Chapter 33 #2
For a while, we walked like that, our silence occupied by the sounds of the forest—the natural rustling of leaves, the chirping, tweeting birds, and a babbling brook not far up ahead.
I knew of the inner turmoil Kaleb must be feeling right now, because there was a time, not so long ago, when I had felt it too.
When Sage had decided to sleep with Aurelius, a choice she made without the sway of his ichor, it made me wild with anger.
With possessiveness. So, I went to her, and I asserted my claim.
Over her. Over her pleasure. She was mine in every sense of the word. She belonged to me.
As I to her.
Despite what she had done, I could not stay mad at Sage. To do so would be incredibly short-sighted.
Sage’s actions had been because of me .
She had learned of our twisted past, where I had cursed her and taken away the one thing she longed to do—create. I had left her to suffer through the fever, which ravaged her for days on end, causing her unspeakable pain as her body and mind were torn to shreds.
I could still hear her tormented screams as she writhed on the cottage floor, begging for the agony to stop. And like a heartless asshole, I just sat there, watching her. Like that, in her weakened, desperate state, I had taken advantage of her, forcing her into another bargain—
I am willing to offer you a deal. I will give you an apple seed to plant. My own words echoed inside my head.
I scowled at the memory.
Back then, I had been so caught up in my need for revenge I had ignored all the signs—that she was my mate. I had wasted precious time I could have had with her, if only I hadn’t been so painfully blind.
I hated what I had done to Sage, and yet, she had forgiven me for it. All of it.
So, if she could do that for me, I could do it for her.
In fact, I already had.
Kaleb sighed. “I miss Sage.”
“I do too,” I conceded, looking up at the swaying green canopy. Creator above, how I missed her.
“I wish she was here so I could talk to her about Fallon,” Kaleb said, the anger in his voice gone. Now, all that was left was sadness. “She’d know what to do.”
“I know I’m not nearly the listener that she is, but I can try to be, if you want to talk about it,” I offered.
Kaleb gave me a skeptical look, but he let out a long sigh and then word-vomited all over me.
“I don’t know what to do. I don’t. I had planned to ask Fallon to marry me, can you believe that?
” He gave a sardonic chuckle. “But then Sage died, and I put everything on pause. I just . . . I couldn’t imagine committing my life to another and not having my sister—my best friend—there.
When we learned she was alive and where she was, I felt hope again, so I started to think about asking Fallon to be my wife.
” He shook his head in disbelief and scoffed.
“I’m an idiot. I thought what we had was strong, but clearly, I was wrong.
She tossed what we had to the side so easily.
” He began to wipe at his watering eyes with his bruised hand, the knuckles split and bloody.
I didn’t know what to say.
Kaleb and I were vastly different. And despite there being some similarities with this situation—our females fucking someone else—the elements at play were vastly different.
Ryker wasn’t Fallon’s purely trash ex-husband.
Kaleb hadn’t robbed Fallon of her powers and tormented her for decades.
Kaleb also hadn’t hunted Fallon down in the forest, shadow chained her, and tricked her into forging the mating bond with him through a hate fuck.
Kaleb hadn’t forced Fallon to live with him in his castle, knowing the bond would keep her from running away. Kaleb hadn’t—
Fuck, I was a bastard.
It was a wonder Sage had been able to forgive me after all of that. And yet, she had. The goddess was a saint.
I let out a sigh and rolled my neck, looking to Kaleb. “Do you want my thoughts or what I think Sage would say?”
Kaleb stopped and turned toward me. “What Sage would say.”
Facing him, I put my hand on his shoulder, as I felt like that was something Sage would do. “Do you need me to go kick her ass?”
Kaleb barked out a laugh.
I cracked a grin .
“Yeah, she would say that. She’d be all too happy to go another round with Fallon,” Kaleb said.
I was about to reply, but I heard sounds—voices coming from the north, which was the opposite direction of our camp. I looked at Kaleb, whose mortal ears probably hadn’t detected them yet, and placed my finger against my lips.
What’s wrong? he mouthed, his eyebrows weaving together.
I pointed over to a large rock, indicating we should hide behind it.
He nodded, and we crouch walked our way over to it, my shadows wrapping around us.
The voices became louder—two females.
Through the trees, I got a glimpse of them. They were strange-looking beings—gray skin, white markings, tall, and obscenely slender. It was as if their bodies had been stretched out, arms, legs, and necks elongated.
“Since Imari returned, she has become a menace. Acting like she’s better than everyone else. There is no way we can get the new system up and running in two months’ time,” said the female whose hair was pulled tightly back, secured with a leather tie. She was the tallest of the two.
The other one replied, “We do not have a choice. It is an order that has come from the empress herself, so we must do all that we can to make sure we get it done.”
“Wow, look who sounds like Imari now,” the taller female huffed, her speed picking up.
The other one quickened her pace so she could catch up with her. When she did, she said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come across that way.”
“It’s alright. I’m just frustrated. The empress casts her shining eye on Imari. Imari, of all people! When was the last time she extracted a soul and didn’t break it?” asked the taller female.
“Yes, it has been a while. Oh, speaking of, how are you making out with the mortal soul, the one with the vessel that’s missing fingers?
Kaleb and I looked at each other.
“It’s kind of a cutie, you know, for a human,” the shorter female continued, her voice growing more distant the further they walked from us.
I gestured for Kaleb to follow behind me. He nodded. Quietly, we moved through the trees, staying hidden while keeping up with them.
“Right? I think it’s cute too,” the taller one said. “The vessel has been repaired, and the soul is nearly finished as well. I imagine I’ll be done tonight so we can ship it off with the others.”
“That should work. Can I ask you something?”
The taller one nodded. “Of course.”
“Do you ever wonder why the empress has us rebuild male souls and vessels if they are just going to be sent to the arena to be crushed anyway? Why not just have us do it?”
Ponytail lowered her voice. “I heard this from a friend of a friend who works at the Celestial Opal Palace, but the empress likes to look through them. Although it’s rare, sometimes she’ll keep some of the male souls. That’s how she built her harem.”
“Wow, can you imagine being hand-selected by the empress?” the other one exclaimed as they walked up to the foot of the mountain.
“It must be an incredible feeling,” the taller one said as she raised her hand, and a glowing, oblong slit emerged in the stone, opening it to the tunnel and the rushing river of souls. They walked through it, and it sealed shut behind them.
“We need to get back to camp,” I said. “Now.”