Page 65 of In Your Light

Hendrix pulled Dylan close so he was wedged safely between himself and Kellan. “Salem knew as soon as he heard the birdcall. I’ve never seen him so scared,” Hendrix said.

Fray nodded. “I’ve never seen anyone that scared.”

“He was petrified for his babies,” Beau said.

“What the hell is he?” Hudson asked. “Did you see his shadows?”

“Did you see him?” Hendrix asked. “His body was made of shadows. That was freaky shit right there.”

“Fyn defended him,” Sawyer murmured. He looked at all the faces watching him. Then he whispered sadly, “I think he’s in love with him.”

“And he’s a friend of Cern’s,” Dylan added. “So what does that make him? Is Hadeom a god too?”

“The god of what?” Beau asked.

Sawyer wasn’t sure he wanted an answer to that.

“I saw into his mind once,” Tobin said. “It was hard to explain. Vast and old. I don’t even know how to describe it.”

“You said he wasn’t human,” Sawyer remembered.

“Definitely not,” Tobin said.

Sawyer’s gaze went to Kellan.

“Speculation won’t get us anywhere,” Kellan said gently. “What do we know about him?”

“I know he’s my boss,” Sawyer said. “Or he was. Well, I think he was. I’m not even convinced I was hired by the police department to come here. I think it was Hadeom, somehow. Like he has some power-reach or something. I don’t even know.”

“We know he’s been unwell, staying at the hut to rest and recover,” Ciaran said. “That’s what Cern told Fyn.”

“Fyn said it was as though his soul was tired,” Sawyer said. “Not that that’s any excuse. If he killed Salem’s mother, I think it’s safe to assume Salem won’t want Hadeom staying in Tenebrae. But then if Hadeom goes, what about Fyn?”

“Fyn took Hadeom to his place,” Fray said. “We saw them go inside, but we didn’t follow.”

Ciaran sighed. “I’ll talk to Fyn, but I need to speak to Salem first,” he said. “Before I make any decisions. And I think we can all agree it will be Salem’s decision if Hadeom can stay here.”

Everyone nodded their agreement.

Ciaran’s eyes met Sawyer’s. “And then we’ll speak to Hadeom.”

Sawyer nodded. “Yeah.”

“I’ll go tell Salem and Aurin it’s okay to come up,” Ciaran added. “Though, when he finds out Hadeom’s still here, he might not want to surface. Especially with the babies.”

“Okay,” Sawyer said. “I’ll wait until you get back, and we’ll go see Fyn and Hadeom together.”

Ciaran leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Sawyer’s lips. “Maybe you should start on your apology email.”

“Apology? Who the hell am I apologising to? If you think I’m apologising to Lord Fuckward Bickell...”

Fray laughed. “Yeah. Sawyer’s idea of an apology is ‘To whom it may concern. Please take my sincerest apology, fold it twice, and fucking shove it’.”

“Sounds about right,” Ciaran said with a laugh as he walked out. He paused at the door and gave Sawyer a smirk. “I won’t be long. Please don’t poke any hornets’ nests while I’m gone.”

Sawyer sighed long and loud. He wished like hell that he could go with Ciaran down to the bottom of the cove to see Aurin and Salem, but there was little point in dwelling on the impossible.

He couldn’t get that asshole Bickell, or the idea of some mega-mining corporation moving in, out of his mind.