He pressed his lips together. Taking a deep breath, he rubbed his hair out of his face, and tilted his head, “What should I say? That you’re right? That your pain can’t give me what I need because I’m not the one who caused it? Ivy, I don’t want to leave you right now. You seem... fragile.”

I smirked, “Compared to you, I’m always fragile. You shocked me, scared me, and enraged me more than anyone else. But, seriously, I’ll adapt. I’ve grown used to this,” I gestured toward my nakedness. “It’s not as horrible as it was. I’ll get used to the rest. God knows I have enough time to figure it out.”

He laughed, “I will never tire of all of this.” His gaze slid over my body, head to toe. When his gaze returned to my face, I continued to smirk. “But if you think it’s best, I’ll do as you ask.”

“You’ll have to come back once in a while, and tell me what it’s like up there,” we continued walking, leaving the Pool behind. It was hard to let him go. It meant I’d be alone. My last friend would leave. But his life was somewhere else, and mine was trapped here. If I had one last chance to feel sunlight on my face, I’d take it. And I wanted him to revel in the warm beams the way I would have.

When we stopped at the portal, the lump in my throat grew bigger—until we opened the gift from the angels. Apparently, their last visit was thought of as “offensive” and grounds for me to attack them. Some of these old battle laws seemed like they were created by the mentally impaired. As if I’d attack. All the same, a huge gift sat on the threshold to the Underworld at the Roman portal.

Eric moved toward the white scaly mass, “Awh, isn’t it cute, Ivy?” A baby dragon sat on its haunches, white as snow. Its miniature wings looked like they were made out of snowflakes. Eric laughed, moving closer to it. He had no fear. Maybe he knew it couldn’t kill him, at least that was how he acted—like an immortal despite his quite mortal body. “I think they gave you a new Guardian.” Eric walked over the threshold and up behind the beast. He spoke softly, urging it toward me. As soon as the beast saw the blue waters at my back, he bounded down the beach and jumped in the water. The creature acted like a puppy let off its leash. I laughed.

When I turned back to Eric, I saw him standing in the catacomb. His hand was on the portal seal, ready to close it. “Good-bye for now, beautiful girl.”

I smiled sadly, “Until next time... And Eric?”

“Yeah?” His eyes were locked on mine.

“You were never invisible to me...” I smiled again, and wrapped my arms around myself. He grinned, and I watched the portal door seal into a mass of stone. Eric was gone.

CHAPTER THRITY-FOUR

The baby dragon played in the sand, jumping in the water, until it passed out on a rock to sleep. His sides gently expanded as he breathed. I sat watching him for hours after Eric left. The beast’s joy was so pure that I couldn’t look away. At one point I’d cast a spell and a ball of fire hung high on the cavern ceiling, illuminating the whole Pool like the midday sun. The dragon’s scales appeared even brighter then—almost as if he were made out of light. I lay back on the sand, staring at the false sun spinning high above me. It cast shadows across the space, making it look like a romanticized version of the white beaches at home. The only thing that was different were the reddish rocks that stretched into the sky and towered high above me. Moving my arms, I could feel the soft grains of sand under my skin and between my toes.

A memory tried to force its way into my mind again. This was the third time I had to force it back down. It was the day Collin found me on the beach at home. I sat alone, like this, on the sand listening to the sound of the waves lapping the shore. And then he was there. It was like magic. Some form of power I didn’t understand. And now I did. Now I knew what it was, and how he found me. But it was no less remarkable. It was no less romantic in my mind. I clung to those memories, hoping they wouldn’t fade as time passed. The day the memory became like a faded photograph, and I could no longer recall the look in his eyes, I would die inside. I was connected to Collin in a way I didn’t understand. And now that he was gone, I never would.

Eric distracted me from my grief, and I allowed him to. I needed the reprieve. But as time went on, I began to think it was cruel. He needed to continue his life. And I needed to continue mine. Our paths no longer crossed. Pulling my arms over my head, I dragged my fingers through the warm sand. The flame ball hanging from the cavern roof warmed the grains, which clung to my naked body and for once I didn’t feel so cold.

Day after day, I snuck off to the Pool of Lost Souls. The demons didn’t like it, but they wouldn’t question me. The baby dragon grew larger, slowly. Its eyes glittered like emeralds. It was strange. In every way, it seemed like it was the opposite of the Omen. It played, bounding down the shore, following at my heels. I’d taken to tossing it sticks and the beast would spit out a ball of fire and char the stick in the air. We quickly ran out of sticks and I couldn’t get anymore. I needed to have the Valefar swipe me some.

As my feet moved through the sand, the white creature and I wandered into a cove that I hadn’t visited before. The blue-green water was still. It felt warmer in the small space when I lit the false sun and hung it high above us. The dragon bounded off, setting out for deeper waters to play in. Nearing the edge of the Pool, I extended my foot and tested it with my toe. The Pool was too cold to swim in, but this shallow place was warming from the flames above. I waded in, feeling the warm water slipping up my body.

