Page 135 of The Souls Harvest
“He’s going to die,” Mack voices our fears. “I could lower the voltage; he will probably pass out for a few hours.”
“Do that and you’ll doom us all.”
“But, Lily, he won’t stop until the fences are down, and I promise you, it will take twice the number of Harvesters out there to slightly damage the barrier.”
“She’s right, this is what Roden wants. He’s counting on us not letting people get hurt. What he doesn’t understand is that he’s buying us time.” Tabitha takes a big breath, splaying her fingers over the control panel while, on the monitor, the Harvester nods atRoden and hurls himself against the invisible fence.
The impact releases so much electricity that all the monitors go black for a few seconds, leaving us in complete darkness if not for the light still pouring in from the door.
I blink to adjust my view and pull July into my arms without thinking. The idea of being separated from her once again hurts more than ever. She won’t forget me this time, but I can’t ignore what Tabitha said about the danger of having our souls - in their entirety - under the same roof. July’s delicate hands desperately cling onto my shirt, and she presses her cheek against my chest. I dip my fingers in her hair, brushing her head with my lips and inhaling her scent. A moment stolen from the darkness. A memory we’ll both carry and protect as if our last.
“What happened?” Lucretia whispers.
“Give me some space,” Mack demands.
I’ve never heard him so alarmed, as he shoves us away and starts fidgeting with the panel’s many switches and buttons.
We break our embrace, but don’t stop holding each other’s hands.
“The impact was so harsh that it has activated my second-level defence protocol.”
“Meaning?” Lily asks, surprisingly calm.
Mack turns to face us all, his head dipped, eyes fixed on his fingers as he nervously twists them. “That either we abandon the building within the next hour, or remain stuck here for days. I’ve programmed a stronger security response, but I thought we wouldnever have to use it.”
“Well, that wasn’t our plan anyway.” Nik intervenes, approaching Mack and landing a hand on his shoulder. “Can you turn the screens back up? Before venturing out there, we need to know what the rest of the perimeter looks like.”
“It’ll probably take me a few minutes. This has never happened before—”
“Great! I’ll gatherallthe weapons I can find and gear up,” Merya exclaims, already on her way to the door.
“You are not going anywhere,” Tabitha grabs her by her right arm. “I need you to visit Brenath and all the villages still on our side. Our resources in The Mother won’t be enough if what we’ve witnessed today is only a small part of Roden’s army. He’s been preparing for a very long time…And I need you to keep Sable safe. She’s in the tunnels now…”
Merya shakes her arm free, curling her hands into fists at her sides. “You can’t be serious. I’m one of your best fighters.”
“Exactly, and one I can trust to be my voice and my eyes while I try to delay Roden for as long as possible.”
“I’m not a diplomat,” Merya’s voice quivers.
Tabitha crosses her arms, nodding towards me, then Mack. “That’s why you’re taking them with you.”
July lets go of my hand to move closer to Tabs and Merya as my fingers close around a dreadful void that chills my blood.
“I can take care of myself. Send Lucretia and Galen to The Mother. But, please, don’t take him away from me again—” Shebites her words, her eyes widen when she glances at Galen, who’s come back to his senses and is slowly pushing himself up using a wall.
Her plea pierces my heart. But it hurts even more seeing my brother pretending his heart is not shattered into pieces, as he averts his gaze to look at his bloody bandage.
“I’m sorry, July. Sometimes, we need to do what’s best for the many. Your soul will heal…” Tabitha mutters.
“You don’t understand. I need—” July lunges forward, her voice breaking.
Tabitha moves aside to avoid July’s desperation. The room freezes, full of her cry as her hands grab only air, and she drops onto her knees, her back shaking with each violent sob.
I survey the room, locking eyes with Galen. He immediately reads my worry, then nods at Nik. They move in unison and gingerly help July up, holding her still should she try again to hit Tabs again.
My heart aches with the need to run to her and hold her in my arms, but if I get close enough to her dark hair, to smell her skin, I will never be able to let her go again.
“Tell them this is not right. We’ll find another way…” July starts kicking and jerking her head back, searching for me.
