Page 97 of The Souls Harvest
“Very well.” She stretches her hand out.
I lean forward and take it. “Forgive me if I don’t call it a deal. That word leaves a bitter taste in my mouth every time I say it.”
“Then, it’s a promise.” She winks and, having let go of my hand, spins on her heel, slides her pale blue shawl off her shoulders and heads towards the building.
The grass doesn’t make a sound when she walks away, swingingher strong arms as if she’s marching towards a battlefield. Having met her and her people at night, covered up head to toe in fighting gear, I’d not had the chance to take in the human faces hidden under the black helmets and tons of firearms. But all I see now is a middle-aged woman, barefoot, in bright yellow trousers and a white top. And deep inside my heart, I’m jealous of how carefree she looks.
I wait for Tabitha to disappear inside the kitchen, then stand, crossing my arms over my chest and distractedly brushing my shoulders.
“Would you like to go somewhere else? Somewhere more…private?” Galen asks.
I ignore his question. Let’s start by cementing the foundations. “Kris is the soul that Roden - so desperately - desires to control.”
The tentative smile on his face drops. “I thought you wanted to start fromyourtruth.”
I impatiently tap my foot on the grass. “Given what I’ve been through lately - been lied to, drugged, shocked by an invisible barrier, deprived of my memories multiple times - I’m entitled to decide where to start, what to ask and when you fucking speak.” My voice rises with every word now that Tabitha’s stabilising presence is no longer with us.
As if we never left Libera, I feel free to argue with Galen again, like in the old times.
“How oldareyou? What are you? Wait, are we vampires?” I blurt out, sticking one arm under direct sunlight, but drop it whenmy skin doesn’t start to blister and burn.
Galen tilts his head to the side. “One question at a time, perhaps?”
I nod. “Fine.”
“No, we are not creatures of the night, despite your hate for garlic,” he rubs his hands on his thighs, “And, yes…Kris isdefinitelyyour soul.”
“How many times has he been a ‘Kris’?” I urge, drumming my fingers on my arm.
“Every time. He’s never wanted to change his name. He thinks it will help you remember.”
I flinch but continue, “And…he knows I’m here. The person he should be avoiding at all costs. And, still, he wants me to remember all the times I failed to harvest his soul? That’s stupid and sadistic and…”
Something on Galen’s face, a sudden melancholic smile, silences me.
“All the times youwillinglyfailed to harvest his soul entirely and to deliver it to Roden.”
I let his words sink in. Every single one. Counting them. One by one, they push down my need to run and make a memory of all this. One Roden cannot take from me.
Galen tortures his bottom lip as if fighting to hold something back, while studying me, trying to read the next question in my eyes.
I stretch my hands towards him. A peace offering. But he shiftsback on the bench.
I drop them back by my side, lowering my voice. “I heard you two speaking in your room. Why did you ask him to stay away from me if you know I’ve never hurt him before?”
When he doesn’t answer and keeps chewing at his lips, I rush to him, kneeling before him and searching for his hands. “Please stop doing that. Just answer me. What made you think I’ll act differently this time?”
But I’m left with nothing but my doubts when Galen stands up and puts some distance between us.
He runs both hands through his hair, letting his fingers rest in his curls, his eyes wide as he stares at me in disbelief. “I could explain that to you a hundred times in every language we know. That Roden tricked you, forced your hand over and over. And nothing will change. It has never changed,” - he throws his hands in the air - “For fuck’s sake, Sof, you’ve just discovered that he stole your memories, throwing you into this spiral of chasing and failing, and all you can think of is Kris and his life?”
“I…I..”
Galen’s hands lower into fists at his side as his face slowly softens with sadness. “Exactly that. That’s what you should focus on—you.And yet, all I hear is his name. I’ve been hearing you saying it for ages in your sleep. Dreaming about the many times you let him go and cried in pain while Roden was sending your mind back to oblivion.”
Galen moves so quickly that I don’t have time to back away. Hegrabs my shoulders and lowers his eyes onto mine.
“Please tell me who I am,” I whisper.
