He whimpered then darkness wrapped around me. My body slid across the sand. Green light flashed around me. I gasped and scrambled back to my feet just as the tunnel wall was closing. I caught one last glimpse of his shattered expression before the wall shut between us.

It was nearly identical to the look on his face when I left Eden.

Everest! I cried and dove for the wall. Light flashed. Cold air swept over my body. And then I was back. Coven Headquarters stood to my left. The edge of the Old Lands to my right. But right in front of me, standing a mere ten feet away looking exactly the way I’d left him . . . was Everest.

I looked up at him, my whole body trembling like a leaf in a hurricane as I sobbed.

His eyes teared up.

I was running, sprinting for him as fast as I could get my legs to move. I tackled him, he staggered back a few steps, but his arms coiled around me tight instantly. I wrapped my arms around his neck and sobbed. He smelled like cinnamon, the faint scent of the Coven’s lavender washing detergent, and the tiniest hint of fresh rain from Tenn. His fingers dug into my body like he couldn’t hold me tight enough.

“I love you. I love you. I love you,” I cried over and over.

His body shook beneath me. “Francelina⁠—”

“No.” I pulled back and took his face in my hands. “Celina. For you, I am Celina.”

His face scrunched up before he leaned forward to rest his face against my cheek. His arms had not loosened up even a smidge.

“I’m sorry, Everest. I’m sorry.” I showered him with kisses on his skin. “It’s not fair⁠—”

“You have to go⁠—”

“What? No. No, I can’t.” I wrapped my arms around him again. “I can’t go. Not yet⁠—”

“You have to, Gali.” He dropped me to my feet then peeled my arms from around his neck. His hands were gentle but firm. Tears pooled in his eyes. “You don’t have the page yet⁠—”

“No, I don’t, but I can’t go⁠—”

“You have to. Or we all die⁠—”

I whimpered and fisted his black shirt in my hands. Tears rained down my face. “You waited eight hundred years for me, I can’t leave you now.”

“And I shall have to wait a little longer.” He threw me backwards. As my body flew through the opening of the Seelie tunnel, he whispered, “I love you. Come home to me.”

“EVEREST! NO!”