Then they would know hell. They would be the ones whining about the unfairness of it all. They would be the ones repenting the sins they'd committed, because if their kind ever transitioned into an eidolon, no one would show them mercy.
Inch by inch, she formed her plan as she shuffled toward the only window in the room. She'd counted at least twelve flights of stairs, possibly more. She was high enough, and Mei had only ever asked her for two things. First, to live until the sun stopped shining. Mei wanted her to live, but surrounded by inquisitors, her only chance to do that was to die.
Which was why Mei's second request had become more important. The dream. She meant the one they'd talked about that morning. The hope that the eidolon could find a way to stop the Church of the Holy Inquisition. That they could stop the priests from hunting them. That was the last request her lover would ever make, and Dahlia was willing to do anything Mei had ever asked.
She was almost there. Tears still ran down her face, refusing to stop on their own, but a cruel smile touched Dahlia's lips as she looked up at Thane. "One day, you'll realize that I'm not the evil one here. I'm not the one telling the lies."
Then she moved. Twisting, she heaved herself to her hands and feet and pushed. She just needed three steps. She had to get enough momentum to break the glass. She had to hit it just right. Hopefully, it would hurt. Some pain to make the misery of loneliness a little more bearable. Some punishment for being too late to stop all of this.
Dahlia shoved herself forward as hard as she could, hearing the man behind her take a step. He knew. He'd taunted her into this, and now he had his part to play. He just had no idea that this time would be different.
Two feet away, she jumped, ducking her head to take the impact. Feeling like steel, the glass resisted for a split-second before shattering. Shards cut into her, tearing at her face and arms, but she was free. All around her was the deep blue of night. Below, lights twinkled like stars, calling her to them, and something brushed her foot. Jerking away, she felt fingers slip off the leather, unable to find purchase, and she fell.
It felt like flying. For a moment, gravity had no effect. Her hair tumbled around her, framing her last view of Thane leaning through the broken pane. Fitting. The one man she wasn't strong enough to kill was the one who'd witness her body's death. This was a proper ending, this was...
Her back hit the ground and every bone shattered, wrenching the thought from her mind. For a moment, all Dahlia knew was intense pain. Then the darkness rushed in, relieving it all. In the Abyss, she tried to gasp, but she needed lungs to do that. Here, she had nothing but her thoughts.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
DAHLIA
Mei! she screamed into her mind. It was all she had. There was no brain to process the thoughts, but Dahlia still had them. She didn't have eyes to shed the tears that needed to fall. She couldn't even scream out her anguish, because her body was dust by now, but her soul would live on.
Oh, Mei, I loved you so much. I can't do this without you. I'll break. You were the only thing that kept me together while I waited for the light. You were supposed to whisper my name and show me the way back! You were supposed to watch the sun die with me, but you're gone. They killed you. They truly killed you, and now I'm all alone.
Why can't I just die like a real person?
Instead, Dahlia was nothing but her thoughts, and those thoughts spun wildly. Time had no meaning in the Abyss without a body to measure it by. No heartbeats. No breaths. No sensation of day or night. She merely existed, and her grief was taking over. Mei was so clear in her memories - so real - and Dahlia clung to them for solace, struggling to make them come alive and replace her reality.
She could remember the first time they'd met. Mei's face had been painted to perfection, but her hair had become a mess. The girl was on the run, confused because she'd just impaled herself on a sword. Her body had been left behind, and yet she still had one. When Dahlia saw a half-formed eidolon running through the city streets, she'd followed.
Cornering Mei in an empty building had been a mistake. The pampered concubine had never been weak. She'd been ready to fight and confused by the strange-looking woman with yellow hair and pasty skin. Dahlia had barely been able to speak a word of Chinese back then, being new to the area, but some gestures were universal.
She'd lifted her hands. Mei had relaxed. Dahlia had pointed to the bloodstains on Mei's dress. Mei had begun crying, which was all it took for Dahlia to rush in and wrap her in a protective hug. They hadn't even known what to call their kind back then, but Dahlia knew how to explain what was happening - if she could just work around the language barrier. But first, she had to comfort the terrified girl.
Mei had hugged her too hard, pressing her face into Dahlia's shoulder. The Persian Dahlia tried to speak gave them a middle ground - a few words they both knew. Safe was the important one. Dahlia said it over and over. In her mind, she could almost feel Mei against her again, the heat of her tears and the grip of her fingers - until Dahlia's memories betrayed her.
The moment Dahlia made her vow to keep Mei safe, the memory began to dissolve like Mei had against the wall. That vow had been a lie. Mei wasn't safe. She was gone! Each mote of her lover pulled Dahlia's mind deeper into those memories, allowing the past to become her only reality. Time was gone. Her grief was too painful, so she gave herself up to the past.
Bright blue skies. Teal waters that almost matched. The pale stucco of their newest home. Mei wandered through the main house looking around in awe. Her long dress brushed against the dust-covered floors. Dahlia leaned against the wall, watching her. All around them, Spain was falling into ruin, but it allowed some rules to be bent a little easier. Families were leaving the cities to start again in the country, so Dahlia had finally been able to buy them a home.
"It's ours," she promised.
"How?" Mei asked.
"I lied," Dahlia admitted. "I said my husband is coming soon. His imaginary name is on the deed, and you're my maid."
Mei immediately changed direction, heading straight to Dahlia. "Oh, so I'm supposed to take care of you?"
"One way or another," Dahlia agreed. "It's ours, Mei. A real home. We can hang pictures and buy furniture. We can have parties and pretend to be alive. I can order a painter to make a portrait of us, and we'll set it over the mantle."
That earned one of those sweet peals of laughter. "The neighbors will never tolerate it."
"I don't care," Dahlia promised. "You are my everything, Li Xiu. This is our heaven."
Mei stopped right before her, reaching up to palm the side of Dahlia's face. "Until we don't age. You're too beautiful, and someone will notice. I'm too different, and they will call me a witch."
"You are a witch," Dahlia agreed. "You've clearly put a spell on me."