Fate's Surrender (Eternal Sorrows Book 3) by Sarra Cannon (android based ebook reader txt) 📕

of it was still out there. And it wouldn't be long before he cast again.

He wouldn't be able to help himself.

And bit by bit, the witch would inch closer to him until both he and the girl belonged to her.

The witch crouched low to the ground, opened her palm, and blew over the top of the flame in her hand. The fire jumped to the blacktop and travelled forward like an arrow before it turned north on second avenue.

She smiled.

This was going to be a piece of cake.

Seventeen

Parrish

By the time the sun had set, the last of the rotters had been killed and hauled away.

Parrish did one last walk around the entire compound to make sure they hadn’t missed one or failed to see a spot in the fence or metal sheets that had been compromised.

The entire compound was lucky to still be standing, and Parrish had half a mind to leave tonight just so they didn’t risk bringing on another attack before dawn.

She had no doubt the Dark One only zerged this place because of them. Coming here had put the whole community at risk, but to be honest, she wasn’t sure she had the energy to leave even if they needed to.

She’d never been so exhausted in her life.

And her fatigue wasn’t just physical. She was tired to her core in every way. Tired of trying to figure out why they’d been given these powers. Tired of worrying about Zoe and how they were going to save her and the entire world at the same time.

Tired of being slapped in the face by new information that didn’t fully make sense.

Her brain was constantly working, putting pieces of the puzzle together, but never quite seeing the entire picture.

The Dark One could have killed her today, but she didn’t. She said she’d once loved Parrish like a daughter.

Was that true?

Why couldn’t she remember any of that?

She found it hard to believe she’d ever been close to someone so evil and terrible. Maybe the Dark One was just trying to mess with her mind.

If so, it worked.

Parrish couldn’t get the whole encounter out of her head, but she didn’t have time to keep going over and over it. They needed to make a plan for how they were going to get to New York.

“We need to be heading toward the coast by noon at the absolute latest,” Parrish said when she got back to the room.

She collapsed on the bed beside Noah, and he motioned for her to rest her legs across his lap. When she did, he massaged her sore calves, and she could have sworn he must have put some of his healing power into his hands.

She felt better instantly, and she was so grateful he seemed to be feeling okay. Finding him passed out on the floor had nearly scared her to death. How he’d recovered so quickly, she still didn’t fully understand.

But none of them understood their powers, did they? The Dark One sure seemed to know what she was doing, but the group in this room was clueless with a capital C. How they’d made it this far was a miracle.

“I know you want to leave early, but we can’t push ourselves past our limit, either,” Crash said. “I don’t know about you all, but every part of my body hurts. Unless lover boy over there wants to give us all massages tonight, I’m going to need some rest before we can even dream about Manhattan.”

Noah patted the bed beside him. “You’re next,” he said, giving Crash a wink.

To Parrish’s surprise, though, Karmen was the one who got up and started massaging Crash’s shoulders. That was quite a change in attitude from even just a few days ago. Something was definitely brewing there, and Parrish wished she could remember everything about who they used to be before all of this. Had they all been close in the world they came from?

Had they loved each other?

Her hand reached for the fatalis stone hanging around her neck. When they’d gotten back into the compound earlier, she’d wrapped it with a piece of leather and decided to wear it closer to her heart. It was her only link to Zoe now, and she wanted it where it would rest against her skin at all times.

This stone was also the key to the island. To their memories.

They needed to get to Zoe and the fifth, and then they had to get to that island. It was obvious the Dark One didn’t want them to go there, so it had to be important.

“We’ll just have to play it by ear and see how it goes,” Crash said. “It’s totally possible we’ll get to the water in just a few hours, if we can find our way through the traffic and we don’t run into much trouble along the way.”

“Can we please get some food before we start speculating about tomorrow’s trip?” Karmen said, clutching her stomach. “As much as I love hearing you both talk endlessly about things we can’t control, I am starving.”

“Wait,” Parrish said, clutching the fatalis stone in her hand. “We have to try to contact Zoe and the fifth. I don’t fully understand how or why they can talk to us through this stone, but we need to make some kind of plan. Figure out exactly where they are and how we’re going to get to them.”

“Can’t we do that after we eat?” Karmen asked, pouting. “They’re probably just sitting around some New York apartment, doing nothing. They can wait.”

Parrish gave her a look, and Karmen rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. Instead, they all moved to the floor and sat down the same way they had the other night when they’d first heard the boy’s voice.

They touched hands, but nothing happened.

“Zoe? Can you hear me?” she asked out loud. “Is anyone there?”

They all waited quietly, but again, there was no answer.

“Anyone else feel like we’re in middle school trying to do a seance at a