Page 59 of A Soul's Curse
“Maybe. But unlike the past, the future can be rewritten. Give me your hands.” Caspian held out his hands, palms up, hovering just above the desk. I placed mine on top of his. There wasn’t much to see, but I felt his magic take hold, a gentle warmth spreading through my skin. It felt alive, buzzing through me as it explored every inch of my body.
“Your feelings aren’t because of any kind of magical entanglement from Ren. This is all you, Theo. Your magic is conflicted, but your heart isn’t. Theo, as cliche as this sounds, listen to what your heart wants, not your magic. I’m not an expert in relationships by any means, but I will tell you I mourn the loss of my wife and children every day. I made choices that made me this way, and I have to accept the consequencesbecause of them. That includes never being reunited with family again, even as ghosts. I listened to my magic when I should have been listening to my heart.”
His magic dissipated, and I felt oddly at comfort with the words Caspian had said. Ever since the night Ren attacked my family, there was this void in my chest that I could never seem to fill. It might have originally been created by Ren, but now I knew he was also meant to fill it.
“Thanks, Caspian. Uh, sorry about the therapy session.”
“Right.” He squeezed my hands. “Now, shall we get back to the topic of the Syn—”
The office door slammed open, Ren on a warpath to rip Caspian’s head off his shoulders. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing here?” Ren caught sight of our locked hands and his meltdown ensued. “Get away from him!”
I knew Ren was protective, jealous even. But I’d never seen him move so fast. I saw nothing, felt only the slight gust of wind that announced Ren’s presence behind the desk where Caspian was sitting. Ren’s fist swung toward his head.
“Ren, stop! Please!”
Caspian didn’t move. He didn’t have to. There was a faint shimmer, and his body became a transparent ghost only visible by me. Ren’s fist swung through the air.
“Show yourself, you coward!”
Caspian’s sinister chuckle sent shivers down my spine, and while Ren wouldn’t be able to see him, he’d still be able to hear him. “That depends. Are you going to play nice? You need my help, after all. Theo’s deal depends on me and my cooperation. You wouldn’t want to ruin that for him by killing me, now would you?”
I rolled my eyes. “Caspian, you’re just as bad as Ren.” I glanced over toward Ren, breathing heavily through his nose, his chest rising and falling in rapid bursts. “He was helping me withsomething, Ren. That’s all. Calm down. There’s nothing you can do while he’s a ghost, anyway.”
Ren snorted. “That’s what you think.” I felt it thrumming in my bones, this ominous, dark magic pulsing off Ren. It started to change color, drawing out Caspian’s dark green magic and absorbing into Ren.
“Ren, woah! Stop it! You’ll kill him!”
“He’s already dead.”
For the first time, I saw panic cross Caspian’s face. Caspian might not have had a soul, but he still had magic, and if there was magic, Ren could take it.
I shot up from my chair, lunging across the desk and wrapping my arms around Ren’s waist. “Please, stop, Ren. This isn’t you.”
My words must have snapped his thoughts into place. Ren’s rigid body relaxed, and his magic receded. A stack of paperwork fluttered, scattering across the surface before sliding onto the ground. The tension in the room shifted, not entirely gone but no longer suffocating.
Caspian returned to his human form, grunting something about disrespect to elders. He got up from his seat, brushed out some wrinkles from his button-down, and headed for the door.
“W-wait! What about the Syndicate?” I called out to him.
He turned around in the doorway, the teasing curve tugging at the corners of his lips hinting at a secret he wasn’t about to share. “I told you last time to let me handle that. I’ll call you later with details. It seems I’ve worn out my welcome here.”
With just the two of us left in Nick’s office, Ren noticed the dramatic scowl on my face and knew I wasn’t happy.
“Okay,” he placated. “So maybe I got a bit carried away. I just—”
I stormed past him, picking up the loose papers on the floor and re-stacking them on the desk.
“It’s fine, Ren.” My tone indicated it was anything but fine. He bent down to pick up the pens and place them back in their holder. I pushed aside my annoyance and everything I wanted to yell at him right now. My patience was wearing thin, and as much as I recognized we both had issues to work through, I wasn’t sure how long I could stay calm under the pressure.
“Theo?” Ren asked as I picked up my backpack and headed toward the exit. “Where are you going?”
“I have a few deliveries left I need to make. I’ll see you at home later?” It was the best I could offer at the moment. We both needed to cool down, because if I stuck around I feared things would only get worse by starting a shouting match and playing the blame game.
“Yeah. Sure. I’ll be there waiting for you.”
25
Withoutmyscooter,Ionly made a few nearby stops to drop off some home delivery orders. As I strolled around the city of Salem, I called Stella, who confirmed both Sasha and her baby boy, Timothy, were happy and healthy. I would have gone to see her, but Stella said that Sasha was exhausted and would probably be asleep by the time I got there. She and Ivy were planning to grab something to eat then head on out, anyway.
