Page 291 of Shadowblood Souls
Griffin blinks at his twin, but even his surprise at the outburst is mild. “It seemed like the best thing to do. The right thing to do.”
“To see us stuck back in cages? What’s the matter with you?”
Griffin’s gaze veers around us. “This isn’t much of a cage.”
I think his calm demeanor is pissing Jacob off even more than he already was. “It doesn’t matter how pretty it is—we’re still trapped here. Partly because ofyou. You’re one of us. Or at least you were.”
Griffin studies Jake as if he’s a little confused by the entire line of questioning. “I didn’t want to see you get into even more trouble or do more things you might regret. I’m sorry that I had to trick you to do it.”
“You’re sorry?” Jacob rasps. “You betrayed all of us. Me. Riva. You loved her—I know you did—and you helped them drag her back— How could you turn on evenher?”
A flicker of something passes through Griffin’s expression, there and then gone before I can tell if it’s anything resembling an emotion. His attention slides to me where I’m standing behind his brother’s shoulder, and a pang shoots through my chest.
I loved him too. I don’t know if there’s anything left of the guy I loved behind those dazed eyes.
“I think I should give you more space,” Griffin says, backing up a step. “Seeing me is getting you worked up. I hope we can talk more later.”
“You—”
Jacob’s hand twitches, and I grab his arm before he can lift it. I don’t want him using his powers on his brother—I can’t imagine he won’t regretthat.
“Let him go,” I say quietly as Griffin strides off toward the clearing. “I don’t think hecangive us any answer we’d be happy with.”
Jake’s fingers flex and clench at his sides. “There’s nothing okay about that.”
“I know. It isn’t okay at all. But yelling at him isn’t going to fix it. Throwing around your power definitely won’t.”
Jacob lets his breath out in a hiss. His head droops. “Yeah.”
Watching him, an ache expands through my chest, eating away all the momentary joy I found. I can remember the two of them together so easily, back when we were all in the facility together.
Any time Griffin faltered in a physical trial, Jacob would be there, ensuring his twin made it through. Every time Jacob’s determined incisiveness boiled over into frustration, Griffin would be there, talking him down.
They fit together perfectly, like two halves of a whole, made to complement each other—to balance each other out. I’ve never seen them argue.
Until now.
We stay there for a few minutes, just standing together as Jake’s breaths even out. I figure it’s better not to push him to go on to the facility until he’s got his anger totally under control.
Just as he finally lifts his head, footsteps crackle behind us. We look over to see Clancy approaching us.
Apparently our captor is a fast walker.
He takes us in with a slight cock of his head that asks a question silently.
“We bumped into Griffin,” I say in explanation. “It wasn’t a good conversation.”
“Ah.” Clancy’s mouth tightens.
I cross my arms over my chest, just shy of hugging myself. “What did the guardiansdoto him?”
Clancy takes a deep breath, his gaze sliding past us toward the mountainside and then back again. “It’s over now. I’d focus on that.”
Jacob’s voice comes out in a growl. “But?—”
The older man cuts him off with a shake of his head and fishes for something in his bag. “I realized there’s one thing I wanted to go over with you upfront. While you’re out on the assignment, we’ll be tracking and monitoring your life signals the entire time. To make sure you haven’t gotten diverted, and so we can alert Dominic right away if his powers are needed.”
My spine stiffens. “What do you mean?”
