Page 91 of Bound By Roses

“Another time.”

Before I can pull out of his grasp, I feel Tate’s influence wash over me. It’s like ice in my veins, beginning at the back of my neck before spreading down my spine and limbs like wet snow raining down on my skin. My vision blurs and when I blink, bright sunlight is replaced by fog. Swirls of shadow and mist envelop me, threatening to steal away my very soul.

Somewhere in the distance, a wraith screams.

Laughter replaces the thrumming of my heart as the vision dissipates. I nearly stumble as I struggle to pull in a breath of air that doesn’t smell like decay. A hand claps my shoulder. “A fear of death is commendable. By the way you ran out last night, I was expecting something more entertaining.”

He has no idea. What they believe is the fear of death is nothing but my fear of the veil and the wraiths’ promise that comes with it. That said, I’m almost surprised I didn’t see myself. Or rather, the monster I once was. And that’s just it. Perhaps we really aren’t one and the same. I bit that Guardian. Iinfected him with the very curse that almost destroyed me. And yet, I’m still me.

Abby pushes into him before I can respond. “Do you want to see my fear? It’s that I’m going to stab you if you don’t back the fuck off.”

I know she doesn’t mean it, but Gods, is she ever convincing? The siren’s smirk disappears and the three of them move aside, all the while mumbling about which of us is crazier.

When we’re far enough away, I let out a laugh that is far more at ease than it should be. “You’re vicious when you want to be.”

She smiles sweetly, allowing the statement to hang in the air between us. Vicious is not a word I thought I would ever use to describe her, but I shouldn’t be surprised. I’m the one who taught her to kill.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Her question brings me out of the memory of that bastard who nearly killed her. I’d never been so angry. I’d never wanted so much make a death last so that I could savour in every last second of it, but even then, Abby showed mercy. I may have turned her into a killer, but her heart didn’t blacken.

I sigh, blowing away the memory. “We’re going to the cave of faces.” At least convincing her I haven’t lost my mind will distract me from what’ll be waiting for us when we return to Lunae in the morning. For all I know, the Guardian is already dead.

Her brows crease, and then her eyes widen as realization hits. “You think Ty meantthatcave?”

Ty.

I don’t want to think of him as anything other than a Guardian because I don’t want yet another person’s blood on my hands. Or claws, I guess. Too many people have been killed by the monster, and if he dies, this will be the first killed byme.Every life I’ve ever taken had a purpose. This death would be for nothing.

I shrug to hide my shudder. “Do you know of any other caves that fit the description? Even if that’s not what he was talking about, we need to be sure.”Ineed to be sure. And more than that, I know my brother. He was always quick to get to the point. I can’t even count how many times he interrupted my day to deliver a message with as few words as possible. It was never, ‘Our father wants to see you in the dungeon so he can train you.’ It was, ‘Father’ and ‘Dungeon.’ And then if I was lucky, he’d add an, ‘I’m sorry.’ Though that was only when the bruises still hadn’t faded from the last time he sent Evan after me.

“Why would Ty hallucinate about that? He’s never been to Marein, let alone outside of Lunae.”

I stop walking so she’s forced to meet my gaze. “You’re going to think I’m crazy, but I don’t think he was hallucinating.”

Her expression barely changes, but I don’t miss the slight crease of her brow. “Okay?”

I know she’s waiting for an answer, but I almost can’t speak the words I know in my heart to be true. “I think… I think he was seeing Evan.”

“Why would he see Evan?” At least she’s not outright calling me mad.

“Whenever I see Evan in the veil, I can’t hear him. The first time, I thought he was trying to tell me something. If the fever brings people to the brink of death, maybe they can hear the dead.”

“Okay…” she says again, but it’s more hesitant this time. “And you think if the message was important enough, he would find a way to get it to you.”

“You think I’m stubborn, but you haven’t met my brother. He’d find a way.” A shard of ice pierces into my heart at the thought of her never being able to meet him. Not really. Seeinghim in the veil is one thing, but Evan is dead. Our relationship may have been complicated, but I respected him more than anyone.

“I believe you,” she says, like she knew I needed to hear her say it. “But there’s just one thing that’s still bothering me.”

I laugh. “Just one?”

Her answering smile is brighter than the sun drawing ever nearer to the horizon, but it dims as quickly as it appeared. “How would Evan know about the cave? I know he lived among the sirens for a few years, but he was a child. Did he even remember his life here?” She gestures towards the waves.

“I honestly don’t know if he remembered. He never mentioned it, but I suspect our father told him not to. As for how he knew about the cave and what I hope we’ll find there… Who knows what he’s seen from the veil?”

We walk the rest of the way in silence. Her hand is warm in mine and it gives me the strength I need to keep moving. Each step we take brings us one step closer to the truth—or to disappointment. Abby is the first to speak when we’re face to face with the carving of my mother. She looks the exact same as the last time we were here, but the kindness I’d thought I’d seen in her stone eyes has been replaced with something else. As I stare into them now, all I see are the secrets she kept from me and the secret she might keep now.

“We’re here,” she says, and there’s an uneasiness to her voice.

“We’re here.” I touch a hand to my mother’s face and drag my fingers along the rough stone. I don’t know what I was expecting, but nothing happens.

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