“Lola—Lola, wait! Where are you going?” Breyona called out, her voice echoing down the empty hallway.I turned, remembering that I actually didn’t know where I was going. All I knew was that I needed to do something, anything to smother the pain holding me in its serrated grip.“Where was Cordelia’s body found?” I asked impatiently.Beneath the pain, a small wave of guilt washed over me. This wasn’t Breyona’s fault. She’d been through just as much as I had, and it wasn’t right to take my frustrations out on her.“I—I can just take you there if you want. I’m meeting up with Giovanni anyway…you know, to help find Asher.” She tacked the second part on quietly.It was a bit grating the way everyone was walking on eggshells around me, like I was a bomb whose timer was slowly ticking away. Staring into Breyona’s eyes, watching the warm flecks of brown deepen in color, made me realize that since her parents were murdered, that was how everyone’s been treating her as well.If there was one pe
Instantly, I could tell that I had no control over this form. Thoughts drifted through its head, flowing like a winding stream, but I couldn’t tap into them. The terrain was too rocky, too tumultuous to allow me to get any closer. Instead, I was left with whatever stray thoughts washed ashore and the emotions that followed them.I stood on the shoulder of a narrow, winding road. Clusters of trees surrounded me like a cage, spanning up and up and up to kiss a sky full of stars and to bask in rays of silver moonlight. By all accounts, it was beautiful, but there was a sourness to the fresh air that felt an awful lot like foreboding. Sensations battered me left and right. Sounds and colors were duller, not as vibrant as what I was used to. The sheer cold of the air against my skin was numbing, carving through the flowing skirt and buttoned blouse I wore. A single emotion was all I could snag, and it filled every crevice of this body until it’s joints began to ache. Cordelia was worrie
I was slammed back into my body, the impact tearing a ragged gasp from my throat.Panic obscured my thoughts, my hands grasping at my chest, taking fistfuls of my shirt as I pulled it from my body to peer down at smooth, unblemished skin.“I’m alive…” I panted, my heartbeat thundering in my ears. “It wasn’t me. I’m still here.”The sensation of my soul slipping away, the very essence that made up my memories, hopes, dreams, and fears, was one I would never forget. Far beyond the physical pain was a peacefulness I never would’ve thought existed. It caressed the soul in feather-light touches, wrapping around that beacon of light in a protective embrace.Remembering Death’s gentle touch brought tears to my eyes and made me wonder if that was how Sean felt—if he too felt at peace.‘We have to go, Lola…’ Maya said softly, her tail curling around my thoughts.As much as I wanted to stay and linger in that peaceful haze, it quickly began to slip through my fingers. Cordelia had been right, a
It echoed louder than necessary, as if it couldn’t pass up the chance to scold me. Not daring to look down at the branch beneath my foot, I threw caution to the damn wind and made a run for it.Three heads whipped around as I barreled through the forest line like a wolf in a china shop.“Lola—” Zeke shouted; his hands clutched to his abdomen where the white t-shirt he wore was soaked through with blood.Rowena, whose hair long hair was tangled from the wind, had wide eyes brimming with unshed tears. They sparkled with relief, which only acted as gasoline to the fire raging in my chest.“Get away from them.” I snarled; eyes locked on Tessa.The witch held her hands out, palms facing the ground, but I had yet to feel any magic oozing off her skin. I itched to lash out, to stop her heart and take her life in exchange for Sean’s, but I wanted to make it count. If she was the one that killed Sean—or if it were that sister of hers, their death would be slow, agonizingly slow.Rowena stumble
Tessa and Zeke ceased to exist as my vision tunneled, completely centered on Rowena’s prideful expression.“You killed my brother.” I barely recognized my own voice.The savageness in it was foreign to my ears, a quality I’d only ever seen Asher possess. I never thought I was capable of blind hatred, the kind that devours everything good about a person until all that’s left inside of them is blackness, but I’d been wrong.I hated Rowena. I hated her with every fiber of my being, with every breath I took and with every beat that shuddered my broken heart.The edge was so close that my skin began to tingle with the familiar sensation of falling, but I didn’t lose my balance until Rowena opened her mouth and spoke.“Well, technically your mate did that, darling. We did need another sacrifice, after all.” She rolled her eyes, inspecting her nails, completely oblivious that these were the final moments of her pathetic life. “It’s rather inconvenient your grandmother survived, though. I’ve
Even chalk-white and swaying on two feet, Zeke managed a look of utter surprise. Tessa’s slender eyebrows fell into a grimace, and a subtle blush stained her face. From the way she avoided his gaze at all costs, I knew things were far from perfect between the two, but it was a start.Tessa was no longer against us, so long as I held up my end and kept my word that witches would have a place in the world, one where they didn’t have to hide in the shadows.“Can you heal him?” I asked her, nodding in Zeke’s direction.“I think so, but I might need some help. I’ve only ever mended small wounds…nothing like this. Plus, his weakness to silver is going to stunt things.” Tessa replied, peeling up the bottom half of Zeke’s shirt. When she made it to his back, where the gem-incrusted hilt jutted out a few inches from his spine, she winced. “I’m going to have to pull it out. It’s…it’s going to hurt.”“Do it.” Zeke grunted, sinking to his knees to brace his hands in the dirt.“On three…” Tessa mu
I sliced through the mind-link, cleaving it in two and watching as it fluttered and frayed like the torn pieces of a ribbon.“Now, where were we?” I exhaled, rolling my shoulders back as I weakened my hold over my magic.It swarmed at the first hint of freedom, filling my cells until they swelled with power. As hard as it was, I had to control each and every thought that passed through my head, taking care not to feed any energy into them. Like stones floating down a stream, I’d pluck one out of the water to inspect it, only to toss it back in, releasing it altogether.Rowena snickered, much too confident and cocky given her current position. “You were threatening me with death should I not reveal all my little secrets.”“Ah, right. I’d like to change my earlier threat if you don’t mind.” I smirked, tilting my head the way a predator would as it sized up its prey. Right now, that’s exactly what Rowena was. She didn’t even have the honor of being called fresh meat, not with that patch
“She made you kill my brother, Asher. How can you not want this?” I whispered; my hands flush against his broad chest.My voice was back to normal, but the sickly veins of darkness crawling up my fingers remained. They’d gotten further this time around, creeping past my knuckles and onto the tops of my hands. The Shadows were silent, bloated on Rowena’s blood.There were no whispers of fixing this because this time, the damage was irreversible.Sprawled out in the dirt, covered in her own blood, Rowena muttered, “I didn’t make him do anything.”Asher’s neck cracked as he craned his head to look down at her, a ripple of pure malice wracking his body and vibrating down the mate-bond. It wasn’t just me whose sanity was hanging by a frayed thread, but Asher too.“Believe me, I want her dead and I want her to suffer first, but not at the cost of my mate. Look at your hands, Lola. Look at yourself.” Asher said in a low voice, one laced with caution.I kept my eyes locked on his face, even a