Page 237 of The Gods Veiling
“I had the intention of removing the pieces of her soul from each of you and putting them with the piece in me. I’d heal it, then put it back together with what she has left.”
I glare at him. “How could you plan this without us? Have you even explained anything to her about souls?”
“Minimally.”
His one-word response has my skin throbbing with anger. How the fuck could he keep something so monumental from us? Not only us, her.
Riven’s eyes narrow dangerously as he casts them between Thayla and Creed. “You’ve both been lying to us. This entire time.”
I sense the fury growing in him. He can’t stand to be lied to. None of us can, but he takes it more personal.
“No. Creed lied. He was the only one asked flat out if something else was going on and said he didn’t know. Thayla made it clear she was keeping secrets and would tell us when she’s ready.”
He throws his hands up. “What’s the fucking difference? It’s a damn lie by omission.”
“Really?” I arch a brow at him. “You need the fucking difference explained. Think about that long and hard for a minute, brother.”
We’re still holding secrets close to our heart. He knows that. If he’ll put his blinding rage to the side for a second, he’ll see that.
He grits his teeth and turns back to Creed. “What’s her soul doing to mine right now?”
“It’s weaving together, trying to stay alive.”
“So she’s sucking the life out of me?”
“No, that’s not—”
“Let him take it out of you, Riven.” Thayla’s quietly murmured words send chills through the living room.
Riven’s chest heaves. “You want him to remove it from me? Just me?”
“You don’t want it inside of you. I don’t want you to punish me, harm me, or hold something I had no choice in over my head.”
“Harm you?” His face clouds in disgust.
“That’s the part we haven’t got to yet. You can pull on my soul, just as I did yesterday to you all when I needed you. It can hurt me, if that’s what you want it to do.”
“The healing villas…” I breathe.
“Yeah, I tried to pull my soul out of you. It hurt even though it wasn’t you pulling.”
“So she can hurt us the same way?” Riven asks.
“Yes,” Thayla says immediately, but Creed shakes his head.
“No.”
Her entire body startles. “What? You warned me not to use this as a weapon against them.”
“I know. I didn’t clarify, purposefully. We feel it if you pull, but it causes us no pain, just awareness. Sometimes it’s greater than others, like yesterday. I wanted to see if you’d do it or not. I’d know if you tried.”
Her face fills with fury and she releases my hand to link her fingers together. “But you all have the power to use this against me. Why does it work that way?”
“It hurts because it’s the last sliver of your soul attached to your bodily vessel. It hurt you when you tried to pull it out of Kyzen because the strength of yours and his soul together in his body are more powerful. It pulled back, bringing you to your knees. All our souls and the pieces of yours inside of us are stronger than the piece left inside of you.”
Her eyes shut as she exhales harshly and lays her head in her hands. If looks could kill, Creed would be dead where he stands from the lethal glares Riven, Amick, and I are giving him.
“What are the ins and outs of this, Creed? Is she or her soul dying? Would removing her pieces remove our tie or do damage to her? What are the side effects of harboring a soul?” Amick asks.
