Chapter 44- Fallen and Found

Convergence

Kate’s POV

Cyrus whirled around, his eyes wide with disbelief. For a moment, he just stared at me, his expression a mix of hope and suspicion. Then, his face hardened into a mask of grim determination. The knife in his hand glinted in the eerie light of the chamber, its edge already stained with a thin line of his own blood.

“If this is how I go out, might as well make the most of it,” he said, his voice steady despite the trembling of his hand.

Before I could react, he lunged forward, pulling me into a searing kiss. It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t sweet. It was desperate and hungry and tinged with the metallic taste of blood. His lips crashed against mine with bruising force, his teeth grazing my bottom lip. One hand tangled in my hair, pulling me closer, while the other pressed against the small of my back.

I could feel the heat of his body through his soaked clothes, the rapid beating of his heart against my chest. His tongue swept into my mouth, and I tasted salt—whether from tears or sweat, I couldn’t tell. The room around us seemed to fade away, the rising water and crumbling walls nothing more than background noise to the pounding of my own heart.

For a moment, I was too shocked to respond. But then, almost against my will, I found myself kissing him back. My hands fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer as if I could somehow anchor him to reality through sheer force of will. It was messy and desperate and nothing like I’d imagined our first real kiss would be. Not that I’d been imagining it. Much.

When we finally broke apart, both gasping for air, I could see the wild, almost manic light in his eyes. His pupils were dilated, the blue of his irises barely visible. A trickle of blood from the cut on his neck had made its way down to his collarbone, a stark red line against his tan skin.

Cyrus broke the kiss, breathing heavily while licking his lips with a happy yet dazed expression. With a sad smile, he suddenly stepped back, spreading his arms wide. “Alright,” he said, his voice steady despite the pounding of his heart that I could still feel echoing in my own chest. “I’m ready. Do your worst.”

Surprise, confusion, and a surge of unexpected heat coursed through me. But now wasn’t the time to unpack all of that. I took a step back, trying to clear my head. The cold water sloshing around my knees helped bring me back to reality.

Without warning, I slapped him hard across the face. The sound echoed in the chamber, and Cyrus’s head snapped to the side. A surge of emotions coursed through me – anger at his past inaction, frustration at our current situation, and a desperate need to shake him out of his daze. For all the shit you’ve put me through, I thought, for standing by when I needed you, for not being there. And to snap you out of whatever this is.

The sting in my palm was oddly satisfying, a physical outlet for the turmoil inside me. I could see the red imprint of my hand blooming on his cheek. For a moment, I felt a twinge of guilt, but it was quickly overwhelmed by the maelstrom of other emotions swirling within me.

Then, before he could recover, I pulled him in for another kiss. This time, it was exactly as I’d always imagined it. Passionate, but controlled. My lips moved against his with purpose, my tongue teasing and exploring. I poured all my pent-up frustration, anger, and desire into that kiss.

I could feel his surprise, the way his body tensed before melting into mine. His hands came up to cup my face, gentler this time, as if he was afraid I might disappear if he held on too tight. The contrast between this kiss and the first was startling – where that one had been all desperation and fear, this one was full of longing and unspoken promises.

As we kissed, I could feel the tension in Cyrus’s body slowly melting away. His hands, which had been gripping my arms almost painfully, relaxed and began to move tentatively along my back. The desperation in his touch was replaced by a gentler exploration, as if he was finally allowing himself to believe this was real.

The cold water lapping at our legs faded into the background, and for a moment, it was just us. No trials, no impending doom, no complicated feelings about Liam. Just Cyrus and me, finally acknowledging the spark that had been there from the beginning.

When I finally pulled away, Cyrus looked thoroughly dazed.  The wild, manic light had dimmed, replaced by a mix of wonder and cautious hope. His breathing was ragged, and I could feel the rapid beating of his heart echoing my own. He really is a masochist, I thought wryly. Kissing what he thought was a monster. His lips were swollen, his hair a mess from where I’d run my fingers through it. There was a vulnerability in his eyes that I’d never seen before, a mix of hope and fear that made my heart clench.

“Kate?” he whispered, as if he still couldn’t quite believe I was real. His hand reached out, hesitating just inches from my face, as if he was afraid I might disappear if he touched me.

