Hope. He says it like it’s just a word. But to me it holds the pain of a thousand slashes across my soul. I’m trapped in this necrotic end game, strategically shifting pieces in a chess match I didn’t want to play. My mind is like a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle, and all the jagged edges are scattered everywhere. A mess of memories, loss, and confusion I can’t put back together.
“I don’t trust you.”
“Never asked you to.”
“Can you not interrupt me?” I shoot back. He holds both his hands up in surrender. “If—and that’s a very bigif—I decide to help you, which I’m not saying I am, what would that entail?”
“It’s not just helping me. This is about saving the realm. It’s so much bigger than you or me.” He takes a pause before continuing. “We’re fighting the same battle.”
“And you’re on the opposing side!” I exclaim.
“I’m onyours,Kallie.”
“Not from where I’m standing.” He stares at me like he doesn’t even know me. And I guess that’s the case. I don’t know him either. Granted, I’m not sure I ever did.
Suddenly, he falls to his knees, quickly grabbing his upper arm with a pained expression. “We’re running out of time.”
“What’s going on?” My feet start to carry me toward him, but I stop them, needing to keep the space between us empty.
“I guess he’s resorted to dosing me in my sleep.”
“What does this mean? I don’t understand.”
I look up as the dream state he built for me fades, transforming as if the world was spinning this whole time, and day turned to night. Lightning strikes overhead, the puffy white clouds long gone and replaced by dark-gray ones that hold promises of rainfall. “It means…” he pushes through clenched teeth,dropping his head. And when he brings his eyes back to meet mine, it isn’t Callum looking at me. His eyes glaze over in obsidian, just like when his powers take over, and a grin screamingrunslowly spreads over his lips. “It means you’re out of time.”
Rocks shift beneath me, digging into my legs as I sit upright and gasp for air. Sweat skates down my forehead, dripping down and stinging my wide-open eyes. My heart pounds against my rib cage, begging to be set free. I push my hand against my chest, grounding myself to the present while blinking repeatedly, and try to get my bearings.
Odeyssa stirs a bit but doesn’t wake. I bite my lower lip, contemplating waking her up to discuss, but then I catch sight of Voraxis’s bright violet eyes trained on me.
He stares at me intently.What’s wrong?
Nothing,I lie. He tilts his head to the side, because we both know I’m full of shit. Letting out a long, weighted sigh, I send one name down our bond.Callum.
Instantly, he pulls his lips back in a sneer. Elaborate.Scooting back until my back rests against the cave’s rock wall, I pull my knees up toward my chest and wrap both arms around them, seeking comfort.I don’t know how he got to me. Truly. But I guess the wall slipped.Voraxis starts to rise, shaking the ground, but I shoot a warning look his way. Odeyssa turns over, mumbling something incoherent, but remains sleeping. Grateful, but surprised. The force of his talons pounding on the ground was enough to make the discarded pebbles jump.
She could sleep through the entire war and wake up without a clue in the world. Part of me envies that.
Don’t wake her.
What happened in there?
I take a moment to collect my thoughts, trying to separate all the pieces and decipher the bigger picture. I’m just not sure what that is anymore.
It didn’t start off like there was anything nefarious. It was just me, in a field on a warm summer day. The weather didn’t shift. Instead, it stayed serene, like somewhere I could relax for a while. And then it changed.I remember the instant fear I harbored when his voice sounded in my sanctuary. Instinctively, my hands run the length of my shins like a soothing mechanism.
Obviously, my defenses were at an all-time high. However, he manipulated it so I couldn’t use my powers.
Coward,Voraxis remarks, eliciting a slight chuckle from me.
He couldn’t use his either, giving the impression that he meant no harm or whatever. Anyway, long story short, he needs our help.
The silence is deafening.
You’re joking.
Funny, that’s what I told him.
How dare he even think he could ask you such a thing.When I don’t immediately reply, he follows with,You didn’t tell him yes, did you?
