Page 113 of Moonlit Fate

“Atticus, she?—”

“Drop it.” I didn’t want to delve into that ache. Not now. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Okay,” she said, letting the subject die, but the question lingered in the air, unanswered.

A ghostly figure materialized in front of us, a familiar yet unsettling sight that we’d grown accustomed to since the ritual. It was a woman this time, her form flickering like a faulty lightbulb.

“Can you not?” I muttered.

“Just ignore it,” Mia murmured. “They’ll take substance if you acknowledge them.”

“Fine,” I grumbled. The ghost lingered, dancing near me, which made it impossible to ignore her presence. “What do you want?” I snapped. “Can’t you leave me alone?”

“Ah, poor little living boy... What shall he do with all that living? Oh yes,live,” the phantom crooned sarcastically.

I tried to step around her, but she floated effortlessly in front of me again. Her eyes were hollows of darkness that seemed to pierce through me.

“Enough games. If you have something to say, spit it out.”

“You seem tired. You don’t have to go all that way, you know. There’s a much shorter distance for you if you’d only use it,” she whispered, an infuriating grin curling the corners of her semi-transparent lips.

“What the fuck does that mean?” My confusion mixed with irritation. I had enough on my mind without cryptic teasing from a spirit.

Her laughter echoed like wind chimes as she vanished into thin air, leaving me staring at the empty space. The whole ghost thing was already getting old. I didn’t have the energy to puzzle over their cryptic nonsense, and I didn’t have the faintest clue where to start to find a way to return them to wherever they’d come from.

We went back to the den, its interior bathed in a comforting glow from the lanterns. The heat inside was a stark contrast to the cold of the stormy woods. Joren stood stirring a pot, the smell of something hearty wafting toward us.

Mia grabbed the basket from me and set it on her table. Taking a seat, she rummaged through drawers, pulling out a glass bottles and slips of parchment to label and store the herbs.

“Morning,” Hale greeted with a sad smile.

“Morning,” I echoed flatly.

Joren called across the room, “Hey, Atticus, what did the cloud say to the other cloud after they bumped into each other?Shocking.”

Lyza and Hale laughed. I stared at him, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Shocking. Clouds colliding, lightning... It’s shocking.” He dropped his spoon and bumped his fists together. “You know what, never mind, it’s not the same when I have to explain it.”

Their manufactured cheerfulness, meant to conceal their concern, only highlighted the growing divide with my family. If I let this shit carry on, it would become even more difficult for me to reconnect with them, but I could barely function right now, let alone lead. I needed to figure my shit out and fast.

Mia came back to the seating area and handed me a small, corked vial of liquid. In her no-nonsense manner, she urged, “Go to bed and drink this,” as if it held the solution to all my troubles. “It should give you some relief from the vivid dreams,” she whispered.

“Hey, Mia, how’s it going with Ilaric?” Hale asked, oblivious to the shift in the air.

I looked up sharply. “What’s he talking about?”

Mia shot Hale a glare that could cut stone. “Thanks a lot,” she muttered before turning to me. “We bumped into each other a while back, before the ritual. We’ve been meeting occasionally to talk, getting to know each other, that’s all.”

As selfish as it sounded, I felt a sharp sting of betrayal. I couldn’t understand why she’d kept her relationship with Ilaric, one of Aria’s closest confidants, a secret from me. Then, in an instant, those thoughts of betrayal disappeared, leaving behind a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Of course she hadn’t told me. I’d been too wrapped up in my own darkness.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, the guilt gnawing at my insides.

“Here. You need to eat something,” Joren said, handing me a bowl of steaming venison stew. Despite it being my favorite, the exhaustion and my downward spiral made it taste bland. Might as well have been gruel. I forced down a few bites, if only not to offend him.

“Ran the border of Crimson Fang this morning,” Hale announced casually, like he was discussing the weather.

I slammed the bowl down. “Are you out of your damn mind? They’re unstable, you shouldn’t have gone alone?—”

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