Chapter 27: Erin

As I originally thought, Megan’s whereabouts were in Cal’s realm. We descended into the basement, past an ordinary wooden door into a reinforced room with walls that glowed with blue symbols I couldn’t read.

A floating sphere with its own orbit of floating gems and gold rods hovered in the center. The orb’s heart looked like a window into space, seemingly endless with millions of stars.

“Is this room protected by the Council like the arena?” I asked.

Unsurprisingly, Cal didn’t respond, but I had my suspicions. Not that it mattered now that I didn’t have the coin.

“Step back,” he demanded, placing his hand into the sea of stars within the orb. He closed his eyes, and I felt something brush my skin like a sizzle of electricity.

A steel cell popped into view in front of us. My stomach twisted when I saw the metal door and the small barred window showing a painfully small room with a single cot, toilet, sink, and—someone who wasn’t Megan. In fact, they didn’t even look human.

“Wrong Megan,” he hummed and plunged his hand back into the orb.

My relief was short-lived when another steel cell replaced the previous one, except this one didn’t have any windows.

Cal stepped aside. “Cell three-hundred and thirty-two billion, five-hundred and forty-six million, two-thousand and twenty-three.”

I gaped at him. “Cell three hundred and ... you can’t be serious.”

“I am. Do you want to see her or not?”

He was such an ass. “Why are the Council’s prisoners in your basement? Are you their guard dog or something?” I half-joked.

He just stared at me, and I swallowed back my nervous laugh. Shit, I think he was.

I hesitated with my hand on the doorknob. What would I do if Megan had been trapped in a cell like the one before for these past couple of months? What if she was skin and bones, or worse, had completely lost her mind?

I shook off those thoughts and opened the door.

The last thing I expected was the sun, as it nearly blinded me. The door shut behind me, vanishing as if it had never existed, replaced with rolling hills and fields of flowers. It looked identical to what I envisioned in the dressing room back in the shopping district, though that felt like ages ago. It was one of my fondest memories when I backpacked with Megan and found this same field of flowers, like something out of a story.

“Erin!”

I turned, and I swore time slowed. It was Megan, her curls wild, and her tall, slim form in the prettiest sundress I’ve ever seen with real flowers sewn into the very fabric, flowing behind her frame. It felt like I was dreaming.

Megan barreled into me, knocking us to the ground. She threw her arms around my chest.

“Erin! Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you’re here!” Her soft brown eyes were wide with tears. “Are you here to see me?”

“No, I’m here to see the boogeyman. Of course, I’m here to see you!”

She wiped at my face, and I realized I was crying too. We both laughed and hugged each other again. It was worth it. It was worth it to see her safe and still smiling.

A masculine figure walked a few paces away behind Megan. His shoulder-length hair was stark white, his skin as fair as snow, and with eyes made of ice. He was breathtaking and far from human.

I stilled, and Megan followed my gaze. “Oh, Erin, this is my ... friend, Llewyn. Llewyn, this is the one I’ve been talking about.”

Llewyn bowed his head. His smile seemed genuine, and as much as I wanted to believe he didn’t mean any harm, I’d been fooled before.

“Nice to meet you.” I smiled, but stood in front of Megan. She noticed and put her hands on her hips.

“Oh, stand down; I’ve known Llewyn since I was a kid.” At my shocked expression, she averted her gaze, color darkening her cheeks. “We ... have a lot to catch up on.”

In the field of flowers sat a white iron table in the shape of a sunflower with two plates of Cajun shrimp on top of cheesy grits—one of Megan’s favorite meals. Megan offered me a plate or anything else of my choosing. I assumed, similar to the silver slate in my guest room at Dez’s, Megan could change her setting, food, and clothing to whatever suited her needs at the tip of her fingers.

From the brief bit of conversation that ensued, I learned that Llewyn and Megan had been staying here together since Megan left. I was surprised that Cal would allow anyone else to stay here, but Llewyn said it was a special exception. Interesting. I wanted to ask him more about it—and how he knew my friend—but Megan interrupted by handing me a mug of hot coffee and a mushroom and gouda burger, one of my favorite meals. I couldn’t complain.

“I’m happy to see you’re okay,” I said between mouthfuls. “When you didn’t return, I came to see you as soon as I could.” I also wanted to yell at her for making one of the most idiotic, stupidest decisions of her life, but figured that could wait until later when we didn’t have company. I didn’t want to be rude and was just happy to see Megan, but I had been expecting it to be just the two of us.

Megan finished her shrimp and grits, pushing her plate back like she always did at home after we finished eating. “Did you make a contract too?”

I wanted to tell her everything, but not with Llewyn’s eyes intently focused on me.

“I may have.” I edged around the topic. “Not any more recklessly than you did.”

“I was waiting for you to scold me. Yes, Mom, I should have handled that better.” Her tone had been teasing, but her smile thinned. As if she were thinking about her real mother she left behind. “Does everyone think I’ve gone missing?”

I shrugged. “I followed you not long after. I made a contract with Dez and...”

Her face brightened. “The blondie who’s a hottie.” Her eyes shot to Llewyn, who arched a brow. “I mean, yes, Dez,” she corrected, cheeks pink. “We chatted a lot about you during my time with him. He’s a very good listener, my most rapt audience, especially on the stories of our college days when you got drunk and would fight off guys trying to hit on me. I told him how you always tried to be the responsible one while I dragged you into trouble. But when you left the house, you were so much fun and always did everything you could to protect your friends. Like the time you kicked that guy in the groin when—”