“Don’t,” he says, his face bearing the remorse of remembering his acts as the beast. “Please don’t be so forgiving. I don’t deserve it. I nearly killed you—both of you.”
“But you didn’t,” Chepi says. “I knew you were in there. I never once doubted you.”
“I did,” Leftfoot says, causing Dace to look away in deep shame. “Until I saw the look in your eyes just after you cut me. The moment I saw your regret, I knew it was an accident.?
?
My eyes meet Dace’s, and while they’re a long way from convincing him, at least it’s a start.
I continue toward Lita, only a handful of steps yawning between us when she turns to me and says, “He left me. Just—left me. Me. Lita Winslow. Can you freaking believe that?”
“He must’ve had a good reason,” I say. “Axel loves you. He wouldn’t just up and leave unless there was a really good motive driving him to do it.” The words come quickly, easily, though deep down inside I’m not nearly as sure as I claim. Reminded of how Paloma warned of something like this. Said no good would come of their budding relationship. Turns out, she was right once again.
“Sure there was a reason.” Lita swipes her palm across her face, collecting a handful of tears she transfers to her dress. “He probably has some shiny chick waiting in the Upperworld. Someone who bleeds gold, or maybe even platinum for all I know. Hard to compete with someone like that. Even for me.”
“Doubtful.” I place a hand on her shoulder, try to steer her away from self-defeating thoughts. Knowing all too well just how easy it is to get so sucked into that way of thinking, and what a chore it is to find a way out. “Lita, seriously. Anyone could see that what you two shared was real. After all, you’re Axel’s first love, and—”
“I didn’t say he loved his platinum-bleeding, glowing girl. Maybe he just—” She stops, shakes her head, as though she can’t bear to continue down that path. Plucking the feather from the bodice of her dress, she rolls her eyes and says, “He left me with this. I don’t even know why I keep it. It’s not like it worked.”
She starts to toss it, but I catch it well before it can reach the ground.
“Did you make a wish?” I ask.
She nods. Swipes a hand over her eyes.
“Then don’t trash it. Allow enough time for the dream to manifest.” I press the feather back into her hand.
“I did. Believe me I did. I allowed all the time I can possibly spare, and now I’m officially over it. So. Totally. Over it.”
“You sure about that?” I peer over her shoulder trying to make out the form in the distance.
“Did you miss the part where I said totally?” She sighs, swipes a finger under each eye, fluffs up her curls, and readjusts the bodice of her dress to better enhance her cleavage. Sometimes Lita wears her beauty like armor—a defense to keep people at a safe distance. But just beneath the glossy veneer is a vulnerable girl who’s terrified of being revealed.
“Well, that’s too bad.” I shoot her a sympathetic look. “Guess it’s true what they say about timing being everything. Looks like Axel arrived a few seconds too late.”
At the sound of his name, she spins so fast she’s like a blur of tangled hair, runny mascara, and a black silk gown with a broken strap and severely shredded hem.
But one look at Axel’s face, and it’s clear that to him, she’s the stuff of dreams.
And it’s exactly that look of sincere admiration and love that gets Lita’s game back.
“So, you think you can just ride up on your dark horse like some knight in glowing armor, and I’m supposed to forget you ditched me and left me to fend for myself ?”
“Lita—please.” Axel slides from Horse’s back, revealing the gorgeous, dark-haired girl perched right behind him.
The sight of it causing Lita to inhale a sharp breath, her eyes narrowing, hands trembling ever so slightly, she says, “Oh. Oh, I understand. I understand everything now. Well, that’s just great, Axel. That’s really just so nice . . . so sincere of you . . . so . . .” Here yes fill with tears, her features crumple in the unbearable pain of his betrayal. “Whatever,” she mumbles, turning her back, she starts to move away but doesn’t make it very far before Axel grasps her by the arm and hugs her tightly to him.
“It had to be done.” His voice is tight, face pained. “And I promise to spend the rest of my life making it up to you. But, Lita, please, you’ve got to believe me when I say it wasn’t my choice. It had to happen this way.”
Lita holds her ground, refuses to melt. “You’re gonna have to do a much better job of explaining. I nearly died out there. More than once.” She presses her palms to his chest, pushes him away, as Axel looks over his shoulder, pleading with the girl to step in and help.
“This is Zahra.” He nods in her direction as she slides from Horse’s back and moves to join us. “She’s Daire’s spirit guide,” he adds, causing my eyes to grow wide, my throat to go dry, as I take in her swirl of dark curls, her gleaming brown skin, her unearthly irises the same silvery/pink hue as the gown that she wears.
It makes so much sense I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.
The girl who tried to stop me from fleeing the Upperworld is my spirit guide.
“Axel was never meant to be here.” She stands beside him. Her stoic face and regal stature such a sharp contrast to a voice that rings soft, mellifluous, and instantly assuring.