Page 113 of The Souls Harvest
In sullen silence, we all take a seat at the table.
Except for Merya, who, for everyone’s sake, has decided to brood by the kitchen sink with her hands in her pockets—away from knives, forks, and anything she may throw.
“I can see the dislike for scissors and haircuts runs in the family,” July welcomes me, leaning sideways when I drop into the chair beside her, bobbing her chin towards my brother first, then me.
I rest my chin in my hand, narrowing my eyes at Galen when his head pops up from behind July, giggling.
“Wipe that smirk off your face. I bet you let her style your locks because that’s the only way to have her hands on you—”
Galen freezes and rolls his eyes, mouthing something I can’t understand.
July’s face enters my view. Her unmistakable Harvester eyes study me, one eyebrow arched with unspoken questions.
“That came out wrong, I’m sorry, I…” I mumble.
It doesn’t matter how long Roden keeps us apart. Every time she comes back, it’s hard to stay still and pretend that I don’t know what makes her laugh with tears, how being by the water makes her feel at peace, or the feeling of her fingers through my hair. I will always know—but she will always forget the way my eyes smilewhen she does all these things.
But I’m still a stranger to her, and I’ve just acted like a total idiot, probably embarrassing her in front of the others.Please, just slap me,I pray, hoping she reads my mind and takes me out of my misery instead of staring at me.
“Skilled hands that will do their best to stay away from you. Unless I decide to use them otherwise.” Turns out, words can hurt more than a slap.
“At my full potential—” she continues, drawing her attention to her fingernails. “On your soul.”
My jaw drops.
Deigning me a quick smirk, she leans back in her chair, letting Galen fully back into my view. His profile is the perfect picture of indifference, even if I know he’s gloating inside.
The opposite of Merya, who, still standing by the sink, tries to swallow down laughter with water.
A knock on the door is a welcome distraction. Mack exhales loudly from his spot, and I throw a quick nod in his direction to make sure he’s calmed down. But also to stop thinking about how close I am to July when her left thigh brushes against my restless leg.
“Come in,” Tabs says hastily. But her features relax when Jyn’s head appears through the door.
“Can someone give me a hand, please?” he asks, gingerly shouldering the door open wider, a pile of rolled papers stuck in his arms, swinging dangerously.
Mack and July rush to help him, racing to grab as many rolls as possible.
“Thanks, kids,” Jyn laughs, holding his belly with one hand and blotting the sweat off his forehead with the hem of his brown linen shirt.
“What’s all this?” Merya asks, stretching her arms up like a cat that’s just woken up, sauntering towards Mack and July, her initial discontent seemingly forgotten.
“Have a look for yourself,” Tabitha gestures to July to hand her over the scrolls.
Having picked the longest, she undoes the piece of string tied around the paper, unfolds it and invites us to gather closer.
A partial yet well-detailed map of Horigos appears beneath our eyes.
“Hey!” Merya complains as her brother forces his way between her and Tabitha.
“I don’t remember drawing this one.” Mack leans forward and scratches his head, tapping a finger on a white square in the lower-left corner of the map. “Our base is too small. And where is my lake?”
The version of a hurt and disappointed Mack, already tucked away in the past.
“Your lake? Youcreatedthat?” July comments over Mack’s shoulders, balancing on her tiptoes and using his right arm as a support while they bend over the map to exchange quick words with a rediscovered familiarity I cannot ignore.
Merya and I lock eyes, sharing a brief smile. She plops her right thigh on the only spot on the table not occupied by the huge map and, dangling her leg, crosses her arms over her chest.
“You can spend hours asking whether Mack is behind this or that contraption. He has built ninety percent of this building. Here’s the quickest answer,” Merya says, encompassing the whole map with a swipe of her hand.
