Page 142 of Heir of Broken Souls

It isn’t until everyone has left Harlow’s room, leaving us alone, do I turn to her, sitting on the bed as I take in her exhausted form. Even though I didn’t lose nearly my entire bodyweight in blood, I fear I don’t look much better than her.

“Come to braid my hair, have we?”

I can’t help but snort. “You wish.”

She grimaces slightly. “Considering the red streaks are now actually just blood, I wouldn’t turn it down.”

Before Harlow can protest, I walk to her ensuite, gathering a bowl along with shampoo and a towel. She doesn’t say anything as I return. Nor does she let out a peep as I instruct her to lean forward.

With a simple click of my fingers, the bowl fills with hot steaming water that I dip a cloth into and begin to wet Harlow’s hair.

I know I could also snap my fingers and make it go away. Harlow knows it too but something passes between us, a keen understanding, and I just know she wants nothing more than for this blood to be scrubbed from her.

Cleaning with magic still allows the lingering dirt to fester, and I don’t think Harlow wants a single reminder of the moment she almost died.

It’s quiet for a long time, with just the sounds of the water and the brush I run through her hair. Her body has grown languid with every stroke, with every gentle caress. I’ve never seen her so relaxed and unguarded before.

That is until I clear my throat and ask, “What happened between you and Lenox?”

Her body stiffens, her shoulders hiking up to her ears as her fists clench at her sides before she visibly forces her body to relax. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t play coy. You almost died the other day, Harlow, and whatever has been festering between the two of you needs to put it to rest in case?—”

“In case one of us dies?” she says for me.

I pause for a moment, not realizing thatwasabout to come out of my mouth.

Sighing loudly, I slump back, pausing the movements of the brush. “What was so bad that has you both hating each other?”

She spins to face me so suddenly I straighten. “We don’t hate each other,” she sneers.

“You might not.”

It was callous and cold and as her eyes widen, I regret the words immediately. But exhaustion does this to people. It loosens lips. Yet she doesn’t scream or rage at me. In fact, if anything, sadness blooms in her eyes.

I’m about to apologize and beg for her forgiveness but Harlow whispers so softly, I almost don’t hear it. “I did something that he can’t forgive me for.”

It takes me a moment to respond, to get past my shock. “What do you mean? What did you do?”

She swallows thickly. “The night Ace died…”

Something within me hardens, preparing myself for the worst case possible.

“Lenox had a feeling something was wrong. When we went off to search for him by ourselves, he was adamant and wouldn’t shut up about it. He kept yammering on and on about how we were going in the wrong direction.” She shrugs, but I know she’s not as aloof as the movement suggests. “I thought he was being preposterous. There was no way he could’ve known where to go, and I didn’t want all of us searching in the one spot.”

“I don’t think that’s bad, Harlow. That’s part of your training, to cover all ground.”

“But he wasright, Delilah,” she whispers. “Something was wrong. We were going the wrong direction the whole time, and I was teasing and poking him to lighten the mood…”

“Harlow, you couldn’t have known.” I choke on my words, realizing Knox said the same thing to me just a couple days ago when I was drowning in my own guilt.

“But Lenoxdid,” she emphasizes. “He knew all along, and all I did was diminish his feelings. Then Ace died.” A sheen of tears covers her eyes. “He hasn’t looked at me the same since because he thinks he could have saved Ace, and he’s probably right. If we had arrived sooner, then we could have helped. We could have come down and stopped him.”

She begins to cry in earnest.

“There was time, Delilah. There was so much time and all I did was tell him to shut up and keep flying.” She hiccups around a sob and loses it completely. “We could have saved Ace. Lenox could have saved Ace, and I stopped him.” She wipes a tear away. “When he looks at me now, all he sees is the woman that stopped him from saving his friend, and nothing I have done has been able to change that.”

Harlow’s shoulders shake in earnest as the crying overtakes her.