Page 23 of Dead Wrong

Lorelei was just as charming as always. Good to know that I couldn’t escape these two, even in death. Or whatever happened to me.

“Could you keep it down, please? You’re ruining my nap.”

Bastien let out a deflated sigh, and Lorelei sucked her teeth.

“Tobias?” his voice was closer now. “Can you hear me?”

“I can hear both of you just fine now please shut up.”

A dull, droning noise under the conversation and an occasional jolt told me we were back in the town car. I cracked an eye open to catch a very concerned Bastien looking down at me.

For someone who claimed to be excited to put my back in my grave, he sure did seem worried. It twisted his brow and carved lines across his beautiful face. I had to actively stop myself from reaching out to smooth the lines with my fingers.

“Look, we didn’t completely melt his brain. Maybe he can finish walking us through the night?” Lorelei craned her neck to peek through the divider between the front and back of the town car. Her eyes lacked any of the concern that filled Bastien’s.

“What happened to me?” I asked, attempting to sit up. The world lurched under me, my head spinning, so I quickly abandoned the idea and fell back onto the cushioned bench.

“You fractured.” Bastien’s hands worked the buttons of my shirt, unfastening the top half and peeling back the fabric to uncover the gem embedded in my chest. He held his palm over it, eyes closed as he muttered a string of words that buzzed in my ears like a swarm of insects. A painful, searing heat forced the air from my lungs with a gasp as the gem glowed white-hot. Bastien frowned. “The strain from your magic use caused the gem to crack,” he explained, pointing to the edge of the gem where a fissure ran along the facet.

“So, is that it? Am I going to die again?” I asked, my voice unusually calm for someone asking about their life ending.

I guess the second time around, anything would feel old hat.

“It’s not a structural fracture, thankfully,” Bastien replied, pulling his hands away and taking that insufferable heat with him. “And a trace of my magic managed to stay contained. So, no. You’re not going to die. Not yet, at least.”

I was relieved at the news. Or maybe relieved wasn’t the right word. There was more time now. Time to figure out who killed me and what happened to Lenny. I needed to know that she was okay. I didn’t think I could give up my second life before I was certain she was safe.

“What did Lynette say to you?” Lorelei asked, seemingly unconcerned with the state of my well-being. “The two of you were talking just before the shadows ejected us.”

Lynette’s soundless words replayed in my mind. Her frightened expression was burned in the back of my eyelids when I closed them.

“I don’t know. I couldn’t hear her. She did mention you, though.” I looked up at Bastien, his brow furrowing as I locked eyes with him. “She said it was too bad that we’d broken things off. It sounded like… it was a recent incident.”

Something flickered behind Bastien’s eyes, but he quickly reined in his reaction, expression wiped clean.

“Was it?” I pressed him, desperate for the answers I’d been trying to parse out. “Recent, I mean?”

“Yes,” Bastien replied, his voice even.

“What else did she say?” Lorelei interrupted.

“Nothing.” I watched as Bastien’s shoulders relaxed a fraction. “There was a lot happening all at once, so it was hard to focus.”

Bastien averted his eyes from me, staring out the window with his jaw clenched. I knew that reaction. It felt familiar. What was he hiding?

“How long has it been, Bastien? I haven’t been able to sift through that part of my memories yet.”

“A little while,” Bastien replied, still not looking at me.

He didn’t elaborate further or offer any details.

“We’re not here for you two the drudge up a lover’s quarrel,” said Lorelei, turning around to face forward once again. “We’ll be arriving at the Cradle shortly, and Bastien needs to prepare.”

“The Cradle?” I echoed. Even with my memories in shambles, I could recall the seat of power for the Church of the Source. “Why on earth are we going there?”

“Because that’s where Cirian is,” answered Lorelei, flipping through her notebook. “And at this point, he’s the best lead I have.”

“But they’ll never let me set foot on their holy ground,” I argued. “Or Bastien, for that matter. The Hallowed won’t tolerate a Reviled in their midst or his reanimated ex.”

---