I rolled my eyes, fighting the urge to shake him. “Yes, it’s me. In the flesh. Now, are you going to snap out of it, or do I need to use my very real and very annoying saintly powers to throw you around the room a bit? Because I’ve got to say, after everything that’s happened, it might be kind of therapeutic.”

That seemed to penetrate the fog of confusion surrounding him. “You’re really here,” he said, his voice filled with wonder. Then, suddenly, his eyes hardened. “Or maybe you’re just another trick. Another test.” His grip on the knife tightened, and I saw a bead of blood form where the blade pressed against his skin.

“Whoa, easy there, Rambo,” I said, holding up my hands. “I’m not a trick, and this isn’t a test. Unless you count testing my patience, which, congratulations, you’re excelling at.”

He didn’t lower the knife. “Prove it,” he growled. “Prove you’re really Kate.”

I sighed, exasperation warring with concern. “Fine. You want proof? Remember that morning at the cafe in town in Hunedoara? You ordered that absurd pile of sweet pastries, completely shattering my image of what kind of guy you are. You also tend to eat ridiculous amounts of jam with a tiny bit of toast every morning, rather than the other way around. You’ve got quite the sweet tooth, Cyrus, even if you try to hide it.”

Cyrus’s eyes widened, and the knife lowered slightly. “How did you…?” he started, then shook his head. “Kate, I… I’m sorry. For everything.”

“We can deal with all that later,” I said, my voice softening. “Right now, we need to focus on getting out of here and finding Liam.”

At the mention of Liam’s name, Cyrus stiffened. “Liam,” he said, his voice hollow. “He’s gone. The Tether took him.”

“What do you mean, ‘gone’?” I demanded, fear clawing at my insides. “What happened after he… after the eye thing?”

Cyrus ran a hand through his hair, leaving it standing up in wet spikes. “It was part of the trial,” he explained, his voice raw. “One of us had to stay behind for the other to leave with the Tether. I volunteered, but before I could do anything, the Tether just… flew to Liam. There was this flash of light, and then he vanished. I couldn’t stop it.”

I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. Liam was gone? Just like that? “No,” I said, shaking my head. “No, that can’t be it. There has to be a way to find him.”

Cyrus’s brow furrowed. “Wait, how did you know about Liam’s eye? How did you get here?”

I took a deep breath, steeling myself. “I saw what happened. With Liam’s eye. I was here… sort of. It’s complicated. I’ll explain later, but right now, we need to focus on finding Liam.”

I closed my eyes, focusing on that faint connection I’d felt earlier when I was searching for them. The world around me faded away—the sound of dripping water, the creak of settling stone, even Cyrus’s breathing. For a long moment, there was nothing. And then, like a flicker of candlelight seen through a heavy curtain, I caught a glimpse of him.

“I see him!” I gasped, my eyes flying open. “He’s unconscious, I think. In front of some kind of painting… a death painting?”

Cyrus’s eyes widened in recognition. “Polovragi Cave,” he said. “The entrance to the trials. But Kate, if he’s in the human realm—”

“I know,” I cut him off. “I can’t go there directly. But maybe…” An idea struck me, wild and desperate. “How did you guys get from there to the trial realm in the first place?”

Cyrus explained about the painting that had served as a portal, his voice tight with the memory. “If we can get to the entrance of this realm,” I said, hope blossoming in my chest, “do you think you could reach through and grab him?”

Cyrus nodded slowly, a spark of determination lighting his eyes. “It’s worth a shot. But Kate, we need to hurry. That eye wound… it was bad. Really bad.”

“Right,” I said, trying not to think about the gruesome reality of what Liam had done. I waded through the rising water, steeling myself for what I knew I had to do. Taking a deep breath, I reached down and scooped up Liam’s eye.

The sensation was indescribable – slimy and slippery and utterly revolting. I gagged, fighting against every instinct that screamed at me to drop it. The eye felt both heavier and lighter than I expected, a small, cold weight in my palm. I forced myself to pocket the gruesome trophy, knowing we might need it later. “Okay,” I managed to choke out. “Let’s do this.”

I focused all my energy on creating another vortex, picturing the shimmering curtain-like wall where I’d glimpsed Liam in my mental image. Sweat beaded on my forehead, and I could feel a headache building behind my eyes. The magic of the Iele blood was fading, and I knew I didn’t have much left in me.

