I’m done hiding. Done pushing her away.
I want Thea—have since I met her, if I’m being completely honest.
And now I’m going to do everything within my power to save her. Then I’ll prove to her once and for all that I’m deserving of her time and affection.
I won’t let her go.
Not now. Not ever.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
THEA
The cave walls are made of faces, and they’re all screaming at me.
“Murderer.”
“Killer.”
“Reaper.”
“Die.”
“Die.”
“Die.”
I place my hands over my ears in an attempt to block out the cacophony of voices, all blending together until it sounds like a single discordant note.
On the ground before me, snakes slither and hiss, snapping at my heels. I squeak and jump in the air, instinctively reaching for Zaid.
The wraith wraps his arms around me protectively, but he isn’t looking at the snakes…which means they’re not really there.
“Thea. It’s okay. You’re okay.”
His calming voice doesn’t soothe me, however. Not the way it usually does.
I’m not sure anything will at this point.
I nod shakily, my gaze fixing on something over his shoulder.
A monster.
A monster constructed entirely of blood, with elongated fangs and glowing eyes. It advances on me with a lethal gait, malevolent menace twisting up his lips. He extends a clawed hand, the talons sharper than his teeth, and a scream lodges in my throat.
Not real.
Not real.
Not real.
But when he swipes his claws at me, I swear I feel the pain of the assault on my cheek, which begins to throb and ache. Blood wells. Or at least, I think it does. No one else seems to notice the red liquid cascading down my cheek.
“You killed me.”
“You’re a monster.”
“Die, reaper. Die.”
