***************
The next morning, Scarlet traced the lines of Tristan’s tattoo as she laid on his chest. She flattened her palm over the design and he covered her hand with his, slipping his fingers in between hers.
Scarlet inhaled leather and water and tears burned her eyes.
She didn’t want to die. She didn’t want to leave him.
He kissed the top of her head. “I love you.”
She nodded against his chest and a single tear slid down her cheek and ran over his skin.
It wasn’t fair. They’d never had a chance. It wasn’t fair.
He cupped the side of her face and tilted it up to him. “What’s wrong, Scar?” His eyes looked so pained, so desperate, as he brushed his thumb through another falling tear.
She opened her mouth to reassure him, but her lie got lost in her throat as she looked at him and all the love he offered her. All the love she was about to abandon.
***************
The thread of unease that had been weaving through Tristan’s veins for the past few days suddenly became a rope of alarm and every instinct inside him wanted to pin her against his body and protect her from whatever it was that scared her so much.
She scooted up and her voice shook with emotion. “If anything happens today, I want you to know that it was worth it. All this. All the crap. All the heartbreak. It was all worth it, okay? And you—you—have made my life beautiful and I will love you forever—”
“Nothing is going to happen.” His heart pounded in fear.
Was that what this was about? Surviving the caves?
“Do you not want to go on?” he asked. “Because, say the word and I will stay right here, in these blue caves with you forever. We don’t have to go a step farther. We don’t have to find the fountain. Hell, we don’t need a cure as long as we’re in here. So, if you’re afraid of dying—”
“I’m not afraid of dying.” She swallowed, her blue eyes full and passionate. “We’ve been a broken, star-crossed mess from the beginning and I wouldn’t change a thing.” Another tear fell.
He tucked her into his arms, scared out of his mind at her defeatist tone as she buried her face in his chest. “Nothing is going to happen to you or me, okay? We’ve survived centuries of impossible things. Today—this, whatever this is—is just another battle. And you and I,” he pulled back and gently wiped her wet cheeks, “you and I know how to battle. We’re partners, Scar. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Another tear fell and Tristan was completely lost. He’d never seen her fall apart like this and his heart didn’t know what to do with hers.
He wrapped her back against his chest. Speechless. Terrified.
He loved Scarlet. More than anything.
And she was scaring the hell out of him.
CHAPTER 41
Heather was feeling better. And by “better”, she felt “sane.” Her body was still itching beyond belief and she had a pressing desire to chew on her nails, but she hadn’t seen any floating fish or dragonflies recently, so she was feeling optimistic about surviving the next few minutes.
She walked between Gabriel and Nate through another long, blue tunnel and tried not to accidentally brush up against Gabriel’s ridiculously oversized shoulder. The boy really needed a hobby outside of the gym or bus throwing or whatever it was he did in his free time that gave him those shoulders. They were distracting.
As were his hands.
And his lips…
O-M-G, had she really just been looking at his lips?
Maybe the craziness was coming back. Or maybe she no longer saw him as the oversized, lying, hot guy who had dated her best friend, but rather the oversized, compassionate, hot guy who had carried her through the forest and held her while she cried.
She glanced over at him at the exact same time he glanced at her and things got weird.
Clearing throats, darting eyes, shuffling feet.
Awk-ward.
“So,” Nate said loudly. “Does anyone want to clue me in on what I missed that’s making this walk so tense and silent? Because I’m starting to feel like I’m traveling with Scarlet and Tristan here. Except with less kidnapping schemes. You do not want to know the inner workings of their brains, trust me.”
Gabriel shrugged casually. “We’re almost to the Fountain of Youth. It’s what we’ve been seeking for five hundred years and it’s only a few miles away.”
Nate slanted his eyes at Heather, then at Gabriel. “Right.”
“…as long as there aren’t any other avalanches or tidal waves.” Scarlet’s muffled voice echoed through the tunnel and Heather stopped walking, as did Nate and Gabriel.
