“Yes.” The sadness in Ren’s voice made Connor feel even colder.
“What does he want with her?” Connor asked.
Ren just shook his head.
“I think an equally important question is, why did Adne go to Logan?” Anika said quietly.
“What are you talking about?” Connor bristled.
“We have to consider the facts at hand, Connor,” Anika told him. “The likelihood that Logan could abduct Ariadne or take her anywhere against her will is very, very slim.”
Connor shook his head. “Adne wouldn’t go to Logan.”
“She did.” Ren gazed steadily at Connor. Connor could see the wolf’s dark eyes were full of unspoken answers.
“Why?” Connor heard his voice was on the verge of breaking. He looked away from Adne’s brother, overwhelmed by a sense of loss as he confronted Monroe’s dead son and the horror of his missing daughter. It was too much.
“Sarah.” Ren said her name and nothing more.
“What?” Ethan gave Ren a quizzical look, but Sabine was nodding.
“He can’t tell us,” Sabine said. “Because Logan’s got him muzzled.”
Ren growled at the word, and she offered him an apologetic smile.
“But Sarah was there too,” Sabine continued, watching as Ren nodded to confirm her words. “And Sarah knows what happened. She has the answers.”
“Okay, fine,” Connor said, his head aching with the runaround of this interrogation. “Just tell me one thing: is Adne okay?”
But there was no one to answer. Without warning, Ren had gone.
SARAH WOKE TO a strange weight, solid, heavy, and emanating warmth, on her breastbone. She glanced down and saw a bloodred stone resting on her bare skin just above a sheet that was folded over to preserve her modesty.
Sarah started to reach for the stone, but someone caught her hand. A woman in a cowled pale blue robe that marked her as an Elixir from Eydis smiled kindly.
“The stone hasn’t drawn all of the curse from you yet. Give it more time.”
“Sarah?” Tristan appeared beside the Elixir. “How are you feeling?”
Feeling more confused than anything else, Sarah wasn’t certain how to answer. She glanced around, puzzled.
“Where am I?”
“I’ll give you some privacy,” the Elixir said to Tristan, and quietly left the room.
“Ariadne’s room,” Tristan said quietly. “Do you remember how you got here?”
Sarah shook her head. In her groggy state, she felt the echoes of fear and pain, but she wasn’t sure why.
Taking her hand, Tristan asked carefully, “Do you remember what happened before you lost consciousness?”
As sleep cleared away, memories took shape in Sarah’s mind. Horrible memories. Sarah closed her eyes, wishing that she’d just woken from an awful dream but knowing she had not.
“Oh, Tristan,” Sarah whispered, gripping his fingers tight. “I’m so sorry.”
Sarah opened her eyes and looked up at him, finding only love in his gaze. Love she didn’t deserve after what she’d done. From the day the wall separating Sarah from this world and from her son was shattered, she’d been blind to anything but the hope of bringing Shay back. But that single-minded focus had taken her down a path so wrong, she could hardly face the choices she’d made. And she hadn’t even begun to deal with their consequences.
“Whatever happened, it’s over now,” Tristan said, brushing Sarah’s hair back from her forehead.
It’s not over. It’s just begun.
The door opened and Sarah recognized Anika’s voice.
“I was told she’s awake.”
Tristan answered, “She is.”
Sarah wished she could sit up, but that would send the stone tumbling off her chest. As if reading her thoughts, Tristan put his hand on her shoulder to keep her still.
“You’re meant to rest,” he said.
Sarah nodded, though she hardly felt relaxed. Weary, yes, but mostly anxious. Things had been set in motion, things she was responsible for. Sarah couldn’t hide in a bed while others suffered because of her actions. She had to at least try to undo what had been done.
“The healer tells me you’ll be fine.” Anika sat on the edge of the bed. “Whatever magic was affecting you had somehow been diluted. It was easy to counteract.”
“That’s because he’s not truly here,” Sarah said. “Not yet.”
“Who?” Anika’s eyes narrowed. “Who did this to you?”
“Bosque Mar.” Sarah gave an involuntary shudder.
Anika and Tristan exchanged a look.
“That’s not possible, love,” Tristan said gently. “The Rift is closed. Bosque was expelled from this world when that happened.”
“It was him,” Sarah insisted. “Tristan, you know I could never forget his voice. Or the feeling of his presence.”
Tristan didn’t answer, and Sarah turned her gaze on Anika.
“It was only when Bosque appeared that I realized what a fool I’ve been. I’ve acted a coward when I was trained to be a warrior.” Sarah lowered her voice. “And now I’ve opened the gate to the enemy.”
“Sarah.” Anika sounded wary. “Are you certain you saw the Harbinger?”
“Yes and no,” Sarah admitted. “What I saw was a shade, a projection. It didn’t have flesh, but it was the Harbinger. He’s trying to reach through the veil. He wants to return.”
“Where were you that the Harbinger would be present?” Tristan asked through gritted teeth. “What were you thinking, Sarah?”
“He promised to bring Shay back,” Sarah answered. “It was what I wanted to hear and so I did what he asked.”
“Bosque told you he would bring Shay back?” Tristan sounded both alarmed and brokenhearted.
Sarah shook her head. “Not Bosque. Logan. It was Logan who offered Shay. He proposed an exchange.”
“What did Logan want from you?” Anika asked.
“A box,” Sarah told her. “A wooden box that had been kept at Rowan Estate but was then taken.”
“What box?” Anika frowned. She stood up, pacing beside the bed.
“Carved ebony,” Sarah recited, having memorized the instructions Ren gave her for identifying the box. “Containing wedding rings, a pendant, and a bone.”