Page 8 of Devastation
Leo takes the lead in responding for them, "Well, he's been having these...episodes...of being lost. I'm not sure how to describe it."
Furrowing my brows together, I walk around to the other side of the bed where Hale is perched. Gently reaching out so I don't scare him, I rub up and down his back slowly. "Hale?" I question again softly, trying to pull him out of his trance.
He comes out of his daze and shakes his head before turning to look up at me. "Yes?"
Concerned, I ask, "Are you okay? You zoned out there for a minute. The twins told me this has happened a few times now."
He rolls his eyes as if exasperated, "I'm fine. Seriously. I just have a lot on my mind."
Narrowing my gaze at him, I warn, "Do not keep secrets from us. Ash did that for too long, and I refuse to have that happen again. If you have something going on, it isn't anything that we can't tackle together."
Turning his body around completely, he rests his feet on the ground and reaches out to grab my hips. Pulling me in close, he looks up at me earnestly. "I promise I'm okay. Let's focus on you and this plan to get Ash back. Thanatos spoke of tethers. Do you have any idea how you’ll tether back? What do you think you’ll have to do?"
He's deflecting and it's obvious to me, but I won't push him on the matter until we're alone. Maybe he'll open up when it's just us, but if he doesn't, I'll pry it from his mind.
I won't let anything tear us apart again.
Chapter Three
Hale
It is eating me alive not talking to Lana about being shadowkissed, but she simply has too much on her plate for me to burden her with this. Iwilltell her. Just...after we get Ash back.
I repeat that promise to myself in my head over and over. I will tell her.
But the truth is, I'm afraid to tell her.
I'm afraid that the darkness will take over.
I'm afraid to turn into someone that could hurt my family like Ash did.
The spirit guide, Elizabeth, told me that only time and continued persistence in choosing the light over the dark would get me through this unscathed. But what she didn't tell me is that the dark whisperings come to you in subtle ways that make you feel like they're your own thoughts.
While I look at Ash, they whisper in my head that I should stop Lana from going in order to protect her, despite that meaning Ash would be lost to us forever. I fight back against the voices—after feeling momentarily enthralled with the idea they plant—telling them that they are not welcomed in my head, and to leave.
It feels like a battle every time to break through the haze that comes over my brain in those moments, but I'll never stop fighting until the dark traces are cast out of me for good.
Focusing back in on Lana as she speaks about her understanding of tethers, I can't help but admire the newfound confidence she has. She isn't the same woman who left us in the witch realm.
Her copper hair is longer now, cascading in soft waves almost to her hips. I'm not sure if she's seen them yet, but she has white daisies haphazardly sprouting in her hair, contrasting beautifully against her locks. She tucks one side behind her ear, and I can't help but smile at the small, pointed tip at the top that signifies her fae heritage. She just looks so adorable.
"I know for sure that tethers represent my bonds to people. I have one with each of you. I also had one with Gaia briefly, which she made sound like I had to accept in order for it to snap into place."
Zedd has moved to sit on the floor, per his usual behavior, and he looks up at her, completely engrossed. "So these tethers have to be reciprocated by both parties? How fascinating."
Leo pipes up from his sprawled position at the foot of the bed, looking up at the ceiling as he lays on his back. "But what do these tethers signify? Do we know if they have any effects on the people involved?"
Lana paces back and forth from the window to the bed. "No. I have no idea, and honestly I feel like I'm flying blind and going to let everyone down again with my lack of knowledge."
Her admission is no surprise to any of us. No one beats her up over past mistakes more than she does to herself. It's what makes her such a worthy queen. She is her harshest critic and holds herself to the highest standards in order to not repeat mistakes.
Luke pins her with a stare. "You're doing everything you can right now, Sugar Britches. We'll find the answers as we go."
Apparently, his words don't soothe her because she groans loudly and fists her hands into her hair, tugging lightly while looking up. "I'm not doing enough. Once we get Ash back, I haven't the slightest clue how to take down that fuck face, Erebus. He has complete control over his powers, and who knows how large his army is."
Standing up from my spot on the edge of the bed, I walk over to her and grip her arms lightly. "Look at me, Little One."
Begrudgingly, her head turns to look at me with her now multicolored eyes swirling brilliantly. There's more teal than anything, but it's still shocking to see the difference in her since she fully opened herself to her goddess side and received the powers that came along with being Mother Nature.
