Page 107 of The Souls Harvest
“I’m sorry.”
One moment, I’m talking to my brother, the man he’s become. And the next, I see him running in the field, chasing after me, during one of his secret visits to Horigos, with Eve always by his side.
And a man who’s just stabbed my heart and made a poultice of it. But, as much as I’d love to stuff that poultice down his throat, I can’t blame him and pretend this is just about two brothers sharing the same refined taste for intelligent, dangerously powerful women.
“Look, you did nothing wrong. But stop manipulating her mind like you’ve done earlier on. Sof’s past is a pool of faces floating underwater, and if any of us forces them up…We could lose her for good.”
His eyes narrow, and something flashes behind them - distant - and for a second, I feel like I’m just a filthy Herionos standing with no chance against a righteous Harvester.
“For your information, she hates that name now. I’m the only one using it without being slapped or punched.” He huffs a laugh.
I drop my hand, straightening my spine. “The July I know would never use violence for such a silly reason.”
“If there’s something good the Chapter taught me, it is that souls are like water. They are fluid and adapt easily to challenging circumstances. She said she may help you—but she’s still Roden’s offspring. And she hates that more than she may love me—or anyone else.”
I open my mouth to reply, but he holds up his hand. “I can no longer tell her true nature. Neither can you. July…Sofia…she could be holding something inside her soul that she cannot even remember yet.”
The wind whistles, carrying the noise of a door opening, a child’s laugh and indistinct voices.
I take a big breath, weighing my words carefully. “I’ve never lost sight of my role. I suggest you do the same. I fear you’ve spent too much time with Roden Breith recently; if I didn’t know it differently, I’d think you're starting to sound like him…” I blow harshly on his face.
His cheek brushes mine when he whispers in my ear, “And look where you are now. Trapped in a loop because of our mother’s sweet promise. She might have led you to believe you’re the chosen soul destined to end this war. But she’s gone. Dead. Rotting somewhere in the deep waters between Horigos and Libera…”
I grit my teeth, tilting my head. “Where is this hatred comingfrom?”
In my peripheral vision, I see him closing his eyes, biting his lip—fighting back whatever is bubbling up from his darkest core. “Do you really think you’re the one who suffered the most because of her choice? You had a carefree childhood thanks to Tabitha. But I needed to grow sharper teeth and poisonous nails to stay afloat, breathing Roden’s same air, knowing what he did to our family.”
The blood in my head thrums hot. I grab the back of his neck, pulling him against my chest. “You’re speaking of mother almost as if she deserved it…”
“She had a choice and decided it was better for me to live among lies. I could only fit in or end up like you—a nobody. A vessel with acursedsoul,” he barks.
“Her sacrifice saved both our lives!” I can feel my face turning red, the air burning in my lungs.
I let go of his neck and shove him away. His face is contorted with rage, his hair a messy drape over his forehead, those eyes I always envied when I was little scowling at me.
“Roden has poisoned your blood. Is Evelyn even aware of the person you’ve become? This game has been going on for too long for you. You’re confused, and your feelings for July—”
The impact of his fist in my stomach is power and rage and pain and sorrow. So strong, I stumble backwards, losing my footing as a metallic taste fills my mouth.
I wipe off the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand. “If you wish to tame your confusion with a fight, you’ve picked thewrong person, brother. That’d be too easy.”
“Stop pretending you know who I am. We’re not the same,” Galen pants as if we indeed just fought.
I sneer. “Maybe not. But we both enjoy her laugh and can’t stand her absence.”
I wait for another punch to hit me right in the face, but Galen remains still, if not for a quivering muscle in his jaw.
I limp forward, massaging my stomach, and with the most friendly smile I can manage, I say, “We have more pressing priorities to worry about. A war, for example? Since the last time you were here, things have gotten more…explosive. The Reds have grown in numbers, and we’re struggling to keep them away from our borders. People in the southern villages are terrified. They’re seeking refuge in Brenath by the hundreds each week, because Cleryce is registering too many episodes of wild souls acting feral. They’re losing hope in our ability to keep them safe; we don’t know how long it would take for Roden to turn them against us.”
A crack starts showing in Galen’s brooding glare as he quickly blinks twice. AndIthought I was the most dramatic of the two.
“The southern villages? I thought we managed to confine the Reds north of Cleryce?” he presses. Every bitter accusation against our mother quickly forgotten. Or momentarily set aside.
“Someone from Horigos is helping Roden—conservative Herionos, fed with their ancestors’ hate for Harvesters. They despise Roden, but he’s also the source of the same power that could turn their voice of discontent into a legalised and approvedcreed. One that could break our legs in a matter of days.”
He shakes his head. “How can you be sure?”
“Lily and Nik captured a couple of them. They pretended to be on our side, joined the New Heraand even took down some bad seeds. But a few weeks ago, they crossed The Mother’s mountain range, heading to Corlea. Lily and Nik followed them and discovered a nest of hot-headed, old-school Herionos camping on the borders, waiting forsomeoneto give them safe passage across the bridge to head south without being intercepted by Tabitha.” I pause, studying his reaction.