“Did you guys hear that?” Nate cocked his head to the side and followed the sound of Scarlet’s voice further down the tunnel, then called out, “Scarlet?”
“Nate?” came Scarlet’s voice from around the corner.
Everyone rushed to where the tunnel intersected with another tunnel ahead and Heather almost crashed into Scarlet as she rounded the corner.
“Hey!” Heather smiled at Scarlet. “You guys are still alive. Yay.”
Scarlet nodded and smiled back. “Yep. Still alive. No thanks to the cave. It practically fell apart on top of us and forced us through a deadly sea of whirlpools and waterfalls.”
“That’s odd.” Nate scratched his head. “Our cave floor disappeared and we had to Indiana Jones our way across a chasm.”
“That’s crazy.” Scarlet sighed. “Well, I’m just glad everyone’s safe. Do we know where we’re going from here?” She looked around at the four tunnel choices they had before them.
Nate pointed to a tunnel on the right. “That one should lead us straight to the fountain.”
There was a moment of tension as everyone looked down the dark, blue corridor.
“Let’s do this,” said Scarlet.
Everyone headed down the cave and Heather’s shoulder accidentally brushed against Gabriel’s. He glanced at her.
Okay, this was just getting ridiculous. Suddenly feeling hot and short of breath, Heather moved forward to walk next to Scarlet, where there was less sexual tension and no gigantic shoulders.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey.” Scarlet smiled. “How are you feeling?”
“Crazy. But I’m not seeing things at the moment, so yay for that.”
“I’m sorry we got separated yesterday.” Scarlet frowned. “Were you guys okay?”
“Yeah. I mean, I saw invisible fish and had a total freak on a cave island and then almost fell into the pit of hell—literally—but other than that, it was a pretty smooth hike.”
“You had a freak out?”
She waved a hand. “Yeah. But Gabriel talked me down. And then he swung me to safety on a whip.” She paused. “That might be the weirdest sentence I’ve ever said.”
Scarlet shook her head. “I’m so sorry for getting you wrapped up in all this What a disaster. I’m glad Gabriel was there for you yesterday.”
“Yeah,” Heather looked at the ground. “He’s a good guy.”
Scarlet eyed her for a moment. “Yeah,” she sad slowly. “And he’s pretty hot, too.”
Heather felt her pulse rise and tried to give a casual shrug. “Yeah.”
Scarlet gasped and her eyes twinkled. “Heather. Baxter.”
“What?”
“You’re not gushing.”
“So?”
“So, you gush over every hot guy—except the ones you really like. Holy cow. You have a crush on Gabriel.”
“O-M-G. Shut up.” She felt her cheeks warm. “I do not.”
“Liar.” Scarlet grinned. “Liar, liar, pants on fire—”
“Okay, fine! I think he’s sweet. And protective. And he smells really good, like all the time. But I don’t have a crush.”
“You so have a crush.”
“No. I have a crazy kidnapped bonding thing. It’s like Stockholm syndrome, but for people who’ve been kidnapped together. I’m su
re there’s a term for it. Like the Hostage Hotness Syndrome or something. And besides, he’s your ex. Like…yuck.”
Right?
“Nope.” Scarlet smiled. “Don’t you dare try to use me as a crutch. And he’s not really my ex. Well, he is. But it’s not like that. For sure not now. And Gabriel’s totally into you.”
“Can we talk about something else, please? Like maybe this bright red mark?” Heather lifted Scarlet’s arm and pointed to the red ring around her wrist. “I know why I have marks like this on my wrists, but why do you?” She wagged her eyebrows. “Did things get kinky in the caves last night?”
Scarlet pulled her hand back and blushed. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“O.M.G.” Heather’s mouth dropped open and she smiled. “Scarlet Marie! I am flabbergasted…and I totally want details. Was it hot?”
“We’re not talking about this.”
“Oh, we are so talking about this. Maybe not now, in the death caves. But when we get out of here, I want a play-by-play.”
