Drawn by Chris Ledbetter

Author:Chris Ledbetter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, suspense, multicultural, fantasy, paranormal, young adult, teen, interracial, ya, new adult
Publisher: Evernight Teen

Chapter Twenty-Three

Later that night when I close my eyes to go to sleep, I slip into Terra Sempre again. The darkness of the world envelops me. It would be the perfect place to visit, being so much like Italy, if it weren’t so dang deadly and mysterious. Though, at the height of the Renaissance, I’m sure it was just as sinister.

I turn in all directions, inhale, count to ten, and then exhale slowly. The sky in Terra Sempre is swirly, stormy dusk, paralyzed mid-sunset. It’s arrestingly beautiful. And spooky.

A cloaked entity approaches, appearing as if from the middle of a cloud of gray watercolor mist. “Ti sei perso?” His gaze is strong, his voice heavy. “The lost and found is more often than not in your soul. Seek there to find what has eluded you.”

“Excuse me?”

“You do speak English, yes?” the man asks, straightening a bit from his hunched posture.

“Yes. I speak English.” My brow wrinkles. “Do we know each other?”

“Tick-tock, my new friend.” The man produces an hourglass. The sand granules form a wizard’s hat worth of sand in the bottom. He removes the hood to his cloak to reveal a bald head. A beard frames his chin.

“Who are you?”

“We, as souls, are open wounds craving constant emotional energy. Everything is magnified. Like the sparking end of a live wire.” He chuckles. “I recently learned that phrase. I like it.”

I take a hesitant step toward him. “Yeah? Well, I came here to save a girl for whom I’m hopeless. And I need to get on with it.” As soon as I’ve said it, I’m unsure of why I’ve confided in a complete stranger in this Godforsaken place.

“Indeed you did,” Vittoria appears out of the ether and slides her arm around my shoulder. “The real question is, can you seduce Terra Sempre into submission to set her sovereign.”

“Speak English, would you?” I respond.

“What she means,” the cloaked man says and steps toward us, “is that, to get what you need, I must get what I need.” The man’s piercing gold eyes peer through me. They dance like fire in the night. “I am Marsilio. We should talk more.”

“Wait… you know each other?” My thoughts are immediately elsewhere, careening over a cliff of frustration at not being able to find Echo. “And you can help me find the girl I’m searching for?”

“I can find anyone in Terra Sempre I desire, which no doubt could be of deep service to you,” Marsilio says. “What I can not do is fight the King. Not without help. I have tried. As have others. That is why you are here.”

“No. I am here to find––”

“I know why you’re here,” the man says. “But the king must be unseated.”

“I have no idea who you are.” My jaw clenches tight as a vise. “And I have no beef with the king.”

Vittoria places a finger to my lips. “Shhh, listen.”

“Beef?” Marsilio frowns.

I snort. “Never mind.”

Marsilio glances sidelong at Vittoria and then back to me. “Listen, we can help each other.

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