Page 124 of The Souls Harvest
When the moment has passed, all that’s left is silence andus.
“Roden found me, every single time. When all this started, I tried running away, creating a new identity, and hiding in the most remote part of Horigos. He could sense me wherever I went, but somehow he was only able to hurt me for a while, to send his power straight into my soul like a sword until I’d bled for days from this wound in my chest. But he never managed to kill me.”
“That must have been daunting; waking up every day not knowing if Roden would try again or leave you be.” I study his profile, the slight twitch of his eyebrows.
He nods, leaning back on his hands, swaying left and right. “For some time, I managed to build a normal life in the northernmost part of The Mother, among the rebels. And Roden did stay away from me for a while; I thought he had given up. I knew who he was, my adoptive father told me, but I didn’t know why he loved to make me suffer so much. That was probably the question I kept asking myself: what did I do wrong to deserve this?”
As he tells me his story, probably one I’ve heard many times and forgotten about, I can’t stop thinking about how at ease he seems around me despite our many pasts.
He gathers one leg to his chest, resting his chin on his knee and smiling at me sideways. “I lived a boring, unflavoured life for a while. Until, one day, thiswonderfulwoman showed up in my life, trying to end it and failing—every time. The worst part was that shewould always come back, and repeat the same action without remembering my face, the sound of my voice, or the addictive effect her smile had on me…”
A wince, my lips twitching. As if all my thoughts have suddenly appeared in capital letters on my face, he tilts his head, narrowing his eyes.
“Am I sharing too much? I thought that might help with your memories,” he says as he reaches out with his right hand and stops mere inches from my fingertips.
“I know that’s not true,” I blurt out to cut the awkward silence.
“Oh…” He averts his gaze. The moonlight, bumping off the lake, casts a silver sheen over his face.
I crawl closer to him, fearing my confession will travel too far should I speak too loudly. “I know what’s in the caves. I know whatwehave done and kept a secret from the others. The only thing I still don’t understand iswhy? If we share it with Tabitha, she may help us find a way out. Because I don’t want to take any more of your soul…I can’t.”
His hand finally finds mine, and I forget how to breathe when his eyes bore into mine.
“What about all those souls we could save together? Do we abandon them to findourhappiness?” His voice drops, echoing inhis chest and melting mine.
“What? No, I didn’t mean to abandon everyone and forget about what Roden did to us…”
He arches a brow, pivoting to face me fully. “What do you want to do with your life, July Sofia Crimson? With your power?”
“Oh…” It’s all I can say. I really want to tell him I hate that name, even if I don’t know why, but it sounds right when he says it.
A little smile blooms on his lips, and I hope it’s not because of my puzzled expression.
Realising I’ve been on all fours for too long, staring at Kris like an idiot, I sit back. “I want to make it count, but I don’t want to hurt you again.” I swing my focus from the dark waters before me to the tall walls running around the building.
In the corner of my eye, Kris moves closer to me, his breath warm on my cheek as he whispers, “What hurts me the most is knowing that Roden made you forget aboutus—”
I gasp, and the grass to my left swishes. A solitary frog jumps at my feet, dangerously close to the lake. I instinctively lunge forward to grab it, but Kris’ hand is on mine before I can save the little creature.
“What are you doing? I’m not really keen to see a living creature bursting into dust like that pebble earlier.” I glare at him, surprised by his lack of compassion.
He is smiling. He’s about to let that frog die, and he’s freaking smiling while the little red creature leaps towards the water trap.
“Just wait. Before you go chasing it, how many red, furry frogshave you seen before?” His hand gently pinning mine down.
“None but that’s not the point. Would you let me save it if it were bright yellow?” I frown.
He purses his lips, averting his eyes to look everywhere but at me.
“And you are about to laugh at me because…?” I cock my head.
With a single, high croak as if to catch our attention, the frog inflates its throat, swipes its webbed feet across its eyes, and jumps, spreading its limbs in the air, gliding over the lake.
I blink and rub my eyes like a giant, human frog.
“Forget about red frogs, have you ever seen one doingthat?” Kris slowly releases my hand when he’s sure I will not run after the animal.
I quickly stand up to follow the creature's journey as it lifts higher, no longer gliding but flying, until it is so far that I can barely distinguish its little feet flapping like wings.
