(Skeleton Key) Princess of the Damned (13 page)

Only Eiress.

She sat in her rooms, stroking Kaida's head. The chains were still gone from her wrists and ankles, which was good because Landon had no idea where the key had ended up.

But her hair.

Her beautiful red hair was black, and her lips were gray. She'd succumbed to the Isle after all this time, losing her color.

"Eiress," he murmured, heartbroken.

She must have felt him because she looked up with such a radiant smile, it nearly stopped his heart. "You're there! I was so worried. I didn't know—when you came to the ball, and we danced, I wanted to make sure you were okay, but you were just gone, and I—I have so much to tell you. I feel that you're in pain." She stopped and frowned. "I'm so sorry I failed you."

"You what?" Landon asked, aloud. Like she could hear him. But of course, she couldn't.
You're sorry
you
failed
me?
I'm the one alive and well and free, Eiress.

"I was being pulled by something—something invisible—but I wanted to explode the gate so the souls would be pulled in, and I was so angry and so…desperate, and when I raised my hands, fire exploded, but it exploded everything, and Elizabeth and Vlad, all the souls, everything, it's gone. They're gone. I'm here alone. But—but Landon, there's something else." Eiress stared at the mirror as though she could see right through it and into his soul. In a way, she could. Without seeing him at all.

He missed her so much, the feel of her skin, the silk of her hair, her fierce determination. The thought of never being able to touch her again nearly drove him to his knees. But she was still talking.

"Mary took your place in the mirror. She's on your side of it now, Landon. Be wary. I don't know what she'll do, but she's…"

Mary was on his side of the mirror.

There have been fifteen attacks since your wife was brought in.

"Mary's here." The room spun, the floor seemed to crack and tip beneath his feet. A woman so evil hell hadn't wanted her there, had come back to life.

Because of him.

"My mom," he gasped, and prayed Eiress would understand when he bolted out of the bathroom and left her behind. He jerked on his jeans and tugged his shirt over his head while he ran from the room. "Laura Heritage's room, please? I'm her son."

She gave him an odd look before going to the computer to check. By that time, it didn't matter, because his dad had just come around the corner. Landon expected a lecture or a reprimand or something, but his dad just motioned him to follow, and Landon didn't hesitate. They hurried down the hallways without speaking, Landon's brain racing as fast as his pounding heart. Mary was here, and his mom had been attacked. Mary had taken his place in the mirror.

By the time they got to his mother's room, he knew what he would see. He'd watched Mary do it often enough with her razor sharp claws—to the other princesses, but never to Eiress. His mother's throat had been slashed.

Bloody Mary had attacked his mother.

E
IRESS WASN'T USED TO THE SILENCE.
There were no moaning souls. No screaming Elizabeth. No Mary. The nightmares beyond the castle seemed to be giving it a wide berth. Eiress wasn't sure she was the reason, but she liked to think she was. She'd blown up the gates to hell.

She was tough.

So why did she feel so empty and alone?

Because she'd had Landon, and now he was gone. She'd had hope, and now it was crushed. There was no way out for her now.

But she also couldn't kill herself and take out the Isle now. Not while Mary was still free. She'd have to wait. She was okay with that. A small, stupid part of her kept expecting Landon to swoop in and save her. To come crashing through the mirror and pull her to the other side.

Instead, there was just silence.

Lots and lots of silence.

She lay curled on her bed most of the time, healing. Reliving every moment she'd had with Landon, every touch, every smile. That one single kiss. The brightness of his soul and the kindness of his eyes. His determination against all odds.

She had failed him.

She cried. A lot.

For hours. Maybe days or years. She wasn't sure. There was no nightly ball, now. No Vlad or Elizabeth to threaten her or terrify her. No Mary. Nothing that forced her to get out of bed and try to live.

So she lived in her memories.

She'd only felt Landon come that one time. He'd been full of pain, and upon hearing her news, panic. No doubt having Mary on his side of the mirror had to be terrifying. Who knew what she'd be capable of.

And Landon, of course, would go after her. To try to save the day.

He'd try to save the day.

Eiress sat up in a rush, nearly toppling off the bed. She had to help him. Somehow, she needed to fight by his side.

But how? She had no chains, but she also had no way to get out of the mirror. Someone had to call her. She'd have to pull some innocent in so she could get out.

Running a hand through her tangled hair, she paced her silent room, idly twisting her fingers. Try as she might, she couldn't think of a better, less evil way. "But I'll come back." She promised the empty room. "I won't abandon them. I'll come back."

Gathering her skirts, finding courage in having a purpose that didn't involve her blowing herself up, and being able to save Landon the way she should have the first time. She swept from the room, Kaida on her shoulder. She marched down the empty halls, keeping her spine straight, trying not to hate herself for what she was about to do.

"I will come back."

Kaida puffed on her shoulder in approval.

