Heath started to walk away, following Zoey, but Stark’s words halted him. “Yeah, you can get her spirit whole again by telling her you’ll stay here with her, but if you do that, you’ll fuck up everyone Zoey loves back in the real world.”

Heath turned back to face Stark. “It’s not cool for you to say shit like that. Just let her go, dude. I know you love her and all, but seriously, you’ve only known her a little while. I’ve been with her for years. I get that you’ll miss her, but she’ll be good here with me—she’ll be happy.”

“It’s not about love. It’s about doing the right thing. I give you my word as a Guardian that I’m telling you the truth. If Zoey doesn’t return to her body, the world as she knew it—as you knew it, will be destroyed.”

“What’s this Guardian stuff about?”

Stark drew in a deep breath. “It’s about honor.”

Something about Stark’s voice made Heath look at him with new eyes. The guy had changed. He looked somehow taller, older, and not his normal, cocky self. He looked sad. Very sad.

“You’re telling me the truth.”

Stark nodded. “Aphrodite had a vision. What she saw is that you get Zoey to pull her soul together. You do it by promising you’ll stay here with her. So she doesn’t turn into a Caoinic Shi’. She’s herself again. And she does stay here with you—forever. But without Zoey, there’s no one to stop Neferet and Kalona.”

“And they take over the world,” Heath finished for him.

“And they take over the world,” Stark agreed.

Heath’s eyes met Stark’s. “I have to leave Zoey.”

“I won’t let her be alone,” Stark told him. “I’m her Warrior, her Guardian. I give you my Oath that I’ll be sure she’s always protected.”

Heath nodded, looking away from Stark, trying to get a handle on his emotions. He wanted to run—to find Zo and to be sure she stayed with him, here or anywhere, forever. But when his gaze went back to Stark, he knew the absolute truth: Zoey would hate it if her friends were destroyed. She’d hate it more than she loved him, more than she loved anyone. So if he really loved her, Heath would have to leave her.

Even though he felt like he was going to barf, Heath was glad his voice sounded calm and normal. “How are you gonna get her to pull herself together after I go?”

“Can’t you tell her you’re staying, get her together, and then go?”

Heath snorted, “Dude, I’m not gonna be too hard on you because you not being dead and all is totally making you moronic about this spirit stuff, but there’s no fucking way I can get Zo to call together pieces of her soul by telling her a lie. I mean, come on, that doesn’t even make sense.”

“Yeah, okay. I guess you’re right.” Stark ran his hand through his hair. “Then I don’t know how I’m gonna do it, but I will. I have to. If you’re man enough to leave her, I’m man enough to figure out how to save her.”

“Well, keep this in mind—Zo doesn’t like some dude saving her. She likes to take care of herself. Mostly, you just have to stand back and let her do her thing.”

Stark nodded solemnly. “I’ll remember that.”

“Okay. So. Let’s go after her.”

The two guys started walking toward the part of the grove where they’d last had a glimpse of Zoey.

“I’ll keep out of it while you say goodbye. I won’t let her see me till you’re gone,” Stark said.

Heath couldn’t trust his voice, so he just nodded.

“Tell me about that other stuff you said—the scary shit that’s trapping you in here.”

Heath cleared his throat, and said, “At first I thought it was Kalona, but weirdness happened today that makes me think it probably isn’t him. I mean, it was like that thing out there was helping me figure out how to save Zoey.”

“But stay here, right?”

“Yeah, right. That was kinda the point to the whole idea.”

“So Kalona told you how to be sure Zoey never leaves the Otherworld—never makes it back to her body,” Stark said. “Which is exactly what he’s supposed to do.”

“And he almost did that today by using me. Fucking asshole. Like it’s not bad enough he killed me!” Heath looked at Stark. “So that’s really why you’re here? I mean, I know you had to tell me I gotta get moving, but basically you’re here to kick Kalona’s ass so that Zoey really does make it home with you.”

“Yeah, it’s looking more and more like that’s what I’m here for.”

Heath snorted. “Good luck with kicking an immortal’s ass, dude.”

“I’ve been thinking about it, and all I really have to do is keep him away from Z long enough for her to get whole again. Then she can get out of here and back to her body, where Kalona can’t hurt her—or at least right now he can’t.”

“Nope. Sorry to mess up your plan, but if that was the deal, Zo wouldn’t need you to protect her.”

Stark gave him a question-mark look.

“It’s like this—Zo’s safe in the grove.” Heath pointed at the grove around them. “Bad shit can’t get in here. There’s something special about this place. It’s like everything magic about the earth down there came from this grove up here. It’s a version of Super Earth, a place of total peace. Can’t you feel it?”

“Yeah, Super Earth’s a good way to put it,” Stark said. “And I feel the peace part, too. I did from the beginning. It’s why I knew she’d stay here with you.”

“Yeah, she would. That’s why she needs you. ’Cause as long as she stays safe in here, she won’t go back to the real world. So, again, I say good luck with protecting her against Kalona. The asswipe killed me. Hope you do better than me. And if you do, kick his ass for me, and for Zo, too.”

“Will do. Hey, Heath, I want you to know something,” Stark said. “I wouldn’t be brave enough to do what you’re doing. I wouldn’t be able to leave her.”

Heath glanced at him and shrugged. “Yeah, well, I love her more than you do.”

“You’re doing the right thing, though. The honorable thing,” Stark said.

“You know, from where I’m standing right now, honor doesn’t mean shit. Love’s what works for me and Zo. It always has. It always will.”

They walked on silently, both lost in their own thoughts, and as they followed Zoey, Heath’s words replayed in Stark’s head, over and over, “Love’s what works for me and Zo. It always has. It always will,” until with jolt of surprise he got it—he really got it. It didn’t make what he was about to do any easier, but it did make it bearable.

They found her in a little clearing deep within the grove. She was walking around and around a tall evergreen that looked magnificent, but weirdly out of place among the rowans, hawthorns, and moss. The scent of the tree filled the area. They crept in, being careful to keep shrubs between them and Zoey’s line of vision. When Stark nodded and motioned to a man-sized clump of moss-covered rocks that was close enough to Zoey, but still under cover, Heath stopped there with him and took a deep breath, testing the air.

“That’s bizarre.” Heath kept his voice low so she wouldn’t hear him. “Wonder what a cedar tree is doing out here.”

“Cedar? That’s what that is?” Stark said.

“Yep. There’s a huge one between Zo’s old house and mine that looks almost exactly like that—smells totally the same, too.”

“It’s what Zoey’s grandma said to burn near me while I was here, in the Otherworld. Aphrodite brought a big bag of it. They lit it just before I left my body.” He looked at Heath. “The tree’s a good sign. It means we’re following the right path.”

Heath met Stark’s gaze a long time before he said, “I hope it is a good sign, but you gotta know that doesn’t make this any easier for me.”

“Yeah, I get that.”

“Do you? ’Cause I’m getting ready to leave the only girl I’ve ever loved to you even though I know she needs me bad.”

“What do you want me to say to you, Heath? That I wish it didn’t have to be this way? I do. That I wish you weren’t dead and Zoey’s soul wasn’t shattered, and the worst thing I had to worry about was being jealous of you and that asshole, Erik? I do.”