Page 87 of Soul of Thorns
I cough in as much oxygen as I can manage and press my forehead to the ground. “Let’s test that theory. What do you say, child?”
“What?” I cough out between desperate breaths. Somewhere in the darkness the Night Terror slithers. What does she look like? I still don’t know.
“You are going to go to the mountain and reach the book before she does. Or I’ll kill her, torture her, while you watch.”
A laugh breaks from my lungs. “You don’t think I’d really do that, do you?”
“I will destroy you both!” she screams.
I should be terrified. I should be shaking in my boots—and certainly my body is uncomfortable, my heart pained. But I am at ease, deep in my soul.
“Yes, I know that,” I whisper. “I believe you.”
“Then, you would do as I bid.”
“No.”
She pauses, slithering closer. Is she examining me? Hot breath warms my neck, sending a shiver down my back. I ignore my own racing heartbeat. My muscles clench and relax.
I ignore the instincts that tell me to run. To hide. To cower before this beast’s power.
She has me. She’ll kill me. She’ll torture me.
But there is only one thing I have control of—my own actions.
“You’re going to torture us and kill us no matter what we do. I won’t give you what you want on top of it all.”
The hot breath recedes. The beast slithers in the darkness. “You wish for a bargain.”
Well, no. I hadn’t planned for anything remotely close to that. I’d just planned to lose on my terms instead of hers. Like Caelynn told me—we can at least make sure they don’t win in the process.
We’re doomed, but the least we can do is return the favor.
“Kill him,” a voice hisses through the darkness.
“Why?” the Night Terror spits. “We need him.”
“He is the key to her soul. Kill him, and she will fall.”
My breaths are deafening in the silence. She doesn’t speak. Doesn’t respond. Chilling realization hits me.
My mind flashes to Caelynn. Her beauty. Her bravery, her strength. Her boldness and wisdom and sadness. She’s spent her whole life fighting for mine. She’s been so determined to sacrifice herself for me. What will happen if I’m gone?
What will happen to her heart and soul, barely hanging on, if I’m not there to convince her to keep fighting?
My breath comes out trembling.
I’m going to die, but I’m not afraid of that. I’m afraid that my death will cause Caelynn’s soul to fail. And the Night Bringer will get what he’s been hunting for the last decade.