The throne room was scarred and black, showing the damage of the explosion. Scorch marks covered the floors, the walls, the ceilings. The thrones were black and brittle. Mary's had toppled over on its side; Elizabeth's was on three legs and leaning dangerously.

Only Eiress's stood tall. The plush red velvet was hardly charred at all. The gold was covered in the ash of the souls, but it fell away as she approached it. The symbolism wasn't lost on her. Mary and Elizabeth were gone, and their thrones were toppled. Eiress alone remained, as the Queen of the Damned.

Until she ended this place.

L
ANDON'S MOTHER WAS TOUGH.
She wasn't a big woman, but she was fierce, and she'd nearly died trying to protect Landon. The heart monitor beeped regularly as Landon held her hand, watching her sleep. "She's going to be okay," his dad said from the other side of the bed. "They're just keeping her in a coma to let her heal."

Landon nodded mutely. He wished he could talk to her. He wished he could tell her how sorry he was. He wished…well, he wished a lot of things.

He could almost hear her in his head.
"You can't do anything sitting here, Landon. Go save Eiress. There's still time."

He sat back, staring at her in surprise, wondering if her lips had moved and he'd just somehow missed it. But her eyes stayed closed, her face pale. And yet…

Landon nodded and let go of her hand. "I'll be right back." He stood stiffly, still feeling like he'd been run over multiple times by a steam roller. His dad watched him with dark, worried eyes. No one could see his injuries—they were wounds of the soul and just as deadly.

He'd been given a second chance, when Eiress had given up her soul to dance with him. To send him home.

She'd given up everything for him.

He went into the bathroom and shut the door quietly, torn between staying by his mother's side and searching for Mary.

Again, he heard his mother's voice in his head.
"Stop her, Landon. There's still time."

Eiress sensed him, apparently, because she looked straight up at him and that heartbreakingly beautiful smile lit her face. "You're okay. I was so worried." She put a hand up to the mirror, and he wondered if she longed for his touch the way he longed for hers. Slowly, he placed his hand next to her, pretending they were palm to palm and not worlds apart.

"I can feel your pain." Eiress clutched at her chest with her other hand, her words strangled. "I know how awful this must be, Landon, to face this nightmare. But you have to stop her. Okay? You have to send her back to me."

Landon rubbed a hand over his face, peering at her over his fingers. "How, Eiress? How do I stop her?"

But Eiress, of course, couldn't hear him. She couldn't answer him. She must have felt his panic, though, because she shuddered. "You can do this, Landon." A small smile almost lit her face. "You, who never says can't."

"Landon? Are you okay? Did you fall?" His dad was jiggling the handle.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm okay." Landon pushed the door open, nearly bowling his dad over. "I fell, a little. Still trying to get steady on my feet." He gave a weak laugh.

"Maybe you should go back to your room. I'll keep your mother company." His dad gave him an even weaker smile.

Landon nodded. He had to leave them.

Again.

On an impulse, he threw his arms around his dad, ignoring the pain that came with it. "I love you, Dad."

His dad hugged him back, just as tightly. "I love you, too, Landon. We'll get through this."

Landon nodded and moved away, bending to kiss his mother's forehead. He whispered, "I'll save her, Mom. And I'll stop Mary."

He had no idea how he'd do that, but somehow, he believed he could.

Maybe it was Eiress. Maybe it was his mom, who had told him a thousand times that he could do anything he put his mind to. Maybe it was his dad, who really thought they'd get through this okay.

It was all of them. Landon knew that. He knew he could do it because they believed he wouldn't fail.

L
ANDON WENT BACK TO
his room and gathered his things.

"You haven't been cleared by the doctor to leave yet. Just sit tight, hun." The nurse patted him back into the bed, checking her charts and barely noticing him. "I'll go find him and be right back."

Landon had played football his entire life. He'd been in the hospital with concussions, broken bones, sprains, bruises, tears—often enough that he knew when the nurse said she'd be right back, that could be anything from ten minutes to three hours. And then they'd have to track down his dad and get his signature.

Groaning, Landon went into the bathroom. Flipping on the light, he focused on the mirror, hoping Eiress would feel him and also somehow magically read his mind and answer all his questions.

It was dark in the ballroom, and Eiress sat silently on her throne, the black sheet of hair hiding her face from him. Still, she was alone. No lost souls, no Vlad, no Elizabeth.

"They're gone," Eiress said quietly without raising her head. "I killed them all when I tried to blow up the gates to hell."

"What are you doing, beautiful?"

She didn't answer. Only pushed herself to her feet and walked away from her throne.

"What are you doing in the throne room, Eiress?" Landon suddenly had a sick feeling that he knew what she was doing. He hadn't spent fourteen years watching her every move to
not
know what she was planning. She was waiting for Mary to come back, waiting for Landon to stop her and send her back to the Isles.