Page 8 of Venomous Lies
If things ever settled between Echo and me, maybe we could all come together. That was an optimistic thought, but I couldn’t let myself believe this stalemate with Echo would go on forever.
Would Bones come if I asked? Would my friends be okay with him joining us?
Wells and Aizel were the only ones that knew I had bonded with him—unless Aizel told Zhara, but I wasn’t sure. It was all such a fucking mess, and I didn’t want to force her into the tension-filled situation.
My life was justchaos.
“Here we are!” Wells announced proudly.
I blinked a few times before my lips parted in shock.
The Singing Bones.
Familiar hollow clanking filled the air, and my eyes darted around, marveling at the bone wind chimes along the porch.
The door to the house was propped open, letting a hint of incense smoke drift out. The musky scent was welcoming despite the shiver that ran down my spine.
Wells gestured for me to follow him, though I moved slowly, trying to take in everything around me.
The shop was cozy, with just enough items on display to feel full but not completely overwhelming. Warm-looking blankets, each imbued with quietly humming runes, were displayed by one of the front windows. Further in, a fire crackled, the flames hugging the stereotypical black cauldron that was nestled in the stone fireplace. A deep breath brought me hints of pine, cranberries, and cinnamon.
I loved it.
“Hello, dearies,” a warm voice greeted us. “Oh, witch, it’s you. I was wondering when you’d be by again. And you brought someone else along this time.”
I glanced around and found a woman standing nearby. She had long dark auburn hair and green eyes that studied me shrewdly before switching to my friend beside me. She was gorgeous in a threatening kind of way. Her high cheekbones were sharp, and her slightly tan skin was flawless. She was wearing a flowy, dove gray dress that fit her perfectly, softening the strength that her inhuman body undoubtedly contained. This woman was dangerous; I could feel it.
She felt… oddly familiar.Strange.
“This is a friend of mine,” Wells answered with a nod in greeting. “Your shop is right up her alley.”
“Look around safely, children,” she said, a hint of steel in her voice. “There are things in here that bite back, after all.”
‘Don’t you dare, beastie,’Cassius warned as I fought to keep the jokes that immediately popped into my mind to myself.
‘Ah, so youdohave some restraint,’he observed wryly when I didn’t say anything to the shop owner.
‘What the fuck have you been doing?’I grumbled as I turned to look around at the items near me.‘You’ve been silent for days.’
‘I think there’s a more important question. Why are you in this shop, beastie?’
‘You can’t just ignore my questions forever,’I complained, pointedly not answering his.
‘Beastie… You are standing in the presence of Maude, the most renowned fae healer who was cast out of not one, butbothfae courts. How did you get there?’
Well, that explained the familiarity, at least somewhat. Cassius must know her.
‘You know her name… How?’
Cassius had always confused me. I knew he was somethingother, a spirit of some sort that lived in my mind, but that was the extent of my knowledge. Cassius was never too keen on letting me into his thoughts even though he easily burst into mine on a daily basis.
He remained a being of mystery, always leaving me with more questions than answers. If he had always been in my head, how could he know things that I didn’t? Whenever I tried to ask what he was, Cassius side-stepped, deflecting until the questionswere forgotten.
I was tired of people running away instead of talking to me.
‘That’s not?—’
‘Important?’I asked, hating the way my voice broke. Unfortunately, with all the recent strain, I wasn’t up to the challenge of keeping my emotions locked away from him.‘Why is it that the questions I want answers to are somehow unimportant?’
