“Must be hard to look in the mirror then.” Selene rolls her shoulders back.
For a moment, nothing ripples. I spot Hector’s eyes glaring into Selene’s back. Sofia steps in front of her brother, shifting my view off him. Her eyes narrow, shoving into me like hands trying to… warn me.
She moves her hand and throws another mage light into the air. It floats ahead of me. Helping me. Selene’s eyes hold steady like a fishing line trying to lure in its prey. Sable holds her tongue, then slowly turns to face me.
“Maybe I should kill you now?” She runs her hands down my chest, over my mark, digging her nails into the skin, clawing at it.
“Enough!” Hector snaps. “If one more of you speaks, I will cut your tongues out.”
His true colors showed quickly.
Sable leans to the side, pushing her hips out. “You would miss my tongue too much.”
Hector breaks the formation and grabs Sable by the neck, dagger in hand, and pushes it to her stomach.
“You need me,” she smirks.
Selene and I share a glance. We need her, too. Selene nods, even smiles.‘I’m fine, let this play out; we will escape somehow,’her eyes say.
Hector glides the dagger up her body before withdrawing his hand. “Enough chatter. Fools delight in useless bragging. Wise men know the power of holding their tongues.”
Just like that, Sable curls around Hector’s finger and listens.
I recognize that expression. Vengeance mixed with embarrassment has deadly outcomes.
Who will betray whom first?
Chapter
Forty-Eight
Selene
Sable is winning.
Could I fall to my knees and beg? Sure.
It would do no good.
Could I ball my fists and fight? Absolutely, but it would be short-lived.
Instead, I wear the shoes Titus has had to endure. I watch his fate dangle on a rope, in the hands of others. Effortless to stop it.
Down here, Sable and Hector hold the power. I must wait for the perfect moment to strike.
Watching Titus grind his teeth, mentally bend a knee so I’m not hurt. It guts me, scars so deep I’ll never walk the same. I deserve it. I asked him to bear this pain when I denied the bond, after all.
Sweat beads down my spine, causing the silk of my shirt to cling like an itchy rash. It’s poetic that we’re now trapped in a tunnel, forced not to run away. This is the end of the journey, and endings create new beginnings.
One person will walk out of here with the Vitalis.
I must make sure it’s Titus.
My eyes roam over his broad shoulders as he leads the way deeper and deeper into Caldara. He’s always been a guiding light, even when he’s mere embers and smoke. A born leader who will make Everett proud.
I glance at Sable as she hisses and grunts, biting her tongue as she follows silently. I feel Sofia’s eyes on my back, as well as Hector’s.
“Elderan,” I whisper in desperation. Nothing happens. He said I’d never see him again.