***************
Gabriel watched Heather walk beside Scarlet. Her blond hair was a complete mess, but her spirits were high and she’d been lucid for a few hours, so Gabriel was able to breathe easy.
Tristan eyed him as they walked along.
“What?” Gabriel said.
He shrugged.
Heather started biting her nails again and Gabriel’s stomach tightened. He really hoped Scarlet was right about the Avalon fruit. If there wasn’t a cure, if Heather was going to be addicted to fountain water forever—
Tristan was looking at him again.
“What are you looking at?” Gabriel snapped.
Tristan was trying not to smile. “You tell me.”
Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Quit being a girl.”
“Hey.” Nate squeezed in between them as they walked behind the girls. “What an adventure, huh? Killer vines, collapsing caves, crazy blonds…I’m totally writing a book about this when we get back. I’m going to call it Whip Adventures.” He made a face. “Okay, maybe not that. I’ll work on the name. So,” he rubbed his palms together, “who’s excited to be mortal?”
“Mortal?” Gabriel turned to him.
“Yeah. You’re drinking the water, right?” Nate said. “It will permanently negate your immortality. Not to mention, heal all those super rad thorn marks on your arms and probably your Bluestone cuts too.”
“I don’t know…” Gabriel eyed the shallow cuts on his body. He’d never thought about becoming mortal before, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it now.
Immortality was powerful. Unique.
Was he ready to give that up? Maybe.
Maybe if he were no longer immortal, he wouldn’t be empty inside.
“Why not, dude?” Nate grinned. “Tristan’s drinking the water so the life-force that exists outside this cave doesn’t kill him. So he’ll be mortal. And I’m turning in my Immortal Awesomeness card.”
Would Gabriel want to be immortal without Tristan?
He glanced at his twin brother.
No.
He wouldn’t.
“Come on, dude!” Nate seemed genuinely excited. “It’ll be fun. Just think of all the life and adventure and wrinkles and band-aids in store for you!”
“Are you peer-pressuring me into drinking fountain water?” Gabriel laughed. “That’s ironic on so many levels.”
“Can we take a break?” Heather asked. “I’m starving.”
Everyone stopped walking and took a seat in the cave, rooting through their packs for water and snacks.
Gabriel started to move closer to Heather, but froze when he caught Tristan eyeing him.
“What?” he said again.
Tristan raised his brows. “Nothing.”
Gabriel shook his head. “Shut up.” He went and sat beside Heather.
“Hey, you.”
She smiled. “Hey.”
“Team meeting!” Nate pointed a finger into the air and everyone looked at him. “Since we’ll be at the fountain shortly, I thought it would be best to talk through our strategy. We know Raven and her Ashmen made it into the caves, and we don’t know where they are. But there’s a chance they’re either already at the fountain or on their way there, so I think it’s best if we all prepare for a showdown.” He smiled. “Hopefully, no one will get hurt. This is your Team Captain speaking. Peace out, Team Awesome.”
Nate looked at Scarlet and walked deeper into the cave.
Heather groaned. “I hate Ashmen. They’re so mean and they make me lose my pink shoes.”
“I know. Ashmen suck.” Gabriel looked at her, suddenly afraid for her well-being. “Hopefully, we won’t see any at the fountain. But if we do, you have to fight, okay? You can’t let the craziness get inside you. You need to be Tomb Raider.”
She groaned again.
“I believe in you, Heather. You can do this.”
***************
Scarlet followed Nate into the tunnel where they had some privacy. “What’s up?”
He looked her over with a serious expression. “Are you still considering sacrificing yourself?”
“Yes.”
He sighed. “Then I’m going to tell you what I told Tristan when he was trying to kill himself,” he said. “You’re stupid.”
Scarlet shook her head. “I won’t let Heather die, Nate. We can’t cure her unless I do this. And we can’t break the curse and save Tristan unless I do this. I’m not going to let the people I love die. Wouldn’t you do the same thing?”
“What about Raven? Maybe we can accidentally push her into the tree and oops! she’s dead, but yay! we have fountain water.”
