Page 250 of Psycho Gods

John mumbled something in his sleep. His hand squeezed my forearm tight, like he was afraid I’d push him away.

Luka’s fingers were tangled in her curls.

Orion and Scorpius shifted in their sleep, so they were draped across me as they reached for Arabella.

My flame burned hot in the center of all of us.

Sadness for what my Revered had been through transformed into determination.

Arabella would be protected and loved by all of us. I’d spend every second of the rest of my immortal life proving her mother wrong.

It was the very least she deserved.

Chapter 49

Luka

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

Pauciloquy (noun): brevity in speech.

DAY 30, HOUR 23

John and Aran twitched beside me.

Distantly, I felt the pain of a knife carving a word into my spine. The agony was muted because my mind was elsewhere.

The only thing I could focus on was the feeling of damp curls wrapped around my fingers and John’s back pressed against my front.

I was touching the two people in the world who meant everything to me.

The pain across my spine should have been overwhelming, but I kept forgetting to feel it. My mind was too overwhelmed with obsession.

My skin buzzed with contentment because the two people I was dependent on were in my arms.

All of us were together, so everything would be okay.

They were my everything.

Physical pain didn’t matter because I was touching them.

I was so grateful to be holding them that a tear trailed across my cheek. Love filled my chest.

Every night that I got to sleep beside them was perfect.

I only wished they weren’t also experiencing the agony. I wished I could take the pain away from them. I’d bear anything for them. They owned my heart and soul.

Chapter 50

Aran

DISAPPEARING MEN

Pantaphobia (noun): total absence of fear.

DAY 31, HOUR 10

I woke up alone on a mattress pad in the middle of the floor, with a pile of ice-covered blankets covering me. The pillows were coated in frost.