I want him to see my sincerity, to know that he owns me, heart, body, and soul.
An expression I would almost describe as giddy lights up Everett’s face. He shifts us slightly so I’m nestled in the crook of his arm, my back against the couch. He absently strokes my bare skin.
“The others are going to be here soon,” he tells me, though he makes no room to move or get up.
I grin up at him. “Are you suggesting we turn this two-way into a five-way?”
I have the great pleasure of seeing red creep into his cheeks as he sputters and coughs. When I laugh, he playfully snarls.
“Brat.” He swats at my ass, and I giggle, attempting to arch away.
“You act like that’s a bad thing, but you know you love it,” I tease, smiling up at him.
And then my smile fades as I’m wracked by pain so intense that my breath leaves me.
“Thea?” Everett’s eyes instantly shadow with concern, and he shifts us so we’re both sitting upright. “Baby? What’s going on?”
“No…No…No,” I whisper as my chest seems to crack down the middle, my internal organs rearranging themselves.
Behind Everett, the walls begin to drip steadily, blood raining down. A shadowy monster materializes from around the corner, grinning malevolently.
“Thea! Answer me! What’s happening?” Everett’s eyes are frantic as they search my own.
But I can’t speak past the pain twisting up my insides.
The bandage Athena put on me… It broke.
It finally snapped, just like she said it would. I don’t know if it’s because of the excess of souls on earth or something else, but I know that this is it. I can feel it in my bones.
The end.
“Everett.” Tears cascade down my cheeks as I stare into his ruggedly handsome face, knowing it will be the last time I’ll ever see it. “I love you. I love the others. Tell them.”
His eyes widen. “Thea, no. Please?—”
But before he can finish his sentence, I’m yanked away.
I must black out for a second, because when I reopen my eyes, I’m no longer with Everett in the safe house.
I’m back in my little room, with the dagger of souls clenched tightly in my hand.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
THEA
I’m…back.
In my bedroom.
My prison.
My personal hell.
However you want to look at it.
I’m back, and the voices are screaming at me, and the walls are oozing tar, and shadowy monsters are crawling towards me, and a frog is hopping on my easel. At least I’m dressed, though I have no idea how that happened. Better than being butt-ass naked, though.
And there, directly in front of me, is the pedestal that will end this all. The madness. The hallucinations. The incessant voices. The pain.
