The silence stretches, full of fractured trust and questions no one can answer. Outside, the sanctuary hums with old power, but it feels thin — like these walls might not be enough.
I swore I’d never fail her again. But if she keeps locking me out, how the hell am I supposed to protect her?
The question hangs between us, raw and unanswered. One thing is clear — whatever comes next, we can’t face it divided.
We have to put the pieces back together — fast — or Ethos will tear us apart.
“Hey guys,” Wes says quietly, his voice cutting through the heavy silence. “Does Bree even realize she’s being hunted?”
Fuck.
Chapter 31
Jace
“Why do we have to do this again?”
Bree’s voice is muffled by the pillow she’s got pressed over her face, but the frustration comes through loud and clear. It’s been two days of this — Bree pretending everything is fine when it definitely is not.
I lean against her doorframe, arms crossed, watching her burrow deeper into the covers like she can disappear if she tries hard enough. Even like this — hair a mess, face hidden, radiating stubborn defiance — she’s beautiful. Makes me want to crawl into that bed and kiss her until I’m all she can think about.
But that’s not what she needs right now.
“Because you’ve stayed in bed avoiding us long enough,” I say, keeping my voice light but firm. “It’s time to face this. Together.”
“I’m not avoiding anything.” The pillow muffles her words, but I catch the defensive edge.
“Right. And I’m not devastatingly handsome.” I push off the doorframe and walk over to sit on the edge of her bed. The mattress dips under my weight, and she rolls slightly toward me despite herself. “Look, I know we told you yesterday about Ethos hunting—”
“Stop.” Bree says clearly exasperated even through the pillow. “Just stop.”
“Bree—”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she snaps, sitting up abruptly. “I’m fine.”
She finally pulls the pillow away from her face, and I have to bite back a wince. Dark circles under her eyes, hair a tangled mess, that stubborn set to her jaw that means she’s about to dig in deeper.
“You suck,” she mutters.
“Look, I get it.” I reach over and tug gently at a strand of her hair until she looks at me. “The whole ruins thing is scary as hell, it’s probably like every horror movie rolled into one.”
Her eyes flick away. “It’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
She’s quiet for so long I think she’s not going to answer. When she finally speaks, her voice is small. “What if I make it worse? What if whatever’s down there is better off staying buried?”
And there it is. The real fear. Not of what she might find, but of what she might unleash.
“Bree.” I wait until she meets my eyes again. “You know what’s worse than facing whatever’s down there?”
“What?”
“Letting Ethos keep whispering in your ear while you hide up here.” Her face goes pale, but I press on. “That thing — whatever he is — he’s counting on you being too scared to act. He wants you isolated, second-guessing yourself.”
“You don’t understand—”
“I understand that you screamed his name in your sleep last night,” I say quietly. “I understand that there’s something hunting you, and sitting here pretending it’s not happening isn’t going to make it go away.”
