“Give me your hands.” He slid across the carpet, kneeling right in front of me, and I obliged.
The magic pulsed in response to his touch. He pulled on it, and it surged, charging from my fingers into his. The relief was instantaneous. Closing my eyes, I slumped back against the couch and let out a deep sigh. “Thank you.”
Cash’s pupils were enormous. A purple shimmer danced over his skin. He held his hand up in front of him and watched blue sparks flicker over his fingertips. “What a rush! Is that how it feels when you siphon some of my power?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “It feels like a caffeine high. An adrenaline rush.”
He closed his hands and snuffed out my magic. “As much energy as you transferred to me, someone’s going to have to drain it a few times a day to keep you from unintentionally releasing it.”
“Why?” Cody leaned forward. “When hiding, she went without.”
Cash nodded at him. His eyes were still dilated, but he wasn’t shimmering. “She was replenishing her magic then. She’d exhausted her supply, and as it”—he used air quotes—“refilled, she was inadvertently using it to heal herself.”
“Need to keep her safe then.” Cody squeezed my knee.
Cash stood and walked to the window. “Even if she falls down and scrapes her knee, she will use her power whether she intends to or not.”
“So … how long are you planning on keeping me locked in here?” I shook my head. The thought of being trapped in my room for a week or more was unbearable. “Now that Argentum is gone, I’d like to go home for Thanksgiving, and I need to make sure Mavros isn’t stealing people’s left shoes.”
Cash cocked his eyebrow, and Cody snorted.
Mavros appeared in the middle of my room. “I believe that was a cartoon reference, but I’m not an alien, a dog, or an experiment.”
“What are you doing here?” Cash narrowed his eyes at him.
“Proving to Dacia that I’m not stealing left shoes.” He smiled at me, and it was breathtaking. “Or right ones for that matter.”
I clasped my hands together in front of me. “What have you been doing?”
“Watching you.” He leaned up against the wall, crossing one leg over the other. “The Nephilim are converging on the school again. It seems that more than just those two were keeping an eye on you.”
My stomach plummeted. They’d probably force me to go to their sanctuary this time.
Cash rubbed his hand over his eyes, then pulled it through his hair. Purple and black strands stood on end.
“You knew?” Cody’s voice was accusing.
Cash shook his head.
“You didn’t?” Mavros asked.
“No”—I rubbed the back of my neck, hoping to loosen some of the knots in it—”but I guess it shouldn’t surprise me. After all, I did summon a demon.”
Mavros prowled toward me. “They won’t back down this time.” He knelt down and took my hands in his.
“You need to send him back in front of all of them.” Cash’s amethyst eyes softened.
“N—”
“You have to make sure they see you do it.” Mavros squeezed my fingers. “I’ll be fine.”
Tears slipped from my eyes. I didn’t try to hide them. “It’s not right.”
“It’s okay, though.” He brushed the tears off my face. “I’ll still be here with you.”
My eyebrows pinched together.
“My power lingers inside of you.”
Chapter 45
Saying Goodbye
Malcolm came back late in the afternoon. He stood by the door and whispered to Cash. I didn’t want to know what they were saying. I didn’t want to hear that somebody wanted to kill me or cage me. I didn’t want to hear that Mavros needed to be returned to the Abyss.
I rolled the dice three times and filled in twenty-five points for a full house. Then I handed them to Cody. “Your turn.”
“Don’t you wanna know?” He picked up the dice and rolled three fives.
I shook my head.
He rolled again and kept nothing. “Okay then.” The third time he rolled, he said, “Ha! Yahtzee!”
“You could let me win. You know?” I batted my eyelashes at him. “I could’ve died yesterday.”
He covered his mouth with his hand. “Oh, wow. You’re going there.”
“It was worth a shot. Wasn’t it?”
He trailed his fingers along my jaw. “Let’s not do that again.”
“Well”—I raised my eyebrows and shrugged—“the way they’re talking, it’ll probably happen fairly soon.”
Cody looked at them. “What’s up?”
Malcolm came over and sat in Cookie Monster. He looked worn out. He scrubbed his hand down his face. “I’m sorry, Dacia.”
I waved my hand at him to continue. There was no way I’d be able to talk over the lump that was growing in my throat and the pressure building in my chest.
“Mavros came to me after he was here.” He looked down at the floor. His shoulders slumped forward. “I should’ve summoned him. I never should’ve let you. The Nephilim are planning to take you.”
I slouched back and stared at the ceiling. “Tell Diana to meet me in an hour.”
“Where?” Cash sounded defeated.
“Where—” I swallowed a sob “—where I sent him back before.”
Cody wrapped one arm behind my back and one under my legs and pulled me onto his lap. “I’m sorry, Dacia.”
“There’s no other way.” I pressed my face against Cody’s chest.
L
The dragons, Mavros, and I stood on the mountain slope. The wind whipped snow up and threw it at us. Mavros held my gloved hand, rubbing his thumb along mine. Otherwise, he stood rigid, staring into the distance, waiting for the Nephilim to arrive.
They came all at once. Forty or fifty of them stepped through a portal. They stood opposite us, and Diana stepped forward. “Dacia, you need to come with us for your safety and the planet’s.”
“Why?” My voice was carried to them on the breeze.
The dark Nephilim from
