Page 64 of The World Undone

We could fix this. I would fix this.

“Same thing that’s been happening to people corrupted by shadow magic in hell,” Darius said, the sentence tinny, like I was hearing it in a tunnel, “that girl that attacked you and Max in hell? That’s what he is now. Or he’s in the process of becoming like her anyway. Wendigo, flesh-eater, shadow-tainted—call him what you want, but hunger controls him now.”

“No.” I shook my head, my vision blurring as I fought back the sob lodged in my chest. “Or if he is, we’ll fix it. We’ll fix him.”

“I’m sorry, Eli. This isn’t a thing that can be cured.”

“Fuck,” Bishop said, and I heard a loud series of crashes, like he’d knocked another shelving unit down.

I couldn’t bring myself to look, couldn’t peel my eyes from my father’s for even one second.

“Are you sure?” Atlas asked, his voice low and gruff. “Maybe there’s something—somewhere.”

“I’m guessing the shade noticed right away,” Darius said, and I could practically hear his mind whirring as he put the pieces together, like this was just some random mystery to be solved, Sherlock chasing a clue. “They—” he cleared his throat, “fed him some of the patients, harvested the venom, probably was hoping they’d join forces. Because their bodies are so transient, they must often need to outsource their work. Explains why the shade who showed up at Max’s family cabin was so fine with leaving their friends once they were dead. They were business partners, a means to an end, nothing more.” He paused for a moment, and I fought like hell to find holes in the story he was stringing. “I’m guessing they let Seamus free, expecting him to stick around and be grateful. The shade didn’t account for the kind of ravenous hunger creatures like him experience, and he—” he cleared his throat, “I’ve never seen a flesh-eater quite like him. His wolf transformation was off, wrong somehow. Now we know why.”

My dad started thrashing, the temporary calm thrown, as if the story was a punch in the gut, sending him back. He shook my hands loose from their hold, his teeth snarling and snapping at me as they sharpened and elongated. His claws dug into my sides, half gripping on to me, half pushing me away, like even he was at war with himself and wasn’t sure which side he wanted to win the battle.

His expression morphed, flattened, until he looked like a stranger and not the man I’d spent a lifetime looking up to, trying to protect.

“Eli.” Darius’s tone wasn’t unkind, but I knew what he was asking permission for all the same. He wanted to put him out of his misery. To put him down, like a dog.

I strained against our tug of war, slipping on the bloody spoils of my father’s mid-morning snack. Bile rose in my stomach.

My dad didn’t do this. He wouldn’t kill those people, wouldn’t do this to them. To me.

“No,” I said, though I wasn’t entirely sure what I was refusing. Darius’s unasked question, or this new reality—maybe both.

For a moment, my father stilled, lips quivering as his gaze met mine again.

“Eli,” my name burst forth like a prayer, one filled with pain, his focus waning, “please.”

Whether he was asking for death or forgiveness, I couldn’t tell.

I grit my teeth, swiped away a stray tear that spilled unbidden down my cheek.

“Knock him out,” Bishop said, resolve clear, “don’t kill him. Not yet. We’ll bring him back with us.” His voice was soft, filled with the quiet compassion I was used to from Bishop, back when Atlas, Dec, and I followed him around like lost puppies. “He’s a good man, Eli. I can’t promise we’ll find a way to save him, but the least we can do is try.”

Four more darts flew past me, landing dead in his chest.

14

DECLAN

My hand was on fire.

Well, not on fire, but very much holding it. A little ball of warm, soft light that licked up my fingers sat in the center of my palm.

“You did it!” Max smiled, her excitement zipping through me via the bond. “I knew you’d catch on quickly.”

It was the first time I’d seen her smile today and the sight of it sent a river of warmth down my spine, smooth and deep like hot chocolate. I wanted to sip on it for hours.

And I’d conjure fire every minute of every day, if it would take away some of the grief and pain clawing at her chest.

Between cleaning up the mess in the medical center, treating the remaining patients, and trying to comfort Eli after he and the guys brought a knocked-out Seamus back, things had been pretty bleak.

Izzy and Ro eventually had to physically shove us out of the med center cabin, and Max’s fingers nearly gouged the door frame when she fought to stay inside.

It was the first time I’d ever seen Max look stern with her best friend or brother.

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