Page 139 of The Souls Harvest
He pats my back, breaking our embrace. “If anything, I’ll come back alive thanks to them.” His gaze flutters towards July for a second. I can’t begin to imagine how heavy his heart feels.
Forcing a smile, I ruffle his hair. “Don’t miss me too much…”
Because I will.
In response, Galen flicks my nose and bows. “I’ll never deprive you of my wonderful presence.”
Someone behind us clears his throat. “I know I can trust you…” Kris approaches us, his eyes struggling to settle on his brother’s face, but speaking volumes of what’s in his mind.Keep her safe.
July. The last person he has to say goodbye to. The hardest goodbye. The one we don’t have the right to witness.
“I’ll be by the lake,” I quickly inform everyone. I can’t hug Tabitha; that’ll destroy every last particle of stability I have in me. We have too many things to say to each other.
She knows, as she briefly nods at me.
And as I scurry away, I hear Lily, Nik and Galen bidding Tabitha and Kris farewell, followed by Tabitha’s hushed last words to Julyand Kris, as she struggles to find the most delicate way to expedite their separation. “I’ll give you ten minutes. There are too many liveson the line…”
Chapter 50 - Awake
July
Iloved him.
The echo of what we could have been sings in my mind, leaving space for nothing else as I run up the stairs with the others.
In the minutes following another invisible blow from Roden, we steal painful hugs and goodbyes, tears and promises.
Galen is the last to go, his face a carousel of masks: pain, disbelief and longing for something he was forced to believe true.
Until there’s justus.
Reality washes over me like a winter’s first, timid snowfall that grows confident by the second, slicing my heart with its cruel, sharp flakes.
I inhale through my teeth, blinking away a veil of confusion and denial.
“If Roden takes me back, I don’t think he’ll let me return to you this time.” I hate the weakness in my voice.
Kris gently tilts my chin up, imploring me to look at him.
“This time,Iwill find you. I’m not going anywhere, July…” His voice is soft like his lips on my forehead. “And we will make him pay.”
I search for a speck of doubt in his bright green eyes and find none.
I take his hand in mine, studying the thin lines on his palm and running a finger across his skin as he observes me in silence. His breath is warm on my cheek when he lowers his head to follow my moves.
I sigh, kissing his fingertips one by one before pressing his hand over my heart. “I will harvest Roden’s rotten soul with my bare hands to take back the happiness he denied us all these years. I will do it one kernel at a time while he watches his daughter slowly taking his life. I want him to witness the monster he created…”
My heart races beneath his hand. When our eyes meet again, a fire is burning behind Kris’, his chest expanding with his every deep breath.
“If vengeance is what you seek, I’ll stand by you. Always. We can be Roden’s downfall, until it’s time to reclaim our peace.”He bites his lips, pushing back the same need I struggle to ignore.
My hands travel up his forearms, and I grab him by the shoulders, gently pushing him against the wall but leaving him no room to protest.
Before someone sees us, before Roden breaks us apart again. Before we remember that there is a war out there. Before any dark thoughts can stop me—our mouths crush.
I forget to breathe, treasuring every second I have left to learn the shape of his strong back— again; his muscles twitching andtensing every time my nails dig in. My lips slowly remember how to move best to savour his, until my body shivers with pleasure when he decides to abandon my mouth and gift my neck with light touches of his lips.
When his teeth find the more sensitive spot below my ear, I squeak, gaining a guttural laugh from his end.
