Page 104 of Speak No Claim

With me.

I slightly nodded.

For the first time in my life, I felt like I had someone on my side other than Deja. In eight words, Caspian Hawthorne proved his alliance to me, and now I owed him one. It was how our world worked: favor for a favor, eye for an eye. I’d be in his debt now, and he knew that, but that wasn’t his intention.

He was sacrificing his life to save her too, and I’d never forget that.

“Go, now,” he clenched out.

I didn’t have to be told twice. Once the council was out of sight, I backed away slowly, trying as best as I could to go unnoticed, knowing it was probably useless, but having to give it a shot regardless.

Out of nowhere, she turned around and locked eyes with me from across the distance of maybe a hundred yards.

Tonight, she wasn’t getting away from me.

Because I was hunting…

* * *

Her.

Chapter

Thirty-Three

Hennessy: The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much and forgetting that you are special too.

Question after question tore through my mind at a rapid pace. One wouldn’t end before the next one began. My eyes fluttered for a moment, or maybe they were closed. Even in the pitch black, someone had caught me there. I couldn’t tell you how I found this place. I was out in the woods, studying in a tree, still in my uniform from school.

I wanted to be alone, afraid that Onyx would find me, and I’d have to face him. I wasn’t ready yet. I’d been avoiding him everywhere I could, spending most of my free time in this forest. It’d become my home. I heard the chimes of an old clock, not understanding why I’d even hear that sound out there.

One impulse led to the next, and then I was being steered to what my eyes weren’t prepared to see. I heard enough, especially when Onyx’s voice was among them. I lost sight of him pretty quickly. All the brothers looked the same. What I assumed was the council had more detail to their cloaks. Their masks were bigger and more avant-garde too.

They were lavish, designed to appear distinguished. It must’ve been an honor to be dressed in one of their attires, but to me it felt like a prison. It was definitely a cult, one run by blood and oath, which makes complete sense of why they chose that title.

I considered running, but before I could exit, someone caught me. I didn’t know which would be worse, Onyx or a stranger…

They were all standing there under the moon, chanting their oath to Satan, or at least it felt that way. Something had guided me there. Everything always happened for a reason. Maybe it was time to face the truth. Whether I was willing or not, it still somehow found me. Maybe that was the plan all along: stay silent until they couldn’t anymore.

It was like my feet were moving on their own accord, one right after the other. Before I knew what I was doing, I was standing there watching what appeared to be a blood oath ritual, similar to what happened to me, but they weren’t mixing their blood. At least not yet.

Now, my senses of sound and smell were heightened. I could barely see what was happening, but somehow, someone still found me, and I quickly freaked the fuck out internally.

I didn’t say a word or make a peep. I hadn’t even moved yet. Too scared of what would happen if I did. I couldn’t fathom how they knew I was there. I hardly realized where I was.

Before I could finish that thought, the night’s disturbing events came crashing down on me like the stack of stones they were bleeding on.

My heart pounded against my chest, my mind reeling with thoughts of why I was there, and what they were going to do with me. I wanted to look around, but I couldn’t will myself to look away from them. If I peered around, it’d make it too real.

My subconscious was protecting me from the reality, from the truth glaring back at me. Our gazes were still locked, with my emotions running wild inside me. Every last fiber of my being screamed at me to run, hide, fully aware it was going to be impossible to.

My head flew to the night where someone chased me through the woods and then did a ritual with our blood. Questions tore apart my brain, but I knew I wouldn’t get any answers.

However, it didn’t stop me from wanting to know them anyway.

Not being able to find my own voice, the feelings stirring through me were crippling me in ways I never thought possible. There was no holding back anymore.

I exploded, bursting into hysterics through my body, and it began to shake blazingly. I was battling the inevitable of losing this unexpected war I found myself in. I thought about the life I still wanted to live and the future I deserved to have with all the people I wouldn’t get to see again or say goodbye to.