Page 344 of Shadowblood Souls
It makes him look almost like he really is my brother again.
Can I trust that impression? Is he actually coming around, snapping out of the demented stupor the guardians inflicted on him?
Or is he simply making the best moves he can to win us over so that he can then betray us when he has an ideal opportunity?
I can’t read the answers in his face or his behavior. And the knowledge that he can sense my uneasiness without even trying gnaws at me.
We always thought that Griffin was the weakest out of us, at least when it came to combat skills. But knowing how your enemies are feeling, being able to twist those emotions to your will if you want to…
I’d rather deal with another guy like me, with telekinetic talents and poison spikes, than face off with my brother.
At least I haven’t seen any sign that he’s manipulating us. Riva might have kissed him last night, whatever he said to her that encouraged the gesture of affection, and she’s offeringmoments of companionship now, but her gaze stays wary when she looks at him.
She isn’t convinced he’s really come back to us either. And if he was going to mess with anyone’s emotions to his benefit, presumably it’d be mine or hers.
The kids in front of us clamber over a fallen tree that rises to my thighs, and I extend my hand automatically to heft Riva with me over it. She accepts the help with a soft smile that rearranges my insides and gives my hand a squeeze before she lets go on the other side.
Even when we’re not touching, it feels like we are through the mark now burned into my flesh at the top of my collarbone. I can sense exactly where she is in an instant.
I’ll never really lose her again.
But somehow I can’t convince myself that even that closeness is enough. Can’t shake the vague impression that there must be something more I should offer that I haven’t worked out yet.
It turns out that not every wild creature around has been warded off by Zian’s might. We’re just ducking around the low branches of a vine-draped tree when one of those “vines” lifts its head with a threatening hiss.
The huge snake’s head swings toward Riva. With a jolt of panic, I hurl out a surge of power that smacks it backward but doesn’t dislodge it from its perch.
Before I can launch a more aggressive defense, Riva sets her hand on my shoulder and parts her lips. The sound that seeps from them echoes the snake’s hiss with a hint of one of her deadly shrieks.
A flinch ripples through the snake’s body. It recoils and slithers away higher into the tree.
Riva shoots me another smile. “I appreciate the protection, but I wanted to see if that would work. I’d rather not kill the animals if we don’t have to.”
She looks so pleased with herself—with the control she’s gaining over her powers, with the kindness she was able to offer that beast I’d have smashed to pieces—that my heart just about bursts.
I rein in the urge to grab her and pour all my adoration into a kiss of my own. We’ve both got to stay alert.
But the longing lingers as we tramp onward.
The jumpy kid with the spiky white hair does one of his teleporting hops and nearly trips onto his face. Riva dashes forward in an instant and catches him before he hits the ground.
She walks on next to him, getting into a murmured conversation. I’m torn between wanting to catch up so I’m close at hand ifsheneeds help again—not that she ever needs that much—and knowing she’d rather at least one of us was at the back of the pack to keep track of all the kids.
Then Griffin drifts backward again, falling into step beside me. The weird pang that hits me every time my twin is nearby radiates through my chest.
It feels wrong to still be grieving him when he’s righthere. But he’s not exactly. Not one piece of my body has come to grips with that fact.
“You don’t miss the comforts of the facility?” I hear myself saying before I’ve considered the question. It’s not a bad one, though. If I could assume he’d answer honestly.
Griffin shakes his head without hesitation. “It wasn’t really that comfortable when you got down to it, was it? I just… I was looking at things too narrowly.”
I guess that’s one way of saying he royally screwed us over.
As if he’s read that thought as well as my emotions, he glances over at me. “I am sorry, you know. I made mistakes—I misjudged the situation. I hope… I hope that none of us will have to hurt people the way you had to before, but I can see why you didn’t feel you had much choice.”
I gaze back at him, letting my gaze harden. “Anyone we hurt, it was to make sure they couldn’t kill us. Or turn us back into slaves.”
“I know. I know you did the best you could.”
