Page 71 of Chaos Carnival

My fault. The knowledge ate at me like acid. I'd left her alone when the madness still flickered through her mind. Let her face Ivan without me. Failed to protect her when she needed me most, too distracted with spoiling her to see how deep the thread-sickness had gone.

Now she was scattered across the universe like stardust, and I was left here, drowning in the wreckage of all my mistakes.

“Maverick?”

Her voice drifted through the room like a hazy dream. I shot to my feet, heart pounding. “Tess? Where are you?”

“I... I don't know.” She sounded distant, confused. “I can sense you all, but everything else is... nothing.”

Addie pressed her hands to her mouth, blinking fresh tears from wide, disbelieving eyes. Stone and Lux moved closer, both scanning the room.

“Come back to me, monstre,” I pleaded. “Just follow my voice.”

“I don't know how.” Her words echoed strangely, as if coming from everywhere.

“Focus on me,” I said, reaching out into empty air. “On our bond. You can feel it, right?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “You burn so bright. But I can't... I'm losing...” Her voice began to fade.

“Tess? Tess!”

But she was gone again, leaving only silence and the bitter taste of hope in my mouth.

The room seemed to collapse inward, suffocating under the impact of her absence. My outstretched hand shook, fingers curling into a fist as if by sheer will I could grip the bond and pull her back. It still thrummed faintly, tenuous as spider's thread, tied to something fragile drifting further away with every heartbeat. My chest ached, the mate bond stretched to its breaking point, a reminder that she was out there—somewhere—but slipping further beyond my reach.

“LILITH!”

The scent of lemon and wine wafted from the kitchen as she appeared in the doorway, a glass of red in one hand, a glossy magazine pinched between thumb and fingers with the other. “You bellowed?” Her voice was low, a mixture of annoyance and something softer—pity, maybe.

“Lil.” My voice cracked. I swallowed hard. “We heard her. Just now.”

The magazine tumbled from her fingers to the floor, her brows arching as the wine glass froze midway to her lips. “Youheardher? Shespoketo you?”

“She said my name,” I said, pacing. “She said she can feel us, but she’s lost. How do we find her? I need to know how to get her back.”

Her expression darkened as she set the wine glass aside and rose to her feet. “That’s no small feat, Maverick.” She hesitated, her gaze piercing through me as though weighing my resolve. “I’m afraid it’s up to her.”

My temper frayed. “What do you mean ‘up to her’? She’s stranded, Lilith. She doesn’t know how to come back.”

Her head tilted, her hair catching the dim light as she looked past me, staring into the space I’d just torn through. Her lips pursed, a flicker of thought crossing her features.

“What?” I demanded, stepping into her line of sight. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m not sure,” she murmured. “But if you could hear her, then maybe you can do more than that. Maybe you can guide her.”

“How!?” My voice was edged with desperation. “Fuck, tell me how!”

She exhaled sharply, rubbing her temples as though I was exhausting her just by being here. “She’s unraveling out there. You can’t just yank her back like a misplaced suitcase. You have to calm her—help her center herself. She needs to find the right state of mind. Light, easy, free.”

“Rather like threading a needle in the dark,” Oscar observed from the mantle. “One must have a delicate touch, or the thread slips away entirely.”

My pulse hammered in my ears. “How the hell am I supposed to do that when she’s not even here?”

Lilith sighed, frustration flashing across her elegant features. “I might be able to help. But it'll take more than just you. She's tethered to all of you—you're her anchors. You, Stone, Addie, Lux. Her family.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” I turned toward the others.

Stone pushed away from the window, his dark eyes narrowing into slits as he took in Lilith's presence. “You can't seriously be suggesting we trust her with this.” His voice was sharp, like the crack of a whip.

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