Page 85 of Catastrophe

I opened my mouth to argue when the door slammed open and a furious Jack stormed into the room. Baelen pulled me against his chest, hugging me tightly and I wriggled in his arms to try to face Jack. It’s not the time to cuddle Baelen.

“You’re just going to let him die, then?” Jack demanded. His eyes roamed around us but didn’t seem to meet my gaze. Baelen must have made us invisible again. “I know you’re here and we don’t have time for this. You need to get Michael out of here. If you can get him out of here, then I’ll help you find your titan.”

“Where is Michael now?” I asked before Baelen could stop me. He tensed against me and I avoided his angry red gaze.

Jack replied quickly, “He’s hiding in the infirmary at the moment, but they are looking for him. We need to hurry.”

CHAPTER 21

ZAIDE

Ididn’t leave the dreamscape after Baelen left me. Still reeling from his ‘gift’ and my reaction to it, I took the time to wander through the gardens in Tartarus like I used to as a child and remembered the good times I had with my siblings in similar landscapes.

It was the picture of a chipped tooth, curly white hair, and blue eyes that shifted the dreamscape around me to the desert of Drakor before I realized what I’d done.

Thos.

Blood pumping loudly in my ears, I hurried through the empty streets toward the barn where I last saw him and prayed that he was still there, awaiting my arrival. When I peered around the doors and I saw nothing, disappointment made my whole body sag.

I hoped he’d be here.

While I couldn’t do anything to save him from his indenture while I was enduring my own capture, I still wanted to see him more than my next breath.

“Thos.” I whispered. “Are you there?”

Silence echoed around the barn and I sat down on a wooden box as I contemplated this. I didn’t call him into my dream last time, since I hadn’t seen drakorian to create that dreamscape. That must have been his dream when I visited. So if I want to see him, I should pull him in. Isn’t that what Baelen taught us?

In my mind, I pictured him and with the magic which was in my very soul, reached for his spirit, the essence of him, and tugged him toward me. My magic responded because in the next moment, I heard a gasp and opened my eyes to see my brother materialized in front of me. He stared at me with a kind of shocked awe and I let out a startled laugh, jumping from the box and pulling him into my arms with a cheer.

“Zaide? You’re here again?” he asked as he pulled away from me.

I smiled widely. “As I explained before, I have discovered I can do a great many things now that I have my soul pair and my soul mate.”

“A soul mate too?” he gasped, his blue eyes wide. “You are fortunate indeed.”

I nodded and assessed him. He was topless, only wearing shorts, but his chest was raw with welts and his legs were black with bruises. It hurt me to know he was suffering, too. I looked forward to the day we were all free, healed and living our lives as we wished to. “You look worse for wear, brother. Tell me what is happening.”

He shook his head and his curls swung around his face. “I won’t burden you with my woes when you can do nothing to help them.”

I blinked. “I can help,” I told him and concentrated on his threads. They were orange and coated his body like a shroud and told me there were more injuries on his back that I couldn’t see. I pushed power into them, turning them yellow and then a pale green before I had to stop. Panting, with a bead of sweat rolling down my face, I apologized, “I’m sorry I can’t do much more.”

Clawdia healed me, but there must have been residual effects from my physical injuries because I suddenly felt unwell.

“Thank you.” He looked awed again, but it made me uncomfortable. “You really healed Emily. Before. It felt like a dream. I didn’t believe it.”

“It was a dream, but the effects on her physical being remain,” I explained. “We are truly talking to each other.”

“You saved her life.” He shook his head as though he couldn’t understand why I would do that.

I frowned. “You are my brother. I’ve spent the years since becoming free searching for you and our sisters. I long to see you all again.”

He swallowed thickly. “I thought … I tried to forget about you all. I didn’t want reminders of the past, since it could never be again. And I didn’t want to torture myself with worry about what you might be suffering. I assumed we all did the same.”

“I could never forget you all.” I told him and squeezed his shoulders as my eyes bore into him. “I should have protected you. It should have only been me, but I watched you all join me in captivity. I’m sorry, but I swear to you, I am going to find you as soon as I can, and the girls. We will be together again and safe.”

A light in his eyes seemed to burn brighter at my words. His back straightened as the faith he lost years ago returned. Faith in me. The sight of his crooked grin, revealing his chipped tooth, took me back to happier days, and I beamed back in response, patting him.

Thos said, “I’m sure you aren’t just here to help me and you don’t look like a male enjoying the rewards of a soul pair and soul mate. What is happening with you?”

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