Page 7 of Soul of Thorns
“What do you think will happen the moment they get to you?” Her jaw clenches. “If you’re worried that, somehow, they’ll capture me when we’re together, then isn’t it just as likely that she’ll get her talons into you if you’re alone?”
I let out a quick breath through my nose. “If I die, nothing changes. If they get their hands on you, they win.”
“And you think I’ll just sit here and let you die? You think I won’t come running the moment I learn you’re in danger? Those beings... they’re smart. They know how we work. They know how we think. And I know myself well enough. I know that if they were to capture you.” Her voice breaks. “I’d give myself up in an instant.”
“To what end, Caelynn?” I ask, throwing my hands up. “You’ll let the world burn to save my life?”
“Yes,” she hisses, eyes as fierce as I’ve ever seen them.
I swallow. I... don’t know what to think about that. Would I do the same? Should I? Is it better to choose the realm I plan to lead over Caelynn?
“It will be all too easy for the Night Terror to capture you,” Caelynn continues calmly, “and lure me in on her terms. You said it yourself: we’re strongest together.”
I bite the inside of my lip and nod. “Fine.”
She lets out a quick breath. “Good.” She doesn’t so much as flinch as she spins to grab my bag. “You gave up quicker than I expected.” She smirks as she holds out my backpack.
“I know a losing battle when I see one.” I shrug and sling the bag over my shoulder. I still think it makes sense for Caelynn to stay behind. She’s reasonably safe here in this magically secure cottage. And the farther we travel into the Schorchedlands, the more dangerous this becomes.
Unfortunately, we came on this mission remarkably less prepared than I’d thought. I didn’t know how deep the conspiracy ran.
Was all of this—the scourge, the trials, the quest for a cure— all orchestrated just to get Caelynn here? That’s what the wraith calling himself my brother had implied, but I have a hard time wrapping my mind around it all.
Or is this whole story made up? Maybe it’s all a part of the Schorchedlands’ attempt to derail us from our mission.
I don’t know. That seems outlandish, but so does everything else.
As the story goes, the Night Bringer started the scourge and manipulated everyone into believing the spell book inside the Schorchedlands is the only cure. He pulled all the strings to get Caelynn into the trials. And he’s been manipulating everyone to get her inside the Wicked Gates.
Because he needs her, and the book, to free his mate from this cursed place.
As for me? I’m only in the way. A tool he’s used to manipulate Caelynn.
It’s hard to say what I should believe. It’s possible I don’t even need to spell book to cure the lands from the plague. But I can’t take that chance.
That’s the only thing I’m certain of. One way or another, I’m getting my hands on that spell book.
From there, things get more complicated. Because I refused to leave without Caelynn. There has to be a way to get her out of here with her life still intact.
Or maybe... maybe I’ll just stay. I’ll deliver the book to the queen, say my goodbyes, and come right back into the waiting arms of the fae who gave up everything for me. We’ll live a humble life in this little cottage, barely surviving, certainly not thriving, but alive and together.
It’s cramped and old and dirty and nothing like what I’ve been accustomed to my whole life, and yet there would be a quiet kind of freedom. Choosing to live here.
It would strip my life of obligations and plans. I suppose I’d be proving my father right—giving him exactly what he wants. I can’t be his heir if I’m trapped in hell.
What a sad ending that would be.
But if it’s my only option, I may just choose it. Because I cannot live my life normally knowing I left her here. I can’t. I won’t.
Caelynn watches me, eyes narrowed, as I grab our last-minute supplies.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing,” she finally says and shakes her head. Then, she pulls the door open, making way for the sticky-warm air to blow through our pathetic safehouse. “Ready?”
I sigh. “No.”
But even so, I step into the heinous terrain of the Schorchedlands.
