Page 44 of A Soul's Curse
Ren was frowning beside me, nostrils flaring.
“Something you’d like to share with the room?” Caspian asked. “Please. Do tell us. But remember, my time is valuable and you’re currently wasting it.”
“What do you want with the book?” Ren’s eyes flashed with a lively maroon glow.
“Ren,” I said, placing a gentle hand on his bicep. “We came to make a deal with Caspian. I don’t think now is the time to question his intentions—”
“Do you plan to revive your soul? Steal souls from others to make yourself more powerful?”
Caspian's laugh was wild and unhinged—too loud, too sharp, the kind of sound that made your skin crawl. “Stealing souls? That is a rich accusation coming fromyou.”
Ren growled at him, their gazes locked in a tense standoff, brimming with unspoken threats and the promise of violence.
“Ren, stop!” My heart was stammering in my chest as I dared to step in between Ren and Caspian. “That’s enough!”
“Oh.Oh!I see. You haven’t told him anything, have you?” Caspian picked up his spoon, resuming his slow, deliberate licking of the melting ice cream. The smug smile on his face only grew as he watched Ren closely, savoring the tension. “You’ve been keeping secrets, haven’t you, Warren Thorncrest?” he added, the accusation in his voice like a knife twisting into a wound.
“Ren? What’s he talking about?” My hands were shaking, the cold sweat on my skin intensifying my nervousness. I could feel Caspian's eyes on me, like he was waiting for the moment I'dcrack. Ren’s silence stretched out longer than I liked, the weight of the question hanging between us like a noose.
Finally, Ren’s voice broke through, low and controlled, but I could hear the edge in it. “It’s nothing important,” he muttered, though his gaze never left Caspian. “Don’t listen to him. Let’s go. We’ll find another way to make this work.”
“Nothing important?” Caspian said, his tone dripping with amusement as he leaned forward, eyes narrowing with calculated malice. “Then I guess you won’t mind if I share a little story if it’snothing important.”
This situation was falling apart faster than a crunchy taco. “Can we get back to the—”
“Has Ren ever told you exactly how his magic works?” The phantom’s eyes gleamed with the kind of knowledge that sent shivers down my spine. I said no words, but shook my head.
“Caspian, I’m warning you. Stay out of this. It’s none of your damn business.” Ren took a step toward him, but was met with a glowing metal gauntlet blocking his path. With unnaturally fast speed, Ren swept around Gray, but the ogre read his move with ease, snatching the back of his jacket and slamming him to the floor.
“Ren!” I readied my magic to protect him, to take away his pain, but I froze in place when Caspian continued his story.
“He’s what people call a Soul Siphoner.” I stared at Caspian like a deer in headlights. “He gets his magic by stealing souls, Theo. Hekillspeople and takes their magic. But he can’t quite take control over something that was never meant to be his.”
“S-so what?” I refuted. “He was a spy within the Syndicate. I know he’s killed people.”
“You still defend this half-demon. Interesting. Would you still defend him knowing that he has information about what happened to your family ten years ago? That awful winter nightthat some seemingly random person broke into your house and attacked your family? What if I told you it wasn’t random at all?”
My pulse throbbed in my ears, Caspian’s words like shards of ice sinking into my skin—cold, sharp, impossible to ignore.
“Ren?” I waited for the demon to answer. He stayed silent, but his fists were shaking, his breathing fast and heavy.
“Yes. That’s right. He knows every little detail about what happened that night. Becausehewas the one who did it.” Caspian tapped his chin and peered over at Ren. “Let me guess. It was driven by jealousy. Theo was friendly, got along with demons and other magical races when you yourself couldn’t even connect with your own kind. He was happy. He waslovedby a family who would give anything for him. You hated he had that, so you made him your target. You were just coming into your magic, and you were itching to give it a try. You … snapped.”
“Stop! I don’t want to hear this!” I dug my fingertips into my skull on either side of my head. “How could you possibly know any of this? How do I know you aren’t making any of this up?”
“I’m a phantom who has lived over a hundred years. I have my resources.” Caspian put down his spoon. “Besides, I don’t see him denying it. He hated what you had, and so he broke into your house one night and took it all away from you. Your mother’s condition isn’t because she hit her head. Ren ripped out her soul to take her power, but couldn’t quite finish the job. He couldn’t kill her, so he left her a husk. Then he got angry at your crying sister, and took something precious away from her as well. But you, Theo. He left you alone. I’m curious why?”
“Caspian, you fucking bastard!” Ren jumped to his feet, lunging at Caspian, but Gray snatched the back of his hood, snapping his neck back as he slipped back onto the floor. The gauntlets on Gray’s wrists glowed a bright white as magic swirled around Ren like invisible chains, keeping him in place.
“Tell me it’s not true, Ren.” I desperately tried to hold it together, but my voice cracked, betraying me. My chest felt tight, a pressure building that I couldn’t shake. I wanted him to deny it, to tell me Caspian was lying, that this was all some sick joke to turn me against him. But the look in his eyes—guilt, hesitation—told me everything before he even opened his mouth.
“Ren, how could you?” My fingers curled against my chest, as if I could claw away the hollow, stinging ache of betrayal. Tears slipped down my cheeks. “How could you look me in the eye and just … pretend like you actually cared about me? Did what happened that night really mean that little to you?”
“Theo, I can explain—”
“Explain?” I walked over toward him with unsteady steps, then looked him straight in the eyes. “Explain what, Ren? You broke into my house intending to murder my family. I … I don’t think I can do this. I’m beginning to think this was all a game to you. Whose side are you really on? Youforcedme into this deal with the Syndicate, then acted like you were being so fucking generous by helping me get out of it. Why? Planning to tie off loose ends from that night?”
“No, I’d never. That’s not—” Nobody touched him, but Ren hunched over, his body trembling as if something inside him was trying to claw its way out. His fingers pressed against the floor, knuckles white, sweat beading along his forehead. Each gasp was ragged, choked, like he was drowning on dry land.
