“We need to go there,” I said.

  Eve nodded. “Immediately. We need to reincarnate them.” She looked at the witches. “That’s what I’m supposed to do, right? It’s the whole purpose of this?”

  “It is. The next steps will be revealed to you when you’ve reached the island. I’ve unlocked your memory—you just need the catalyst. Go to the island and retrieve the vessel holding the souls, then continue on your way to find your crown. It will give you the power to reincarnate them.”

  “Thank you.” Gratitude rang in Eve’s voice. “Thank you for everything.”

  Astrid smiled. “Our work is done.”

  “What will happen to you now?” Eve asked.

  “We will return to our afterlife. It was nice to see Earth for a bit, but it’s better there.”

  “Wait.” I reached out, stopping short before making contact with her shoulder. “There is a prophecy about Eve’s death coming as a result of our matehood. Is it true?” I knew it was true, deep in my heart. Our seer was never wrong. Still, I couldn’t help but ask, hope driving me forward.

  “It is,” Astrid said. “But it’s not a curse like the dark moon curse. It’s balance. A result of you sacrificing your life for her.”

  “I did that freely.” Panic rushed through me. “Fate can’t expect payment for that.”

  “It is not payment, but balance. You sacrificed your life for hers in a spell over a thousand years ago. This was set in motion then. There is no going back.”

  “So we never had a chance of fighting it?” Eve asked.

  “No chance at all. This was determined in the past. It wasn’t something you could prevent in this lifetime.”

  Panic made my heart race. “How long does she have?” Desperation tinged my words, and I was sure it was on my face. “How do I stop it?”

  “You cannot,” Astrid said. “Fate rolls forward, whether we want it to or not.”

  “That’s unacceptable.” Anger rumbled in my voice, and I tried to rein it in.

  “It’s neither acceptable nor unacceptable. It just is.” Astrid turned, and her sisters followed her. “We will be going now.”

  Before I could stop them, they disappeared.

  Eve let out a shuddery breath beside me, and I turned to her. “I’ll find a way to stop it.”

  “I don’t think you need to worry about that right now.” Though her words were calm, her face was pale. “We have bigger concerns.”

  I gripped her shoulders and pulled her toward me, stopping myself just shy of crushing her to my chest. “I can’t lose you.”

  “You’ve barely had me,” she said. “You don’t remember the past, do you?”

  I shook my head, grief filling me. “Shadows of memory, maybe. But what I’ve grown to feel for you in this lifetime is enough for me to know that I don’t want to live without you.”

  “I can’t believe you sacrificed your life for me.” Her eyes were wide with surprise. “I can’t believe that you could love me so much.”

  “How could you possibly be surprised? Of course I loved you like that. How could I not? If you were anything like the person you are today, it would have been impossible not to.”

  “I—”

  She was going to protest, I could tell, so I crushed my mouth to hers and kissed her. I’d planned to make it quick, just enough to silence her doubts. Instead, I fell into the kiss, unable to stop myself. She tasted so sweet and felt so good that it was impossible to resist her, and she was the one to end our contact.

  “We’ll continue this later,” she said, her gaze lingering longingly on my face as her hands stroked the back of my neck. “As much as I want to finish this here, there are things we must do.”

  “You’re right. The island.” It didn’t matter how desperate I was to hold her. There was something greater at stake here.

  “Their souls pull at me. I can feel them, just on the other side.”

  “You remember them?”

  “Bits and pieces. I’ve had dreams of them. Visions. They come with an aching sense of loss, and now I know why.” She gestured between us. “But I want to finish this. Whatever this is. We need to figure it out.”

  I’m afraid that fate might figure it out for us, I started to say, and we won’t like the results.

  But I couldn’t say it. I had to believe we’d find a way around her death, or it would tear me apart inside. “Did the witches tell you what to do next?”

  She nodded. “We need to go to the east coast of Unst, the northernmost island in Shetland. It’s the closest beach to the island that I hid with my death. I also hid an ancient navigation device on the beach at Unst a thousand years ago. It’s meant to help us find the island.”

  “Then we travel by boat?”

  She nodded. “We’ll need to arrange one, though. Can you check with the alpha in Shetland?”

  “I’m sure she can arrange for us to borrow one.”

  “Thank you.” She drew in a shuddery breath and ran her hands through her hair. “I can’t believe all of this.”

  “I can. You’re special, Eve. The fact that you’re a reincarnated goddess who sacrificed herself to save hundreds of wolves doesn’t come as a shock to me.”

  “Ha.” She rolled her eyes. “It does to me. I’m going to call my friends and let them know what’s going on.”

  While she did that, I made arrangements with the alpha of Ayrshire to pick up the car he’d loaned us. Then I called the alpha of Shetland to arrange a boat on Unst. Fortunately, I had two transport charms left on me, and we could use one to get to Shetland.

  When Eve finished her call, she turned to me. “Ready? Have you got a transport charm?”

  I nodded and withdrew it from my pocket, then handed it to her.

  “Thanks.” She held out her hand for mine, and I took it. “One, two, three.”

