Just like Willow, for example. Tiran too.
I enjoyed running into her earlier in the game. Literally moments after I heard some girls crying because they didn’t have their magic. I wouldn’t have known otherwise.
I’m sure she’ll retaliate. If anything, I’m banking on it. I’m more than ready to drain the hell out of that bitch.
The part of my conscience that was riddled with the guilt over murdering someone is gone. It fled when my father’s remains sat before me, and a sense of euphoria danced down my spine instead. The monster who had haunted me the longest is gone forever.
Some people are meant to die, and that’s okay, as long as it’s not me.
My gut tells me everything changed when Kael unleashed his betrayal. Like the weakest part of me left, leaving only logic behind.
Shaking my head, I pull my attention back to the book in my lap, turning a few more pages before my fingertip skims the words on the page.
The greatest treasure, as legend has it, was the Fractured Book of Souls. It’s what the scythes believed in, encouraged, and poured their deepest, darkest secrets into. Many attempts have been made to find it, to understand the minds of the scythes, but no explorer has ever unearthed the treasured tome. A simple riddle offers a clue to where you might find it, but it has never made enough sense to anyone for them to reach it.
Try it yourself.
Only those who drink without thirst may find me.
Where the water meets the shore, the darkness you shall see.
Four elements circle as one.
But in your eyes shall they be gone.
Look deep inside, and the book shall no longer defy.
A chill runs down my spine as I repeat the riddle again and again, but it still doesn’t make any sense. All I know is that if it was important to them, it should be important to me. My chest tightens at the acknowledgment.
Why am I giving so much of myself so instantly to an origin I don’t understand when they abandoned me my whole life?
It’s not the most straightforward question to understand, but it exists in my mind nonetheless. Yet the sense of hope that I might actually truly belong somewhere, even if it’s just me remaining, is something I can’t shake, and I don’t want to.
My stomach chooses that exact moment to grumble. I slam the book shut, repeating the riddle in my mind again to see if I have it locked away, and I grin at myself when I realize I do.
Ready to eat, I stand, slowly stretching out my muscles as I turn on the spot, filling my backpack with the thick books, but before I can hitch the bag over my shoulder, the deafening sound of the lock clicking into place behind me makes me still.
My heart pounds instantly, adrenaline coursing through my veins on instinct, and it all feels completely warranted when I peer over my shoulder to find a figure leaning against the door.
Not just any figure. It’s that of a vampire.
Kael.
My gaze flicks between the man in question and the door he’s blocking, but as my pulse quickens, I’m acutely aware of the fact that it’s not fear affecting me; it’s simply uncertainty.
Regardless, I’m not in the mood for him tonight. I already feel embarrassingly raw from everything I’ve read. I don’t need him knocking my composure even more than it already is.
With that in mind, I straighten my spine as I finally meet his hauntingly handsome green eyes. “Whatever you think this is, Kael, I don’t care.”
“I’m just going to need you to listen to me,” he rasps, his eyes heavy and his hair in disarray. I have to remind myself that it’s not my problem as I fold my arms over my chest.
“I don’tneedto do anything. Now, do us both a favor and move out of the way.” The warning in my tone is clear, but it’s not enough to warrant the distress he emits. It sparkles in his stare, mixed with a sprinkling of anger as his jaw ticks.
“I can’t do that,” he grunts, raking his teeth over his bottom lip as his eyes narrow and his nostrils flare.
There’s an edge to his tone. One that threatens to tie me up in knots despite my best efforts. I can’t cave in to him. I won’t. But if I want him to get out of my way, it looks like I might need to play along for his sake. Or maybe my own curiosity.
“What do you want, Kael?” I breathe, forcing myself to unfold my arms, but they hang awkwardly at my side.
