Page 8 of Heir of Broken Souls

Knox pauses. “Peter?”

“No, the treehouse. It hasn’t been my treehouse in a very long time, and that bastard thinks his presence there will hurt me again. I want it gone, wiped away from existence.” My teeth ache from how hard I grit my teeth. “I want him to perish.”

“You ready to finally make your play?” Knox asks.

“It’s about damn time we stopped playing defense.”

Knox’s arms tighten around my waist, his lips brushing the shell of my ear as he says softly, “There will come a day, Delilah, when you will spill his blood. A day where you will take what is rightfully yours, and in the process destroy all he has ever cherished.” He kisses the side of my neck, eliciting goosebumps. “We just have to keep going.”

Just keep going.

It’s the motto we murmur every day to one another, in the moments where grief threatens to steal our hearts and sink our souls, when the memories of our loved ones try to drown us, when the sun feels as if it’s never going to set.

But a new day always comes, and with it, a small kernel of hope.

We just have to keep going.

“As one?” I ask.

“As one,” he vows.

The bond tightens between us, simmering with an emotion I haven’t dared to say aloud. One that I feel every time I look into Knox’s eyes. One with three words, three syllables, and eight letters…but gets trapped in my throat every time.

It’s simple, really. Everyone I sayI love youto dies. And the one thing I could never bear is losing Knox.

I’d rather die along with him.

A low rumble permeates the air. A moment later, Aurora’s responding cry has my back straightening and Knox’s body stiffening.

“Zephlyn must be home.”

Knox’s estate looms along the horizon, making my heart sink and my stomach bottom out. It used to be a joyous sight, one that felt welcoming as it urged you inside with its promise of laughter and light. Now it’s nothing more than rooms and halls that contain haunting memories.

As we approach, my gaze lands on the large white creature, stalking the lands of Knox’s estate. Aurora must have felt his closeness, their mating bond singing at finally being reunited.

But by the griffin’s slumped form, misery isn’t far behind.

The moment Knox and I slide off Aurora’s back she’s running, pouncing on Zephlyn with a deep purr of relief. A flurry of love trickles down the bond between her and me. I firmly shut the door to our connection as the griffins brush against each other’s manes and disappear into the barn.

Beside me, Knox is frozen facing the house, his entire body coiled tight. I trail my fingers up his arm until my palm rests against the top of his shoulder. His body loosens, just a fraction.

“Let me go this time.”

He shakes his head quickly. “No.”

Dropping my hand, I round Knox, only stopping when I’m before him. The sorrow I find encasing his entire being is so potent my body physically jolts at the sight.

It’s killing him.

Watching his people perish, walking into a house full of his court’s misery. All that Peter has done to him and continues to do is destroy his soul, bit by bit.

Rising onto the tips of my toes, ignoring the way my heart somersaults as Knox turns to me with a thick sheen in his eyes, I lay a hand on his cheek, the stubble he’s yet to shave brushing against my calluses.

“Summon Nolan and Lenox. Devise a plan around the information we received.” Planting a kiss on Knox’s cheek, I whisper, “Let me do it.”

I quickly step into the house before Knox can utter another protest and climb the stairs, following the faint smell of liquor.

It doesn’t take me long to find him.