  She hurled the transport charm on the ground. When the silver cloud burst upward, she stepped into it. I followed, feeling the ether sweep us up and spin us through space. It spat us out on the windy shore of Shetland. The sea was iron gray. Whitecaps tipped the waves that crashed on the beach. Cold salt air whipped across my face.

  Eve winced. “It’s going to be a miserable ride across that ocean.”

  I nodded. A gray sky rose above the waves, austere and foreboding. All we needed was a storm at sea to sink our boat. “Where is the navigation device?”

  “Give me a moment.” She closed her eyes, and I felt her magic flare. “I just need to try to see it again. The vision was quite clear about what I should be looking for.”

  I spun in a circle to inspect the area around us. We stood in a deep, rocky cove with cliffs rising in a half-moon shape around us. Verdant green grass topped the edges of the cliff, with white sheep dotting the landscape above.

  “This way.” Eve opened her eyes and began to walk. “I can feel something coming from this direction. We’re looking for a strange, tall rock formation. It sticks out from everything else.”

  Together, we cut across the rough ground away from the sea, heading back toward the cliffs. Magic seemed to glow around Eve, stronger than before. It was almost as if getting close to her hidden island made her goddess power bloom.

  We reached a part of the steep cliff that was slightly more gradual. For a short distance, the land sloped upward at an angle that was climbable—barely.

  “We need to go up.” Eve began to scramble up the slick rock slope, grabbing onto outcroppings to keep her balance and muttering about the convenience of her missing fae wings.

  I followed, sticking directly to the path she cut in case there was any magic she was feeling that I didn’t. The last thing I needed was to trip a booby trap she’d put in place a thousand years ago.

  “We’re getting close, do you feel it?” she asked.

  I nodded. “I can now. A slight protective charm.”

  The signal grew stronger the farther we climbed, until I was filled with a deep desire to turn around and race back down the hillside. I pressed on, following her until we reached a tall, lumpy pillar of rock that jutted up from the slope.

  “This is it.” Eve climbed around to the back of the pillar, which was about twice as thick as a person, then knelt down.

  I followed her.

  There was a larger boulder wedged against the base of the pillar, appearing to be stuck so solidly, it would never move. Eve gripped it and tried to pull it up, but it didn’t budge. I tried as well, to no avail.

  “Looks like we need a bit of magic.” She pressed her hand flat to the stone, and her magic glowed from her palm. It was the hand that bore the moon tattoo, and as she kept it flush to the stone, it also began to glow. Finally, she grinned and picked up the stone. It came away easily, appearing to weigh nothing at all. I leaned over to see a dark hole carved into the cliff. A small metal device sat within, gleaming silver and bright.

  “Grab it,” she said.

  I picked it up, feeling the spark of power against my palm. It was a complicated little tool, with different spindles and holes on its round surface, and I’d never seen anything quite like it. “How does it work?”

  She put the stone back and took the device from me, holding it up to inspect it. “There are no moving parts, which is good.” She closed her eyes tightly, clearly trying to remember something. “I think I vaguely recall holding it up to the moon. And some of these holes need to line up with certain stars.”

  She opened her eyes and traced the holes with her finger, stopping at the biggest one. “This must be the North Star. Most important for navigation.”

  “What’s that tiny spindle there?” I pointed to one at the edge that jutted out.

  She flipped the device over to inspect it. “There’s a mountain carved here. I wonder if it’s meant to point to land.”

  “Your guess is as good as mine. Better, actually, since you made it.”

  “If only I could remember more.”

  The worry in her voice tugged at me. “When we get to the island, something might be triggered. Try not to worry.”

  “True, I’ve got plenty of other things to focus my worry on. Can you call about the boat?”

  I nodded. “They should deliver it soon. The sun has set.”

  She looked up at the sky. Because of our position on the east coast, we couldn’t see the glow of the sunset, but the sky was rapidly darkening. Fortunately, the clouds had begun to clear—a massive bit of luck, considering we needed the stars to navigate.

  I called the alpha of Shetland to check on the boat and received directions to the small cove where we could find it. “She has a pack member delivering the boat to a nearby cove,” I told Eve. “We should be able to walk.”

  “Will they drive?”

  “Yes. She said he’s an accomplished pilot and knows the waters well.”

  “Good, because those waves still look nasty. It won’t be fun in the dark.”

  It wouldn’t, but it would hardly be the worst thing we’d faced. Together, we climbed down the steep hill and set off along the shore, heading toward the cove that should be on the other side of the rocks ahead.

  We walked in silence, and I couldn’t help but try to remember the past that we’d had together. There were faint snippets of memory, but not much beyond images of her face or feelings that made my heart twist.

  We reached the rocks and climbed over the boulders, sticking to a path that kept us away from the crashing waves. On the other side, we found another cove, much smaller than the first.

  A wooden fishing boat had been pulled up onto the rocky shore, and we hurried toward it. The grizzled old captain stood on the bow, his white beard whipping in the wind.

  “Are you my cargo?” he shouted over the breeze.

  “We are!” Eve stopped in front of the bow. “I’m Eve, and this is Lachlan. Thank you for coming.”

