Page 120 of Lethal Souls

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Page 120 of Lethal Souls

The prickles appear, scraping the inside of my head. She already knows where I’m going, and it won’t take long for Willow to figure it out too.

Regardless, I need to be alone right now because if I face or commit another betrayal, I’ll break.

SEVENTY-THREE

WILLOW

Onyx’s hooves clomp through the forest as daylight breaks. I fill my lungs with the scent of damp dirt and leaves.

Korah told me after Caz dealt with Conan, he needed to be alone. I tried tapping in with him right after, but his wall is up.

As much as I wanted to leave Blackwater Manor to find him right away, I kept still. He needed time alone to process, to think, to form new plans.

I like to think all leaders have to take time for themselves to organize their peace.

He’s hurting, and I can feel that—the raw aching in his chest, the burning in his throat to avoid crying. He’s angry too, but this feels like he’s angrier with himself than anyone else.

I tried to give him time, tried to catch some sleep. I got maybe an hour of rest before I woke up again, ready to find him.

I swat a thick bundle of leaves away, glancing at Silvera as she walks along Onyx’s side with a slight limp. As if she senses me looking at her, she turns her eyes up.

“Yeah, I know.” I sigh. “The world is a mess right now.”

She whimpers, facing ahead again.

It doesn’t take long for a familiar cabin to appear. A streak of sunlight is spread across the mossy roof, making it appear like something out of a fairytale. I expect to see a fire burning or to at least smell the remnants of smoke, but there’s nothing.

A heavy panting comes our way along with a blur of black. Cerberus dashes to us with his tongue hanging out and stops in front of Silvera. She sniffs at him as he does her, and I release a steady breath.

Where there’s Cerberus, there’s Caspian.

I hop off Onyx’s back and tie his reins to the nearest tree before taking a winding trail toward the cabin. When I open the door, it’s dark and cold inside. There’s no sign of him here.

I walk back out and round the house. As I do, the scent of bloom runs past my nose. The garden comes into view, bursting with gold Vanorian blossoms and tall grass. Butterflies flutter about before settling on gilded petals.

Just ahead, tucked beneath an overgrown tree, is Caz. His back is to me as he sits on a log, his elbows on his thighs and the bloom I smelled pinched between his thumb and index finger.

“You took your time,” he says as I approach.

“Yeah, well, I figured you needed it.” I swing my leg over the log to straddle it. That’s when I notice the block of silver on the other side of him. Panic swells in my chest.

He steals a glance at me as I stare at the gun, and when he realizes where my head has gone, the skin on his forehead crumples.

“You weren’t about to use that on yourself, were you?”

“No, Willow.” His voice is firm. “I wouldn’t do that to you. Not ever.”

Calm rinses over me as he looks into my eyes, revealing his truth. He pulls from his bloom once more before stamping it out and flicking it away.

With his last exhale of smoke drifting the opposite direction of me, his brows furrow and his shoulders droop.

I reach for his hand and wrap it in mine. “I can feel you, Caz.”

“I know.”

“You’re blaming yourself for something you had to do.”

“Doesn’t make it any less shitty.”




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