Page 34 of Bright Soul

“I will accompany you to tell her that.” A frown pulled at my stone lips, made more severe when I took a moment to transform back to human form. My concern for Cress practically pulsed out of me, along with a new emotion: anger. Phaeron was the perfect agent for Myuna to hurt Cress. Despite everything, I was halfway moved toward blaming him for this situation.

Madigan nodded. “That’s a good idea,” she said with a look of understanding.

We descended with the next set of supplies and emerged into a bustle of movement on floor negative one as crates were opened and the items divided and put away. Cress was there helping, red-nosed and puffy-eyed, and my heart sank to see her this way. She put down a jug of water moments before I swept her off her feet and into my arms.

“Hey, Geo.” She hugged me back with a soft sigh, burying her face in my shirt.

She breathed a mild protest when I carried her away to an empty conference room so she could sit with Madigan and me. I was loath to let her go, and it seemed she felt the same, as she remained in the circle of my arms when I settled. Her hand rested casually on my knee.

“How did your ritual go?” I asked.

Cress released a little watery laugh. “Fine. It was…good. I don’t feel very different, but I have to do this occasionally so I don’t overheat.” She raised her palm, which put off the same type of glow and warmth as a lightbulb.

I found that to be of dubious usefulness but kept the thought to myself.

“You will be luminous, my love,” I murmured.

Madigan cleared her throat from where she settled across from us. Cress and I jerked apart, having been about to kiss right in front of her. “I just wanted to share a few words Hana wanted me to tell you,” she said.

“About Phaeron?” Cress asked. There was a hopeful hush to her voice as her fingers knotted in her lap.

Madigan nodded. “She wants you to know that Phaeron slumbers, and if you wake him, he is yours.”

My mate’s brow knit. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

With a sigh and a shrug, Madigan leaned back in her seat. “Kid, I’d be a wealthy woman if I got a dollar for figuring out every cryptic thing an augur has said to me. I took it to mean you can shake him out of Myuna’s control by making him aware of his surroundings. But he’s coming for us soon with the rest of the goddess’s forces.”

Cress grew rigid in my lap and craned her head up toward me. “The rest of the greater unnaturals still need to be killed,” she stated with realization.

“We have reinforcements to help us,” I said.

“And Myuna has a corrupted dimensional who will teleport them away the moment their prisons are unsealed. But we will still try. It’s better than them escaping unexpectedly,” Madigan added.

Cress gulped audibly. “I need to go speak with the powercore about this and…other things.”

15

CRESS

Braza had heard our conversation, sensed my distress, and filled me with urgency to leave the private meeting with Madigan and Geo on a promise to finally tell me the idea she’d been withholding.

My face felt stiff as I took the elevator alone, assuring my companions this was something I had to do on my own. I needed to have more than two moments to myself so I could shed a few more tears and process what’d happened.

I’d known Phaeron was suffering and losing his sense of self, but it hurt so much worse to know he’d given in before I’d done much more than whisper to him encouragingly over the tenuous thread Braza was able to bridge between us. That silken strand was gone now, likely severed the moment Phaeron submitted to Myuna.

I should’ve done more. Iwoulddo more. I would “wake” him somehow, and he would be mine again, just as Hana foretold. All I had to do was figure out how to go about that.

Otherwise…he would die.

Tears continued to leak from my eyes as I exited the elevator and walked to Braza’s chamber. I couldn’t make them stop, not when I was on the edge of accepting that there was a future for Phaeron if we didn’t successfully save him, which would be worse than death.

I loved him too much to let him become an unnatural. I would swing the sword to end him myself before he had his legacy tainted and became a monster like his brother. But only if I had to.

Braza absorbed me into the powercore and took her dimensional form within the inner chamber. Her cool, jelly-like fingers brushed the tears from my face as she framed it with her hands. “Brightest of souls. I had hoped you would have a chance to practice your new celestial magic, but it seems we are out of time at last.”

“Braza…he’s…”

“Shh. I know,” she murmured. “Come and sit with me for a moment. We have an important decision to make.”

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