Page 59 of Lethal Souls

“They really thought I wouldn’t find him.” Selah waves a hand, and the lid of the coffin flips open.

My breath hitches at the familiar sight of dark hair, pale skin, and the hawkish nose. His eyes are closed, but that takes nothing away from the wicked look he carries, even while resting.

Decius.

Selah plunges a hand into his chest and rips out the piece of Trench tree wood Korah had shoved into his heart. Then she rubs his forehead, smiling down at him like he’s a harmless child.

“Time to rise, my darling,” she coos.

And, just like that, Decius’s eyes snap open.

THIRTY-SIX

WILLOW

It astounds me that it took days for us to put Decius down, and within a couple hours of Selah’s awakening, he’s active again.

When Selah brought us back to Council Castle, she insisted that we all sit together and enjoy a calming dinner. There is nothing calming about it though. The dining room simmers with animosity, and I’m so pissed I can’t think straight. There’s a mixture of anger and fear I feel—fear that he’ll reach for me and suck my tether away.

Decius sits right across from me, smirking as he sips from a silver goblet. Selah produces refills of wine with a flicker of her fingers so servants aren’t necessary. Not that there are any to help anyway. She’s killed them all.

The Council laughs with glee and praises her for returning and thanks her for believing in them.

They’re idiots, all of them. Their people are dead and they’re acting like she’s some kind of angel.

“You look lovely as always, Willow.” Decius eyes me, swirling the liquid in his cup.

I glare at him, wanting so badly to pick up the knife on the table and gouge his eyes out. I’m not one to become violent, but it’s because of him that my brother lost his fucking mind and made it so vulnerable that Selah could tap into it.

Speaking of…

I shift my attention to Selah. “One of my parents on Earth died and the other ran away because he was afraid to raise us. Was that because of you?” I blurt out.

This situation is already weird. Who cares if my questions are?

Selah’s eyes latch with mine, and she does that weird tilt of her head. “Most likely.”

“They had nightmares about you. Said you haunted them in their sleep. My dad told my brother—my twin—Warren, that his nightmares didn’t end until he abandoned us.”

“The more vulnerable you two were, the better,” she returns, flashing a wicked smile.

I grimace.

“Oh, don’t be so upset about it, little one. If it helps, they weren’t even your real parents. They didn’t create you. They hardly even knew you, darling.”

I smash my lips together.

“As for your brother and his nightmares, well…his mind and body were available, and I used him to see things I needed to see. But that’s all thanks to my darling here.” Selah gestures to Decius seated right beside her.

Decius gives her a proud smile. “Thank you, Mother.”

That’s so weird hearing him call her Mother. Not too long ago he was blaspheming The Regals.

“If it weren’t for you, I’d have been so weak in that tomb. I’d have shriveled to dust, but you kept me fueled.”

Decius continues a smile.

“But then you betrayed me.” Selah’s eyes darken. Her normal eyes are the darkest brown I’ve ever seen. Within them, it seems there’s no soul. A chill rides down my spine seeing her like this—a demon. Pure evil.

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