Page 30 of Darkness and Deceit
She rushes to keep up, boots scraping against the ground. “What the fuck? You froze them?Are they okay?”
“They will unfreeze once we are out of proximity,” I respond evenly.
She steps in front of me, blocking my path. Her gray eyes burn as they lock onto mine.
“Youfroze them,” she repeats, voice rising. “You didn’t even give me a chance to try and calm them down. You just—decided.”
“I need you clear-headed,” I reply, trying not to flinch at the heat in her glare. “You were being pulled in too many directions.”
“That’s bullshit,” she snaps. “Those are my friends. You don’t get to treat them like... like objects just because it’s convenient for your mission.” Her voice is shaking now and her hands tremble at her sides, clenched so tightly her knuckles have gone white.
I remain silent. There is nothing I can say to make it better.
She turns, intent on marching back to them, but freezes when her eyes catch on Mara still standing at the tent’s edge, watching silently, her expression unreadable.
Lilith holds her gaze for a beat or two. Then she breathes out, sharp and bitter, like she is swallowing down a scream. “Of course,” she mutters.
She does not dally any longer. Simply pivots and stalks toward the forest.
I follow, the tension thick between us. The trees rise ahead—tall, dense, dark as an unspoken threat. The shadows shift, like they’re waiting for us to step in.
A chill travels down my spine and I lower my voice. “Stay close. The Balance doesn’t give second chances.”
She doesn’t answer.
But she doesn’t hesitate.
Together, we step into the trees.
And the shadows close in around us.
Ten
LILITH
Why doall Keepers have to be such colossal assholes?
I grew up hearing stories from my dad—how Keepers were protectors of the realm, wise stewards of the Balance. Revered. Unshakable. But somehow, no one ever mentioned they’re alsoinsufferable.
Seriously. Is there a secret class where they teach them how to be emotionally unavailable, uncomfortably cryptic, and entirely smug? Do they surgically remove their ability to emote?
They interrogate you like mind-shredding machines, ignore you like ghosts, and when they finally engage, they freeze your friends mid-sentence like it’s perfectly normal behavior.
And don’t even get me started on the whole throwing-people-off-buildings thing. The image of Kai falling is burned behind my eyelids. Every time it crosses my mind, I feel that same helplessness swell in my chest. I try not to think about it. Try not to remember how close I came to losing someone I can’t even imagine losing.
I swallow hard and force myself back to the present.
Augustus walks ahead of me with that eerie, gliding grace all Keepers seem to have, like the ground bends to accommodatethem. His royal blue tunic shifts with each step, brushing his legs like he’s some regal phantom summoned from a forgotten age.
His posture is too perfect, too still, like even breathing might crease his robe. I roll my eyes, but I still watch him.
Dark hair, slightly messy like he ran a hand through it and gave up. Gray eyes that don’t miss much. He’s tall, broad-shouldered, looks like he was trained to stand still and judge people for a living.
I watch the way his gaze flicks toward mine when he thinks I’m not looking. Like he’s checking I’m still here. Or making sure I haven’t run.
There’s something about him that doesn’t quite fit the marble pedestal they’ve put him on. A hesitation, maybe. A crack in the mask.
Maybe he’s not just watching me.
