Page 31 of The Order: Rise of the New Empire

“To think, you said you loved her,” Kai scoffs, forcing a frown on the raven's face.

"I do have love for Forest," Fallan begins, all of my rage ramping up to an unprecedented level. "I did love her-"

"Do you wish to lose the other hand?" I question, forcing myself to stay calm. "You have no idea what it means to truly feel her love. You will never know what it means to love with no constraints. Heed your words," I say in a tone no one, not even Fallan, is willing to fight.

"You really think there is no scenario in which she cut a deal to keep us safe?" Bekah questions the group. "Think about it, not once has Elyon or his forces come this way since the night of the ball, or any of the compounds. The bloodshed has stayed confined to Sanctum's hubs, areas that are clearly the Prophet's domain."

"Perhaps that's what they want us to believe," Mason says, shrugging his shoulders. "What better way to get the obstacles out of the way than to lure them to you? Every single one ofyou is a weakness to Forest in one way or another," dragging his finger over, he waves it between me and Kai. "Those two being the most lethal. If I were her, I'd want to stay hidden from the both of you two."

"I need to see her," I snap. "It doesn't matter what fucked up plan she has involved herself in. I know there's more to all of this than I am seeing."

"You haven't seen the true bloodshed she left behind, Xavier," Mason grovels, empathy finally hitting his tone. "You haven't seen what kind of killer Forest Evermore really is. All the times you have seen her kill, she has been fighting for you. She has had you to be her moral guide, now? Now, what she is willing to do would bring you nightmares. You all benefit from never seeing the carnage she has left behind."

Painting Forest to be something worse than the Prophet, I close my eyes, composing myself as best I can.

There's more to this story.

There's more to all of this.

I just have to get to her.

I just have to find her.

Creeping up on me as suddenly as it had the first time, a chill runs down my spine, a feral need to be as close to Forest as possible, adrenaline coursing through my vein. Gripping the back of the closest chair near me, the instinct to hold her close and tear off the head of anyone who dares to come near her dawns on me, all of my senses fading away. Once before has this feeling flooded my emotions. Despite the quiet connection rolling through us, I feel this force, one much deeper than her and I urging me to find her.

As quickly as it comes, it fades, leaving nothing but a sense of emptiness.

It doesn't matter how far away she is from me.

Something always pulls me back to her.

Tuning back into the chatter around me, I blink past my sudden absence, releasing the chair, now scratched with my nail marks.

"You have Marked to be training," I whisper, creeping into Mason's mind, getting a clear picture of the path he took to make it to the Precipice. "Thank you for the information. We will rest here one last night, then be on our way," I smile, excusing Mason from an already heated conversation.

Shaking his head at me, he takes the cue to leave, giving the space a look of disapproval. Swinging the door open, the man turns to leave, keeping his focus toward the water.

"When you light that match, Xavier," Mason says, his voice cold. "Know there will always be someone waiting to blow it out."

Chapter nine

Xavier

Barely opening my eyes, I cling to the sheets of my bed, my room heavy with the presence of another body, the only light in the bleak space the moonlight filtering through the window.

Having barely made it to sleep moments ago, a chill breeze startled me awake, pulling me away from my night of miserable sleep.

Feeling warmth flood my chest, something foreign touches my soul, something other than the feeling of dread that has seemed to follow me nonstop for the past several months. Keeping my eyes pried open, I stay still, wondering how close I am to the nearest weapon.

I suppose my hands are more than capable of strangling whoever was foolish enough to creep into my space unannounced.

"You always were an overthinker," her voice whispers, every single violent thought I have kept pent up for the past several months melting away.

This isn't possible.

I must be dreaming.

"I forgot how much I loved watching you sleep."

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