“That’s a great plan.” Scarlet nodded. “And I’d loved to bring Raven down, but there’s no certainty in that plan. We don’t even know if she’ll be there. I’m not taking any chances.”
Nate nodded with pursed lips. “I was doing some reading in your father’s journal today and I found out what controls your return to life. It’s the Avalon tree. It bares the Avalon fruit once every century, and when that fruit blossoms, it calls you back to life. And when you die, so does the fruit. But if the fruit is eaten, then the Avalon will die.”
Scarlet blinked. “Well, good. The Fountain of Youth has never done anything positive for anyone. I hope it dies.”
“You don’t understand. If the Avalon dies, you can never come back to life. There’s no hope of it.”
“Okay…? What are you saying?”
“I’m saying, don’t die, dammit! There’s no safety net here—no chance of you returning.”
“I know that. And I’m fine with it.”
“But I’m not.” He shook his head. “This curse has been robbing you of joy and love for five hundred years. I’m not giving up yet. There has to be another way.”
“There is no other way,” she said. “And I’ve already made my decision.”
CHAPTER 42
Team Awesome walked in silence through a dark tunnel as they neared the Fountain of Youth.
The tunnel fed into a large, open cavern with a tall ceiling that glowed a bright blue just like the walls below it. Dozens of other tunnels lined the chamber, their black mouths looking ominous under the pulsing blue.
And in the center of the chamber, standing tall and majestic, was a large tree.
The Avalon.
It rose from the earth with long, thick roots spreading across the cavern floor and a vast canopy of blue-tipped leaves stretching out over its mighty trunk.
Everything about the tree looked like life. Even the iridescent trunk under the leaves—which, according to the journal, was immediate death to anyone who touched it—was beckoning in its design. Its deadly beauty stood silent; waiting for a heart to give itself over in return for eternal water.
Scarlet could understand now how those who made it this far would be tempted to touch the great Avalon. Even knowing the death it brought, Scarlet couldn’t seem to pull her eyes away from the iridescen
t glow of life pulsing from its trunk.
“Wow,” Heather whispered. “It’s so beautiful.”
“Yes…” Scarlet cleared her throat. “But no one touch the trunk. A single touch is fatal and we are all mortal down here.”
Everyone slowly nodded with their eyes fixed on the iridescent beauty before them.
Gabriel said, “Where’s the water?”
Scarlet was hoping no one would ask that question.
“It’s coming,” she said, her insides pulling tight.
She looked at Tristan, then at Heather.
Her death for their lives.
It wasn’t even a question.
Suddenly, Ashmen poured from the tunnels around the room, some clambering over roots to get to the tree while others charged at Scarlet and her friends.
Heather bit at her nails.
The Ashmen nearest the tree turned to ash. A few more Ashmen tried to get close to the tree and they fell to ash as well. It was as if there was an invisible perimeter around the Avalon that prevented them from nearing.
Scarlet really hoped that perimeter was Ashman-specific and not another obstacle for her to overcome. The Ashmen heading for Team Awesome gained ground.
“What do we do?” Heather asked, half hiding behind Gabriel.
Tristan grabbed the bow from his back. “We fight.”
Gabriel looked at Heather intently. “You can do this.” He handed her a knife.
She nodded as Gabriel armed himself with his own knives, and Nate pulled a dagger.
Scarlet turned to Heather. “Stay right by me, got it?”
As the Ashmen closed in, Team Awesome parted ways. Gabriel and Nate went to the left, cutting through the oncoming Ashmen while Tristan headed to the right with arrows already darting through the air and sinking into Ashman hearts one by one.
Scarlet scanned the great, blue room for Raven, but saw no sign of the witch. Grabbing Heather’s hand, she headed for the Avalon. She grabbed the bow from her back and quickly drew arrow after arrow, shooting down the Ashmen that stood between her and the tree.
Heather held a knife in her hand as they moved forward and Scarlet tried to keep any approaching Ashmen at bay with her arrows.