  “Anything for my alpha. I’m Colm.” He looked over his shoulder and grimaced. “Though these waves are almost a bit much to ask.”

  “If it weren’t an emergency, we wouldn’t,” she said.

  The captain nodded, his expression understanding. “You can board on the port side.”

  He walked over to meet us, and we climbed up a small rope ladder at the middle of the boat. When we were aboard, he pulled up the ladder and headed toward the small wooden pilothouse at the back. “Make yourself comfortable anywhere you like. It’s going to be a bumpy ride. Once we’re away from shore, you can tell me where we’re going.”

  He waved a hand and muttered some words under his breath, and magic flared on the air. The boat lifted a few inches off the ground and retreated from the beach, landing smoothly on the waves.

  It was the last smooth motion we felt. The waves began knocking us around like a toy as the boat headed out to sea.

  As Colm piloted away from shore, Eve held up the navigational tool. The sky had darkened enough that the stars were beginning to appear. She squinted through the device, frowning.

  Waves pounded the boat, and we braced ourselves against the railing. Eve was so focused on the device that a sudden surge nearly knocked her over. I reached for her waist and braced her.

  “Thanks,” she said, still staring through the device she held over her face.

  “Any luck?” I asked.

  “I’ve got it lined up with the North Star, which is just visible, but nothing is happening. I’m going to try my magic.” A moment later, her magic swelled on the air, so powerful that it forced me to step backward.

  “Whoa,” she said.

  “Do you feel that?”

  She nodded. “Maybe it’s because we’re closer to the island, but I definitely feel stronger.” She raised the hand with the moon-shaped marking, which was glowing brightly. “Let me try something.”

  She held the navigational tool with her other hand, positioning it toward the stars, then held her glowing palm behind it.

  Immediately, light shot through the holes on the device and projected brilliant spots on the night sky. They appeared like large, fuzzy white stars, far closer than all the others.

  “That’s amazing,” I murmured.

  The captain leaned out of the pilothouse and shouted across the wind. “Do I need to follow those to the island?”

  “Just a moment.” Eve adjusted the device, and glowing lines began to connect the dots. The image was so clear on the inky blackness above that it should have been impossible, but her magic could make anything happen. The lines and dots seemed to point in a direction away from the shore, toward Norway. Waves kept pounding the boat, and even though the lines on the sky bounced around a bit, it was clear which direction we should go.

  “Take this heading and follow it,” Eve shouted.

  “Aye.” The captain returned to the pilothouse for a moment to take the heading, then stuck his head back out the door. “I’ve got it.”

  Eve lowered the device and looked at me. “That was crazy.”

  “A museum would certainly be interested in that little thing.”

  She nodded. “Probably not going to give it to them, though. Don’t want the attention.”

  “I don’t blame you.”

  “How long do we follow this heading?” the captain shouted.

  Eve frowned and looked up through the device again, using her hand to shine light through it. Everything looked the same to me, and she looked just as confused. She lowered the device and shouted back at the pilot. “Not sure. Just keep going, and I’ll let you know.”

  He frowned but kept his hands on the wheel. Salty sea air whipped past us as waves jostled the boat. Eve gripped the railing and stared out at the dark night, her brow creased in concentration.

  Twenty minutes later, she gasped. “I feel something.”

  “We’re close?”

  “I think so.” She drew in a shuddery breath and squinted. “There, up ahead. Do you see an island?”

  The stars and moon didn’t provide much light, but there was just enough to illuminate the shadows. “I do.”

  Eve turned back to the captain. “Island up ahead. Do you see it?”

  He squinted through the glass, then leaned out of the door to look. “According to all my charts, there shouldn’t be an island there. But I do see it. Looks like bad news, though.”

  13

  Eve

  * * *

  The captain wasn’t wrong. The island did look like bad news. The ground sloped upward slowly to form a pointed hill—almost a mountain, but not quite. Though the night was dark, foreboding shadows seemed to hover around the land.

  I shivered.

  Something about them made the madness beat at the edges of my mind, trying to break through the lucidity potion that the witches had given me. Pain flared in my head, and I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to focus on the ache instead of the call to madness.

  “What now, lass?” the captain shouted, looking at me like I was crazy. I had no idea how long I’d just been standing here, trying to fight off the curse.

  “Keep going!” I called to the captain.

  He grumbled, a sound audible even over the wind and waves, but kept the boat directed toward the shore.

  It was so dark out that we shouldn’t have been able to see shadows. They had to be magical. As we neared, the shadows seemed to part. Right after we passed them, my mind felt a bit clearer, the curse further away. The place didn’t seem quite so terrible now.

  “The shadows must be part of the spell I used to hide the island.” I turned back to the captain. “You’re sure you’ve never seen this island before?”

  “Lass, this island doesn’t exist on a single chart made in the history of man. I’ve seen them all, so I would know.”

  I turned back to the island, trying to feel the Maker’s presence. Had he already followed me here? How quick was he?

  As we neared the shore, the island seemed to pull at me. I stared at the rocky beach and sloping hill, feeling like I was looking at the face of a lost loved one, familiar and beloved. Joy surged through me.

 

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