Page 105 of The Souls Harvest
I flash him a smile, poking his arm. “I was,brotherling.And—if it weren’t for my athletic entrance, you two would probably still be trying to resolve the mystery of the Century.” I bow and graciously tip my invisible hat at them. “Moi.”
“I wouldn’t call that athletic. Your hand is bleeding, and your hair is a mess.”
Hervoice strikes me like a perfectly shaped thunder, turning my performance into a rough piece of glass.
“Ouch, your words slash my ego worse than the stones in my skin.” I press a hand to my heart, wincing when the debrisindeedhurts my palm.
After our brief meeting last night, when she was nearly blind due to Mack’s mad genius, I can finally look in the eyes of my beautiful, dangerous destiny.
“I couldn’t be asking for a more perfect end.” I extend my clean hand.
“Are you sure you two are brothers?” July ignores my offer and turns to Galen with such a familiarity I’d throw my brother in Mack’s artificial lake if we were standing closer to it.
“I’m afraid so.”
“And I’m still here trying to salvage what’s left of my reputation.” I wriggle my finger in the air.
“You’ve never had one. Stop being a clown and be grateful youstill have enough breath to annoy me.” Galen smacks me on the head.
But my attention is already somewhere else.
July approaches me with her hands behind her back, and I don’t dare move a muscle. Not even when her face is inches from mine.
Her eyes narrow. “I understand wecouldhelp each other. But yourbloodlinehasn’t struck me as worthy of my trust recently.”
I swallow and take two steps back, cutting Galen a glare. “About that…What happened to ‘let’s wait until July is ready’? You’ve nearly told her everything while I was pretending to be a fat duckling waiting for his mother to come back, and left nothing for me to say in a morecaptivatingway.”
“Ducks don’t nest in trees,” Galen states, crossing his arms.
“And metaphors don’t yield to the mundane rules of logic,” I retort.
He sighs, pinching his nose like I’ve seen him doing every time he’s stressed. Or uncomfortable. But I can’t help but smirk contentedly when July hides a note of amusement, biting her lower lip.
“Let’s just say that our planned arrangements encountered some obstacles.” Galen sounds unbothered, but the quick, meaningful look he shares with July tells me that’s not even a quarter of the story.
“What are you not saying? Spit it out.”
A pair of bare feet appears under my eyes as I brush off soil and grass from my trousers. Her toes wiggle as she clears her throat asif trying to get my attention.As if that’s even necessary…
When I look up, July stands before me, hands on her hips. “Galen loves keeping secrets lately. So, get in the queue, Kris. Although I’m glad to see I’m not the only one fighting to pull threads of truth from his mouth.”
“You say it so perfectly,” I smile like an idiot—and proudly so.
“Pardon me?” She tilts her head.
My name.
I scratch my head, plastering a silly smile on my face. “I mean, describing Galen’s idiotic way of believing cryptic is a synonym for enchanting.”
She pouts, studying me in a way that makes me feel naked. “Right…a bit like those people who use big words to mask their real thoughts.”
I open my mouth. Close it. Reopen it, letting out a sound between a gasp and a yelp.
“Enough, you two,” Galen snaps, coming closer and ignoring me as he halts between July and me.
“Sof, can I have a word with my brother, please?”
She gets on her tiptoes and surveys me from over Galen’s shoulder with her mouth slightly pinched and her hands still on her hips.
