Page 155 of Eternal Surrender

Lost in our own thoughts, we headed back out into the Abbey.

Taking a seat in the front pew, Ingrid looked miserable. “I need to focus,” she said.

I tried to find the words to reassure her.

“We can’t afford any more mistakes,” she continued.

We sat in silence, watching the crowds swarming each monument only to move on again, though soon replaced by other tourists, all eager to experience a small piece of England’s history.

“Look at them,” Ingrid said, “they have a living relic in their midst, and they have no idea.”

“That’s the way I like it.” I peered down at the bibles stacked along the back of the pew.

“And yet here sits the most remarkable artifact!”

“Not sure I want to be considered a relic,” I said.

She turned to face me. “You’ve probably met half the buried men in here.”

“Not exactly.”

“Had I not seen your transformation myself, witnessed it firsthand. . .”

I broke her stare.

“I fell in love with Jadeon,” she said softly, “loved him more than I’ve loved anyone. And I don’t think I’ve ever hated anyone as much as Orpheus.”

My focus turned to the ceiling with its intricate design, and I wondered what it must be like to paint upside down.

“Does Jadeon still exist?” she asked. “Does he know it’s me?”

I took her hand. “Yes.”

“You invited me back to your castle. Remember? God it was so romantic.”

“I opened up to you in a way I’d never done before,” I admitted.

“I feel like I’m betraying Jadeon in some way.” She gave a shrug. “Do you really believe there’s a way to reverse this?”

I braved to reach inside her mind, daring to find the answers that seemed to linger on the lips of everyone close to me: that I, William, was temporary, merely waiting in some kind of metaphorical no man’s land, half-loved, half-hated, with everyone eager for me to die.

With me out of the equation, this situation might just be better for everyone.

Ingrid squeezed my shoulder. “We need you, William. I need you.”

Her intuitive words struck me to my core.

Such tenderness was too much, her affection burning through me like the sun I no longer knew. Unwilling to surrender to this moment and to her kindness that I didn’t deserve, I eased her hand off.

“Are you going to break my heart?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

I leaned over to kiss her forehead.

She softened as though that was all she needed. “We have a case to solve.” She rose and edged left along the pew.

I followed, trying to push away the feeling of futility of finding anything here, powerlessness seeped into my bones.

We strolled beneath stone columns, reminding me of the ones we’d seen back in the Mount’s secret tomb, recalling that ancient bluestone seemingly luring me back; that rare megalith safely ensconced in the lower chambers of a Cornish castle, bestowing a supernatural seduction.