Page 39 of Savage Sacrifice
“They took me to Florentine’s because of you,” I interject, the swell of emotion thick in my chest pouring from me in disbelief. “I wasn’t taken because the parents of my blood kin paid for it to happen, I was taken there because you made a deal.”
“Polaris, please,” my father begs, guilt crinkling the corners of his eyes.
“Midnight?” Lincoln asks, confusion thick in his voice, but despite the comfort I seek from him, the overwhelming memories and pain make it impossible for me to calm down.
“I can’t breathe,” I rasp, pressing my hand to my chest, and Lincoln turns his furious stare to my parents.
“What did you do?” he snarls in my defense, but I can’t take it.
I need some air. So I do the only thing I can think of.
I run.
15
TATUM
Icurl my fingers into my hair, tugging at the long strands as despair threatens to creep up my spine even stronger than before.
I can’t handle this. The worry, the uncertainty, it’s all too much.
It’s selfish of me, I know, but despite understanding why Lincoln had to… I can’t say it. Regardless, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t cause me great pain too.
Blaze snapped his neck like it was nothing, and Lincoln crumpled to the floor like a sack of lead. I was on my feet in an instant, breaking his fall as my heart hammered in my chest, but no sooner did I lie him down gently, did he disappear altogether.
I thought we would have more time, a moment to grieve, but I was wrong.
“You hanging in there, Tatum?” Minnie asks, cutting through my thoughts, and I tilt my head to glance at her. The way the corners of her eyes crinkle as she offers me a soft smile confirms that my thoughts and feelings are etched all over my face.
She’s holding it together, and it’s her brother, her twin, who has taken the plunge to find Polaris. She’s managing to holdstrong while I wobble, and I’m the one with the connection to him still.
The tethering is strange. It’s like a rope has been tied around my chest, tugging at my heart and invisibly anchoring him to my soul.
It’s there, I can definitely feel the weight of it, I just don’t know exactly where the other end of that tether is anchored, so it’s not offering any reassurance right now.
“Bryony, what options do we have here? I don’t think Tatum is going to manage much longer being cooped up inside,” she states, placing her hand on my arm and squeezing extra tight in comfort, while also pulling me from my headspace.
“I’ll manage,” I rasp, and she gives me a loving yet pointed look, confirming she can see right through my bullshit.
My lips purse, ready to put up a fight, but I see the need gleaming in her gaze, too. She needs to take control of something; she needs to command a situation to keep her focused so she isn’t lost to the pain, too, and the least I can do is offer her that.
“Uhm, this entire room is spelled. I could move it to another location, but I can’t make it grow in size. So whatever you want to do isn’t going to be overly strenuous,” Bryony offers, and a spike of irritation curls through me when I take note of the ease with which she witches.
If Polaris had been asked that question, she would have stumbled, panicked, rushed to her grimoire with feverish need, desperate to have the answer. But in comparison, Bryony operates with much more ease because she was given the opportunity to be a witch for a far longer time.
I wanted that for Polaris.
Fuck.
I still do.
Swiping a hand down my face, I sigh, turning my attention back to Minnie, but it’s Wylder who interjects from his seat at the desk. We’re all still clustered in the alpha’s office at the wolf dorms, but I think Minnie is right, I need to get out of here. Well, all except Blaze, who left a few hours ago to deal with some things.
“Why don’t we go somewhere outside. Maybe the fresh air might help us all?”
I nod, and he rises from his seat, which kicks Asher into action from his sprawled spot on the sofa.
He stretches his arms above his head as he meets my stare. “If we have to keep it to one spot, how about we go to the little hideout Tatum has in the forest?” My heart lurches as I think of the spot he’s referencing and all of the memories I have with Polaris there flood through my mind. “The maze, right?” he clarifies, and I gulp, nodding in agreement.