Leaning back, I submerged my head and came up with my hair dripping wet. Water flowed into my eyes and I sighed in contentment. I examined my arms in the orb of light. My form was incredibly pale with a slight blue shimmer around the edges. It was deceptive how human I looked in the light. As I gazed at my hand, I saw someone between my fingers watching me in the distance. My heart lurched. I blinked once, but he was still there. Watching me from across the Pool. Watching as if I were a mirage. Which is exactly what I thought he was. A likeness of Collin. But nothing more. The boy didn’t move or blink. I wasn’t a fool. I knew it wasn’t him. But day after day, I returned, hoping my mind would trick me again and again. And that I’d see him, if for only a second.

The baby dragon ran from the cove, as it always did. And this time I dove into the deeper water. My mirage wasn’t where it usually was. As I walked around the water, I didn’t see the image of Collin. I thought it would be nice to see him closer, so I moved to the spot where he always stood. Memories of Collin surged through me. It made me feel something again. The warm water lapped against my skin, as the false sun baked the sand warmer and warmer. I didn’t see him that day, so I didn’t leave. After I’d swam, I decided to lay on the beach. Dripping, I laid back and was instantly covered in sand. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath when a shadow crossed my body. Startled, I glanced up. Someone was standing in front of me, their face obscured by the sun.

“It is you...” he said softly. I could barely hear him. My arm flew to my eyes as I tried to see, but he positioned himself perfectly. The false sun was too bright and I had to stare directly into it to see him. “What happened to you?” he asked. I didn’t recognize the voice. It was different somehow.

Sitting up more, I pulled my dripping hair over my body, trying to cover myself. “Step out of the light.” When I spoke, he startled. Turning, he ran back toward the water and disappeared below the surface. Not understanding why, I chased him, and dove in after him. He dove lower and lower, his body moving away from mine. Unlike me, I could see clothes on his body. Shame or something like it, washed over me, and I darted away, surfacing like a drowning mermaid.

I pulled myself up onto a rock, and curled my body into a ball. My wet hair hung down my back, dripping. I buried my face in my knees. I was going crazy. There was no way this was Collin. Whatever I was chasing was some sort of poltergeist screwing with my mind, but I couldn’t walk away. I couldn’t leave. There was a slight sound as the thing surfaced behind me. Using a spell, I uttered the incantation and arched my back, falling into the water, grabbing the boy by the throat. He gasped. And so did I.

I could touch him. He had Collin’s face. Collin’s body. “Who are you? Why are you tormenting me?” I shook him, and dropped the thing into the water. I expected it to flee, but he remained still, staring at me like he was seeing a ghost.

Wiping dark hair out of his eyes, he answered, “Don’t you know me, Ivy? Can’t you tell what I am? What I’ve become?” His voice was stronger, more certain. Blue eyes pierced into mine. But I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Turning, I swam away from him, and walked out of the water and onto the beach. I rang out my hair, intending to leave. He followed me, his gaze moving up and down my body like he’d seen it before. Drawing a deep breath, I stopped, watching him. Finally, I said, “Collin died. I saw it. You’re not him.”

He stood in front of me, exactly the way I remembered. And I could touch him. That’s how I knew it couldn’t be real. Nothing could touch me. I was dead, a lost soul with no body. But he reached for me, his hand pressing into mine. He tangled our fingers together, and I looked up at him. “You’re right. I’m not him. Not entirely. My body died that day, but my soul didn’t... because you put it here.” He looked at me, still not certain. His eyes were wide as he gaped at our hands. “You were so pale, shimmering like you had flesh. But you saw me... I had to know if you could see me. And you can.”

Collin looked into my eyes as I listened to him speak. His soul. The demon kiss. Shock flittered through me. I still tried to squelch my hope. “The demon kiss saved you? But the Pool was broken. Emptied. How?” As my mind melted I could only say one word at a time. I’d broken the Pool. I’d set the Lost Souls free. It was empty.

He smiled softly, touching his hand to my cheek the way he had a hundred times before. “It’s not broken. At least it wasn’t for me. When you reclaimed your soul with the demon kiss, what was left of mine came here. I’ve seen others come, but they were quickly whisked away. Their souls floated out of the Pool and out of sight. I was the only one who remained. I waited, thinking that I’d have the same fate, but it never happened. The Pool only held one soul—mine.

“I thought I’d never see you again. You look so real, you feel alive. The light, it made me think you were alive. That’s why I didn’t come closer. But, today, you forced me to. You moved.” Slowly he backed away, waiting to see what I would do. His gaze slid down my body. My breath caught in my throat. “You look as beautiful as before. Ivy, what are you thinking?”

Tears filled the corners of my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. “I’m thinking this can’t possibly be real. That it’s a cruel dream and I’ll wake up at any moment.” But before I could say another word, he wrapped me in his arms and pulled me to him. Collin’s body felt warm, pressed against mine. Every taught muscle was the same as before. The curve of his neck, the scent of his body—it was all the same. Without waiting for my brain to catch up, he lowered his lips to mine and kissed me. His hands slid down my sides, linking around the small of my back, as he pulled me down to the sand with him. I laughed when we fell.