Page 3 of Unbound

“Don’t you think I would if I could?” Theo replies back in his usually sassy tone.

“Go,” I tell Xavier and blink, sending more tears cascading down my face. “Just go.”

Without another word, I turn and go upstairs, but not into our shared room. I step into the room I had when I first arrived and sink onto the bed, telekinetically slamming the door behind me.

Chapter

Two

Asoft knock comes at the door, and I know it’s Mabel before she even says anything. I wipe my eyes, surprised there’s not even a single tear left on my lashes, and inhale.

“Wren?” she asks, voice slightly muffled through the closed door. “Are you okay?” Her hand lands on the doorknob, jiggling it slightly. “Sorry. That was a dumb question. I know you’re not.”

“You can come in,” I say quietly, knowing she can hear me. I flop back down on the bed, getting an eerie flashback to when I first arrived at this house. Things have changed so much, but yet they’ve stayed the same. I wasn’t supposed to be here in the first place; I was supposed to be used to unlock the demon.

How different would things be if I hadn’t been sold off to Xavier instead of Larissa?

The door opens and closes quietly as Mabel comes into the room. She gently sits down on the bed next to me and puts a hand on my shoulder.

“I didn’t want to let the demon out,” I say, voice void of emotion.

“But he would’ve taken your soul,” Mabel replies.

“We don’t know that,” I counter. “My time wasn’t up. I could’ve found another option. There are always more options.”

“You’re right,” she agrees, and I’m surprised she’s not arguing with me. “There are always endless options. But what were they?”

“I don’t know,” I admit slowly, inhaling. “But I would’ve figured something out.”

“Maybe now you can kill the demon instead of keeping him locked up,” Mabel suggests. “I mean, isn’t that better? If they’re locked up, they can get out. But if they’re dead, they can’t come back from the dead.” She tips her head. “Well, when you’re talking about demons, sometimes they can.”

I chuckle softly. “Yeah, sometimes they can. I’m not going to be able to kill him, Mabel. He was locked up for a reason.”

“Yeah, but you have your hunter brothers on your side.”

“And my coven has magic.” I turn my head, looking at her, hoping she realizes I’m not trying to argue for the sake of being difficult. I’m being realistic. “If they could’ve killed him, they would have.”

“Well, let’s stick to what we know,” Mabel says and lies down next to me. “We know he was in prison. We know he was put in there once, so we know he can be put back again. We don’t know how many witches it took to put him in there, and we don’t know the extent of those witches’ demon-hunting skills.”

“Stop being logical and let me wallow.”

“Okay.” She nods her head. “This sucks. We’re all gonna die, so we might as well just walk into the sun tomorrow. Well, wait. I’ll walk into the sun. You do whatever your preferred form of suicide is.”

My expression blanks and I blink several times. “Okay, don’t let me wallow.”

Mabel links her fingers through mine and just lies there in silence with me for a few moments. The fact that she’s so kind and patient and understanding, like a friend should be, makes me emotional.

And the fact that it makes me emotional is pathetic.

Having a friend like this is a foreign concept not only to me, but to a lot of people in the Order. We’re taught that human relationships and getting close to people are a form of weakness. I’ve always questioned it because it quite literally defies the way humans are wired.

We’re not supposed to be alone.

We’re supposed to have somebody to get through life with, whether that’s a romantic partner or a friend. It’s unnatural to go through life alone. A quote by Charles Bukowski stuck with me when I was young, and it still sticks with me now.

And when nobody wakes you up in the morning, and when nobody waits for you at night, and when you can do whatever you want. What do you call it, freedom or loneliness?

The Order sold it as freedom. Sold it as being self-sufficient and uncompromising. But doing something you normally wouldn’t do for someone you love is strength, not weakness. Tolerating things you don’t like so the person you love can enjoy them is selflessness, not losing yourself. I can’t think of anymore that defines a person more than the ability to love someone greater than themself—and still maintain a sense of identity. Not everyone can be that emotionally intelligent, though.