Page 36 of Fractured Souls
“Zander!” her light voice called from outside the door. “Want to eat breakfast with me before we leave?”
I nearly smiled at her question—I wanted to grab anything that had to do with Lorcan.
“Be right there.”
I’d never gotten ready faster in my life.
* * *
“We don’t have to do this,” I said softly, both of us crouched down and looking at the entrance into the Kingdom of Day.
Instead of taking a carriage and risking scouts seeing us, Adriel and I had transported everyone with our magic, leaving us a mile or so outside of the kingdom. Luckily, for the sake of hiding, it was a relatively quiet time of day—as quiet as it could get here.
“We do,” she whispered. “We totally do. Plus…I need to see what this place is like.”
She really didn’t, though. I could tell her how fucking horrible it was.
“Just know we can leave whenever,” I assured her. “I’m going to do my best to shield you from anyone’s sight.”
“And I should be able to shield the rest of the group,” Adriel added. “How far is the crypt from here?”
“At least five or six blocks towards the heart of the city. Which doesn’t sound like a lot—”
“But it is,” Rhett finished for me, his eyes narrowing on the gate. “I can hear shit going on in there.”
“Best advice is just to keep your head down and don’t interact when people say stupid shit,” I said. “Most of them are high or even worse.”
“Lorcan,” Dean rumbled. “I don’t know—”
“It’ll be fine,” Lorcan assured them, standing. “Seriously—Draven, don’t give me that freakin’ look.”
Whatever look it was had Cash laughing, but my attention was focused on feeling out the magical signatures of everyone in our path. It wasn’t insanely busy right now, but I wasn’t positive that it worked in our favor. In fact, I was concerned it would make us that much more noticeable.
“Let’s head in there,” I suggested, standing and looking down at Lorcan. “Stay by my side.”
She nodded, a wave of nervousness crossing her face as she tilted her chin up in determination.
Lorcan had every right in the world to be cautious, concerned, and honestly not give a fuck what happened to humanity—especially with how they treated our kind—but she continued to push for answers. For solutions. She could claim it was for ‘selfish’ reasons, but it was clear to everyone that wasn’t the case. The compassion she had for others was something that left me with a sense of awe.
It was also just one more reason I couldn’t taint her with my darkness—my jaded soul didn’t deserve something that beautiful.
As we made our way to the unguarded entrance, my magic enveloped hers and I nearly smiled as her siren offered mine a dark glare, clearly not liking the lack of control it caused her. I wish I could say I felt bad about that, but if anything it only encouraged my siren more. It only made my magic want to be more possessive and demanding, to keep her like this at all costs.
Our magic didn’t have the opportunity to truly play, especially not now. My thoughts darkened as we entered the Kingdom of Day.
In theory it should have been a beautiful place. There were pristine white marble walls and vibrant flags, and the old infrastructure of the kingdom was still in place—but that was where the beauty stopped and ended. The stone streets were covered in mud, blood, and a bunch of other shit I couldn’t even determine. Windows were broken and doors boarded in. Bodies were slumped to the side, low murmurs fueling the knowledge that these individuals were far from the right state of mind.
I didn’t hesitate to wrap an arm around Lorcan as she curled further against me, her expression coated in sadness. I hated that she had to see any of this.
Above us the sky was sunny and bright, casting shadows on the dark corners of the kingdom we passed—some of the buildings we passed vibrating with music and voices, the celebrations in full swing, while others were so silent you could hear the bones of the structure creaking.
The smell of waste, produced by both bodies and garbage, filled the air when a breeze rushed through, and the shouts of arguing and fighting echoed loudly in the distance. The sounds of bottles crashing and screams were only enhanced by the explosion of fire a few blocks away, people cheering in glee. None of it and all of it made sense. And the worst part? Most of these people were here willingly.
This small sector of the Kingdom of Day was more calm than the rest, and while the upper echelons of society didn’t live on the streets or in boarded up buildings, they were almost worse up there near the castles. That was where the true crimes occurred. That was where bodies were sold and bought, that was where people were slaughtered for entertainment, where vices were encouraged and put on proud display. Out here was chaos, but up there…it was deadly.
“This is disgusting,” she murmured, her brow dipping. “How did this happen? They came here willingly? To live like this?”
“Think about it this way,” I began, glad the others were on such high alert around us. “If you wanted an out, an escape from reality but you weren’t ready to end it, what better place is there to be than with a bunch of other people just like you?”
