“I don’t know.” I breathed the answer in a sigh and stood, moving toward the living room. “But I know we need help. This place isn’t safe anymore… the sooner we leave, the better. I just…”
I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t know what to do.
I just knew I would do whatever I had to if it meant keeping him safe.
That hadn’t changed after last night. If anything, that need burned stronger.
Brighter.
As bright as the crimson thread trailing between us like a guiding light, leading me to the only thing in this world that truly mattered.
The only thing that hadevermattered.
Cole stepped into the room behind me and crossed his arms. “Yeah, and who are you going to call for help, Sephtis?”
There was really only one person I could call, wasn’t there?
It took lesstime than I expected to explain everything that was going on. Wren listened with wide eyes. It was Theo who keptmaking incredulous sounds beneath his breath, his gaze flicking between me and Cole like he was watching a movie.
It did sound like something out of sheer fantasy, even for supernatural beings like us—I’d heard of a lot of things, but I’d never heard of a human who had to feed on Vitality to keep himself alive. I’d never heard of a human who’d taken in little bits and pieces of Death either, and I wondered the same question that Wren finally asked out loud.
“Do you think he needs it because of that darkness?” Wren’s eyes focused on the thread, and I knew he could probably see it too. “It’s the same shit I see in your veins, so it kind of makes sense.”
It didn’t make any sense, but I understood the logic.
“I don’t know. If that’s what’s burning through his Vitality before he can make it himself, maybe there’s a way to fix it.” Maybe there was a way I could at least give him back as normal a life as I could manage.
Even though we would always be chased by the hounds, by Death himself. Even though it was me just as much as him now that was the problem.
“Sounds like you need a lot of books.” Theo leaned forward, his elbows on his knees and his expression thoughtful. “Though the last time I thought that was a good idea, I died… so…” He paused and wrinkled his nose. “Also, this room feels fucking horrible.”
Of course it felt horrible to him. It was a deadzone, and he was a human turned creature. It was probably warring with his senses, trying to remind him of what he’d been.
What he could never be again.
The thought made my eyes slip back to Cole. I could still see the little sparks of black dancing just beneath his skin, parts of me that he would never be rid of now that they were there. Bitsand pieces of Death that he’d fed when he killed that man, giving them strength to take root and hold tight.
It was his now—his and mine. Our burden to share.
“Books, right. I might… I might know somewhere you can go, Sephtis. But I don’t know if it’s a good idea.” Wren’s voice was cautious as he looked between us, his long, elegant fingers twisting the pendant I’d given him over and over like he wasn’t sure he liked what he was saying.
“Where?”
“Listen.” He shook his head. “I don’t know if you really want to do this. Owing me a favor was one thing. But Gethin is different, he?—”
“He’s an asshole,” Theo supplied, and Wren shot him a look.
“He’s desperate.”
Warmth spilling along my side made the tension in my body fade away. Cole didn’t take my hand, but the back of his fingers brushed mine like he couldn’t quite resist the comfort that came with the connection. “So are we.”
He was so earnest, laying everything out at our feet like it wasn’t dangerous to be honest. If Wren wasn’t someone we could trust—if Theo was actually the monster he looked like he was…
Ifanyof this somehow got back to Aiden…
We’d be fucked.
But we were fucked either way, weren’t we? The hounds weren’t leaving. I could still hear them on the edge of the property. The soul of the man Cole had murdered had thrown them off our scent, but it wasn’t enough.
