Page 99 of Unhinged Magic
It was clear he needed help to understand. This other soul Skye spoke of must have been with him for years, unable to let go. It seemed he remembered nothing of that time.
I slipped my hand into my jacket pocket, my fingers brushing over his death notice. A shiver slid through me as I pulled it out, staring at it. I moved over to a mirror leaning up against the wall, where nothing reflected back. What a fucking mind trip. The death notice stuck to my hand like a memory would someone’s mind, like it wouldn’t let me ever forget it, and I never would.
Turning back to Landon, I motioned him over, and he drifted to me as if in slow motion. I held the final notice of his death against the mirror with my thumb.
He came closer, doing exactly as I hoped he would. He stood, staring at a reflection that wasn’t there.His glassy eyes travelled to the notice, stamping it to his memory.
I grabbed his shoulder in support, and, in that moment, we were transported back in time. To the dreadful last moments when his life had ended. Because of me. I gasped as the memory retreated, leaving the both of us in silence. The thin square of paper slipped from my fingers, floating to the ground.
“It’s my fault,” I said, my jaw tightening as the words left me. “It should have been me, not you.”
Emotion rushed at me, my senses in fucking overload. A deep sadness stripped me of anything else at seeing himherein this godforsaken manor or void, whatever the fuck this place was.
“No, it’s not,” he said firmly, his words trying to convince me otherwise. His green eyes softened, and I wondered if mine had done the same. “Please don’t blame yourself.”
Without warning, he hugged me, one that spoke words he couldn’t voice. We stayed like that, heartbeats that should have navigated life side-by-side, bantering about women and cars.
Pulling away, he gave me a knowing look. “You need to live your life, and it seems I need to rest.”
I found myself lost for words. I had never had to say goodbye before, not like this. The lump in my throat burned, my arm landing on him once more. “I wish it didn’t end like this,” I rasped, fighting back fresh tears.
Landon nodded, his lips pressing into a thin line. “But it does. I feel the mate bond, brother.”
Brother.
A word I thought I would never hear spoken to me. He lowered his gaze, searching for any sign I understood him.
I found myself in a state I wasn’t sure I could pull myself from.
Desperate. Motionless.
Mindless.
He continued speaking, his words tearing my fucking heart in two.
“Wesley, this bond is not mine to keep. It needs to pass to you and this beautiful woman.” He extended his hand to Skye, and she stepped closer, making her way toward us. “My existence here is only hindering that.”
Emotion spilled over Skye’s cheeks, and she swiped at it profusely. “I didn’t think my day would end like this,” she sniffled, pulling the two of us close to her until we were shoulder-to-shoulder.
A triangle of something I never thought I would encounter in my lifetime.
My brother, the woman I loved, and me, wrapped in each other’s comfort.
Landon whispered the words I had been dreading. “I have to go now.”
Blinking repeatedly, I tried to fight tears, but it was useless. I choked on a sob, “You can’t, not yet.” Fuck, I’d only had minutes with him.
It was then that moments of our limited years together flashed before my eyes. The birthdays, the racetrack we wore into Mom and Dad’s backyard as we rode our trikes around in continuous circles. I smiled, remembering the fights we would have over who got to tow the little trailer behind their trike, because one lap was never enough and sharing was never an option. The huts we made, the times at the creek with Dad where we would collect slime on long sticks to make them look like hotdogs. Helping Mom bake her famous fruit cake and secretly picking the top layer off itthinkingshe wouldn’t notice.
“It’s time.” He steered a longing look toward Skye. His thumb brushed her cheek. “Look after my brother, would you?”
She smiled, emotion cutting her tone in the most tortured way. “Always.” She clutched his hand against her face as she would mine and I swear I felt it. Like we connected, and I felt itall.
I couldn’t look away from him.My brother. I would never forget the way the word sounded when he said it.
“Rest easy brother,” I replied, a nod between two souls, once lost, now found. I wish I could freeze this singular moment, but if Skye and I were to live this life, then we needed to say goodbye to Landon for good.
He dipped his head. The three of us huddled close, his final breath so quiet I wondered if I imagined it. “Goodbye.”
