Uprising (35 page)

I let my body relax into the seat. “I never thought I’d say this, but I’m happy to see you.” I laughed again. It had been so long since I’d had a reason to. “Thanks.”

“Same here.” He nodded. “Turns out the Underworld isn’t all that great.” His eyes drifted to my belly, which had grown quite a bit since he’d last seen me. “You’re huge by the way.”

“I hadn’t noticed,” I said, rolling my eyes.

He gripped the steering wheel tighter, becoming more serious. “So, how long have I been . . . out? A little longer than a few days, I’m guessing.”

“You don’t know?” I asked.

He glanced at Lilia, who continued to stare out the window in silence. “No.” He shook his head. “The last thing I remember was Antec. I got this vacuum feeling when he touched me. After that it was like living in a conscious coma. Just blackness . . . nothing. Next thing I know I wake up in my parents’ old house.” He looked over at Lilia again.

“I think I should be thanking you,” he said. I nudged her thigh so she’d know he was talking to her, and she smiled a shy, quiet smile.

“Have you seen the others? Are they free?” I asked.

“I’ve been getting calls,” he answered, “but I didn’t want to answer until you woke up. I don’t know what things are like out there. I don’t know how long it’s been or what’s going on. Is it safe?”

“It’s been months.” I looked down at my stomach again. “And I don’t know if it’s safe,” I answered honestly. “I’ve been with Christoph.”

“You
what?
”

“He’s had me held captive, but he’s dead. I killed him.”

I saw the relief on Alex’s face as I said it, like he could finally let go of the anger he’d been battling for so long. “Good.” He nodded. I chose not to mention his father. Not yet at least.

“Where should we go?” he asked. “Have you heard from . . .”

I didn’t need to finish. He shook his head with regret. “It’s my fault. I forgot to tell him my call name after the memory loss. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. We’ll . . . figure something out. Take us to camp.”

I touched my fingers to Lilia’s hand and reached out for Alex’s shoulder. The white upper air was pure and cold and clean. It pressed in on me and stole my breath, but it was more than just an escape; it was my way home.

We landed easily on the stone floor of the Lenaia caves. The place was deserted, but for some ten or twenty that milled about. When we appeared, those around us stopped and went quiet.

“Elyse!” Rachel’s voice echoed loudly against the cave walls. A stream of rainbowed light tore through the air until her full form was wrapped around me in a hug. “Look at you! You’re . . .”

“Pregnant,” I finished for her. “Yeah. Have you heard from William?”

She shook her head, sad for me, as the others walked up with smiling faces.

Sofia and Edith were at Dr. Nickel’s side, Anna and Chloe cried happy tears, and Nics, Sam, Rachel, and Paul nearly tackled me to the ground.

“Don’t tackle a pregnant lady,” I laughed, though my eyes were on Lilia.

She stayed back, unsure of how she’d be received amongst the group, but I watched as Dr. Nickel drew her in for a hug. He whispered something in her ear, words I couldn’t hear, but I was sure it was a thank you. Without her, none of us would have ever been set free.

Within seconds Alex appeared with Kara and Mac. I’d never seen him smile so wide.

After months of separation, everyone was there. All but one. Even after all the hugs, all the happiness and laughter, I didn’t feel whole without William.

“I need to get out of here,” I whispered to Alex as Kara and Mac stole the show.

“What? We just got here,” he said.

“I need to go to the lake,” I pleaded. It was the only place I hoped he could be. “Please.”

He stared at Kara from a distance and sighed, frustrated at my timing. “Fine.”

Before we left I grabbed Rachel’s hand, “I’ll be right back,” I said, under the noise of the reunion.

Her brow pulled together, but she nodded.

***

We landed near the water, the clay dirt uneven under my feet. My eyes darted around, but my heart sank. “I just want to stay for a while,” I said.

“Sure,” Alex answered, leaving me to myself.

I walked the muddy shore, making my way to the tree I’d leaned against when William had healed my burns so many months ago.

I’d find him, I told myself. No matter what I had to do. After everything I’d been through, my soul knew what it wanted, and it was willing to sacrifice anything to get it. My world. My pride. My life. Something in me sought without reason. It pulled me through the unseen, toward the only thing that mattered.

Then I saw him sitting against our tree, looking away from me. The wind blew his golden hair forward, his strong forearms rested against his knees. I needed nothing else. My heart stretched, reached, like flowers toward the sun. Like the moon on dark nights. Like hope in the deepest, emptiest places.

“William,” I called out. His head turned, and our eyes met.

I walked toward him, then ran, my face twisting into that awful scowl everyone makes before they cry. I was not beautiful in that moment, but somehow I knew he saw beauty in me. He stood when I reached him, amazement in his eyes, like I wasn’t real. His hand touched my face. I never appreciated it before, the simple touch of his hand to my cheek. Now it was everything.

“How are you here?” I asked. His aching eyes moved over my face, like he was trying to memorize every part of me. “Do you . . . remember?”

He shook his head. “Nothing but this. Frenchman’s Lake. I don’t know why. We were fighting Antec, then . . . I just showed up here.”

I closed my eyes, and my heart slowed. “It’s where we said we would meet if we ever lost each other.”

He remembered. Even if it was only the lake. It was something. Nothing in his eyes told me he had forgotten me.

His gaze fell to my stomach. “I had no idea. Is it . . .”

“Ours.” I smiled, pressing his palm to my belly. He touched my face with the other, his thumb grazing my cheek. I welcomed his kiss like warm skin on cold nights, and we clung to each other. Afraid to pull our lips apart, afraid to ever let go.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, thank you God for answering my prayers and for all that you have blessed me with.

Thank you to my mother, Janet, for teaching me how to write, for the unconditional love, and for always telling me that I could be anything I wanted to be when I grew up. Thank you for encouraging me to find my passions in life.

Thank you to my sister, Allison, for being my strength in everything. I love you.

Thank you to my husband, Brian, for having the kind of faith in me that never falters, for reminding me to dream big, and for inspiring the true love in my work.

Thank you to my in-laws, Ron & Mary Jane, for helping me make the right choices and for all of the love and support.

Thank you friends and family for cheering me on, spreading the word, reading my books, and for your love.

Thank you to Shelly Tegen for all of the wonderful editorial feedback and to Holly & Chris Youmans for your many many brilliant ideas and suggestions. I couldn’t have done this without you! Also, thank you to Christian LaMonte for helping me find my characters in the beginning. You are all amazing. I’m so glad to have you as friends.

Thank you to Whitney Lee for finding international homes for my novels. I’m still blown away. Thank you to all the international publishers who are translating and publishing my series.

A BIG thank you to the ZOVA team for believing in me and for having faith in my writing. Thanks to Molly the Magnificent for your honest feedback, hard work, brilliant edits, and happy disposition, to Matt for making things happen, to Dan for tying everything together in a neat little package, and to Daniel for creating such amazing covers. I’m so grateful for everything.

Lastly, thank you readers, bloggers, reviewers, fans, etc. I’m so appreciative of all that you’ve done to help me get my books out into the world.