rising deep called to me, summoning me toward them as if they pulled at that golden thread that existed within me.

Come home.

The voice was the whisper of a caress, slithering across my skin. Another step brought me closer to it, the pleasure in the woman’s voice sliding over me like a warm embrace. Her voice was a song, a melody that begged me to join in and become part of the music of the Cove.

But Caldris gripped my hand tightly and shook his head. The bubble surrounding me burst, the sudden penetration of sound making me stagger as I blinked rapidly up at him. He tilted his head to the side, reaching up to cup my cheek with a silent question in his stare.

My mouth dropped open to answer, to ask what he felt when he looked at the waters themselves, and if he heard the music too, but I couldn’t seem to find the words to describe that haunting melody.

I couldn’t find the words to explain why I felt as if my soul had been torn in two—that part of me belonged to him, my mate and other half, but the rest of me…

The rest of me belonged to those still waters.

The others veered into the treeline, disappearing into the lush forest and the massive palm leaves that hung low. One of Mab’s personal guards held the leaves back, revealing a path that was slightly traveled in comparison to the rugged, natural overgrowth of the rest of the trees.

“I want to see the water,” I said, my legs refusing to move as Caldris tried to follow.

I glanced back at the Cove, wishing for that connection to snap into place once more. I craved the beauty of that song, the feeling of belonging that had washed over me—consumed me—the moment I heard it.

“As pretty as it may be, stay away from the Cove,” Caldris commanded, stepping onto the path through the trees.

He gripped my hand more fully, pulling until I had no choice but to follow him. I couldn’t tear my eyes off the Cove itself, even as the glimmering waters disappeared when we stepped into the forested path. The leaves blocked it out, the ferns stealing the view.

Emptiness settled inside me with every step, that creature within me sinking deeper into the well than she’d ever existed before. She paced in a circle, settling down with a huff of disappointment.

I tried to focus on the sounds of the birds chirping overhead, on the natural sounds of beauty in a place I’d thought condemned by death. The rotting smell of natural decay existed here as well, all a part of the cycle of life, but the clean air and scent of flowers in the air overpowered it.

“But why?” I asked, shaking my head as if I could rid my memory of that feeling of completion that had awaited me in the waters.

“The Cove is the entrance to Tartarus,” Caldris explained, following behind his mother and the rest of the Gods.

She walked slowly in front of us, keeping her head turned forward as if she was ignoring us. I got the distinct impression she lingered close so that she could be with her son, even if she couldn’t risk speaking to him directly.

Hearing his voice.

Feeling his presence.

We walked in silence, the feeling of the Cove calling to me. In spite of the fact that it was simply a hole in the ground, that there was no ocean or current to justify it, I swore I heard the waves lapping against the shore. I swore I felt the ebb and flow of the water striking against my soul, summoning me to the depths of the place I shouldn’t dare to go. It was a prison that housed the worst creatures in the world, that housed some of the Gods themselves.

There would be no escape for me.

“Why is it called a cove when there is no ocean?” I asked, earning a chuckle from Rheaghan where he strode at Twyla’s side in front of us.

“There was an ocean once,” he said, looking at the hillside that now surrounded it. “Peri, the Primordial of Mountains, cut it off from the sea when the Cove became the entrance to Tartarus, so that no unsuspecting sailors could sail in and become trapped.”

I tripped over a tree root as we walked, my dress snagging on one of the branches jutting into the path. Caldris caught me as I stumbled, his concerned glance fixed on me as I pulled on my dress to free the fabric. It served two purposes, both to ease my embarrassment at being clumsy and to distract from the probing stare of my mate.