With a rush of displaced air, the portal opened. It looked different this time—less stable, the edges flickering like a faulty neon sign. “I don’t know how long I can hold this,” I warned Cyrus. “We need to move fast.”

We stumbled through, and I immediately pointed to the barrier that separated us from the human world. It pulsed with an otherworldly energy, looking more solid than it had in my vision. “There!” I shouted. “Can you reach him?”

Cyrus didn’t hesitate. He plunged his arm through the barrier, his face contorting with effort. For a heart-stopping moment, nothing happened. I could see the strain in every line of his body, his teeth gritted in determination. And then, with a grunt of exertion, he pulled—and Liam’s limp form tumbled through into our realm.

Liam’s one remaining eye fluttered open, unfocused and glazed with pain. Blood caked the left side of his face, a gruesome mask that made my stomach churn. “Am I in hell?” he mumbled, his gaze falling on the staircase. “Because I’m pretty sure I’ve been here before.”

Then his eye landed on me, and a look of utter confusion crossed his face. “Heaven?” he slurred. “No, wait. Purgatory? Kate? Cyrus? What the actual fuck is going on?”

I couldn’t help it. A hysterical laugh bubbled up in my throat. “Welcome back to the land of the living, you self-sacrificing idiot,” I said, my voice thick with unshed tears. “What were you thinking, cutting out your own eye? Didn’t you take ‘an eye for an eye’ a bit too literally?”

Liam tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. “Seemed like a good idea at the time,” he muttered.

Before I could respond, a rumbling sound filled the air. The staircase began to shake, pieces of stone falling around us. Cracks spider-webbed across the walls, and I could hear the groan of the structure giving way.

“Time to go!” I shouted, summoning every last ounce of energy to open one final vortex. The effort made my vision swim, black spots dancing at the edges of my sight. “I don’t think I can—”

Liam’s hand found mine, cold yet surprisingly firm. “Together,” he said, his voice shaky from the strain. “We’ll do it together.”

I felt a surge of strength at his touch, different from the wild magic of the Iele but no less powerful. With a sound like reality tearing at the seams, the vortex opened. Cyrus wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close to him. Liam, who was still fighting to stay conscious, was sandwiched between us, his body feeling weak and unsteady. I couldn’t help but feel like the bread in a very awkward and uncomfortable Liam-Cyrus sandwich, but there was no time to dwell on that.

We tumbled through in a tangle of limbs, the journey more chaotic than any roller coaster I’d ever been on. Colors and sensations blurred together—the cold of the water we’d left behind, the warmth of Cyrus’s arm around me, the dead weight of Liam’s body between us. For a moment, I thought we might be torn apart, lost in the spaces between worlds.

When we finally crash-landed in the Iele realm, it was in an ungraceful heap on the crystal cavern floor. The impact knocked the wind out of me, and for a second, all I could do was lie there, gasping for air.

For a long moment, we just lay there, a mess of tangled limbs and ragged breathing. The crystal floor was cool against my cheek, a stark contrast to the warmth of the bodies pressed against me. And then, unable to contain it any longer, I started to laugh.

It was a wild, slightly manic sound, but I couldn’t stop. The absurdity of our situation, the relief of being alive, the sheer impossibility of what we’d just accomplished—it all came pouring out in wave after wave of laughter.

Soon, Cyrus joined in, his deep chuckles vibrating through me where our bodies touched. Even Liam managed a weak chuckle, though it quickly turned into a groan of pain.

I threw my arms around them both, pulling them close. Relief, exhaustion, and a jumble of other emotions I couldn’t even begin to name washed over me. We were alive. We were together. And somehow, against all odds, we’d made it through.

As the laughter subsided, reality began to set in. I pulled back, taking in their battered and bloodied appearances. Cyrus was soaked to the skin, cuts and bruises littering his exposed skin. Liam looked even worse, his face a mess of blood and the angry wound where his eye had been.

“Okay,” I said, my voice steadier now. “Let’s get you two patched up. Then we’ve got a lot to talk about.”

I couldn’t help but marvel at the absurdity of our situation. Here we were, a saint-in-training, a demon hunter, and a Fae prince, all battered and broken in a realm that shouldn’t exist.

The weight of everything we’d been through, everything we’d done, hung heavy in the air between us. But for now, we were alive. We were safe. And that’s all that matters.