Page 106 of The Souls Harvest
My silly smile doesn’t falter, and I double down with a click of my tongue and by mimicking a gun with two of my fingers, “I’ll make sure he doesn’t kill me before you can have your chance.”
Galen’s eyes widen, and he opens his mouth, but July pusheshim out of the way. “Fine. But if I suspect that you two are out here discussing more secrets…”
She spins on her heel and stalks away, then stops. Her hair shines like dark vinyl under the sun as she tosses it to one side and adds without turning, “What Roden asked of me is cruel and wrong.”
She pauses as if to find the right words, peering over her shoulder. “But I don’t know you. When mine and Galen’s happiness is at stake, everyone can becomemyenemy…”
I clench at the fabric of my shirt, as if struck by an invisible bullet, and she fights back a smile before scoffing and walking away, in time to miss the true pain caused by that bullet as it spreads across my face.
“What were you thinking?” Galen snaps the moment July disappears inside the building.
“I could ask you the same,brotherling. What’s up with the charming voice and the sideways looks? Don’t you think I didn’t notice it?” I stab the space above me with a finger.
Galen shakes his head, grunting. “You don’t understand. And stop calling me that! I’m older than you.”
“Seconds older. ButI’ve dodged death more often. That makes me moreexperienced.Besides…”
He studies my face, his gaze serious, as if sensing the tone of what I’m about to say.
“She’s starting to remember without Tabitha’s help. I’ve heard what she said about the lake. That can only meanoursouls have already recognised each other.” My voice softens
We’re so close I can see the silver specks in Galen’s eye shimmering, his pupils dilating.
His nostrils flare when he says through his teeth, “And you thought it was okay to force her memories to the surface by making a grand appearance?”
A shiver runs down my spine. We’ve been apart before, but this is the first time I have to remember he’s not a stranger. My fingers itch, imploring me to slap that unfamiliar expression off his face. “You’re overstepping,” I warn him.
“You should thank me— ” His voice is so low I can barely hear him.
Galen’s muscles twitch when I stab his chest with my finger. “Don’t pretend you were doing it for me. You told heryoubegged her to let me live. For fuck’s sake, Galen. Why did youlie?” The words are out before I can think.
His jaw clenches so tight I fear it may break as he growls, “You don’t have the right to tell me what to do. Besides, there is a chance she may not listen to anyone this time but herself…”
I can’t hold back a bitter laugh. “Well, her last words surely weren’t what I wanted to hear. Worst case scenario, she’d run away, leaving us all in a giant pile ofOopsandOh, shit!And, if she decides not to help me cure the Reds, I will keep doing it my way. Until my soul runsout…and fuck Roden!”
Galen shakes his head. His hair, falling over his eyes, cannot hide the regret spreading across his face. “Roden promised herfreedom.Our freedom. And, in exchange, he will wipe her mind clean of all we’ve been through together. I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask for things to change. It—happened.”
As if wanting to miss my reaction, he pulls his hair back, turns away from me and stares at the sky. “She will forget me—and I don’t think I’m okay with that…”
The breeze is like a gentle observer. It cradles a smell that belongs to the sea, not an artificial lake, and the sounds of distant seagulls.
“You love her…” My words join the choir of gulls.
Galen’s head drops, and the echo of my words showers over me like an unexpected ice-cold rain on a sizzling day. I don’t need to search for the truth on his face. His body is screaming it. The twitch of his fingers, the slight shaking of his shoulders.
“I should’ve listened to Eve and let the Chapter erase every memory July had of me. They could have picked someone else to train her, to guide her. I could have left that damn island and stayed here with all of you. Working on a plan, fighting with you. Maybe things would have gone differently.”
For how long did he hide this pain?I grab his left shoulder and force him to look at me. His eyes, so different from mine yet equally determined, are full of desperation and rage.
“And then what? Let her become Roden’s perfect cub. Breathing only to fight against us, thebadpeople, with the sole purpose ofcutting open our chests and crushing our souls?”
My words bounce off him. I study his face, the shadow of an old bruise under one eye and a light stubble on his chin. But nothing moves.
“You’ve said it yourself. Things change, and you can only keep living and make the best of what’s to come.” I ruffle his curls.
His lips quirk and he sighs. “I didn’t mean to…But we spent so much time together, and she is so…”
“Addictive?” I smirk. “Yeah, I heard that too and cringed on your behalf.”
