Page 78 of Between Soul and Vessel
I nodded.
“Hey! Ryker!” Kaleb shouted.
Ryker turned to look at him, but just as he did, Kaleb’s fist smashed into the side of his face. Blood and saliva misted the air as Ryker swirled and fell onto the ground.
“You are a real asshole, you know that?” Kaleb spat out the words, his face glowing cherry red.
“I deserved that,” Ryker said as he rubbed his jaw.
“You deserve that and so much more,” Kaleb hissed, voice laden with anger, raw and deep, like a jagged shard of glass, ready to cut.
Ryker held up one hand in defense. “I know this is shit for you, but Fallon and I had something in the past and we’re just trying to figure things out.”
Kaleb bit back. “Fucking each other when she is with someone else isnotfiguring things out.”
Lyra, who had popped her head out of the shelter, watched the scene unfolding before us all, her mouth wide open.
Fallon looked rather pitiful as she dragged her leg behind her, making her way over to the two of them. She stepped in front of Kaleb, her eyes pleading as she said, “Kaleb, I know you’re mad at me, and you have every right to be, but please try to understand. What Ryker and I had inthe past was real, and we never got to see what could have been. I won’t deny I have feelings for him, but I love you too.”
“You love metoo?” Kaleb’s eyes narrowed. “Does that mean youlovehim?” His slit pupils shifted to Ryker before they landed back on Fallon.
Fallon’s mouth went slack, tripping over her words as she said, “I-I-uh, I’m trying to figure that out. Those feelings don’t just go away.”
Kaleb went to take a step back, and Fallon tried to grab his hand, but he pulled away. “Don’t touch me.” His voice was as cold as the dead of winter.
“Kaleb, just hear us out,” Ryker interjected. “We never would have gone that far—”
“No,” Fallon cut in. “We wouldn’t have, but the berries we found that night messed with our thoughts. It loosened our inhibitions, and next thing I knew, it just happened.”
“I feel like I’m going insane. You are blaming your infidelity on . . . fuckingberries?” Kaleb shook his head in disbelief.
“Kaleb, it’s true, please,” Fallon pleaded.
“I’m done,” Kaleb said, and then turned to walk away.
Fallon and Ryker called after him, but there was nothing they could say to keep him from walking off into the trees.
I sighed and said to Folkoln, “Look after the others. I’ll be back shortly.”
My right hand propped up my nub as I made my way through the forest, the mossy floor covered in small twigs that snapped underneath my boots. The earthy scent of decaying leaves and fresh pine hung heavily in the air, a welcome change from the briny tunnel.
When I caught up to Kaleb, I slowed to match his pace.
For a while, we walked like that, our silence occupied by the sounds of the forest—the natural rustling of leaves, the chirping, tweeting birds, and a babbling brook not far up ahead.
I knew of the inner turmoil Kaleb must be feeling right now, because there was a time, not so long ago, when I had felt it too. When Sage had decided to sleep with Aurelius, a choice she made without the sway of his ichor, it made me wild with anger. With possessiveness. So, I went to her, and I asserted my claim. Over her. Over her pleasure. She wasminein every sense of the word. Shebelongedto me.
As I to her.
Despite what she had done, I could not stay mad at Sage. To do so would be incredibly short-sighted.
Sage’sactionshad been because ofme.
She had learned of our twisted past, where I had cursed her and taken away the one thing she longed to do—create. I had left her to suffer through the fever, which ravaged her for days on end, causing her unspeakable pain as her body and mind were torn to shreds.
I could still hear her tormented screams as she writhed on the cottage floor, begging for the agony to stop. And likea heartless asshole, I just sat there, watching her. Like that, in her weakened, desperate state, I had taken advantage of her, forcing her into another bargain—
I am willing to offer you a deal. I will give you an apple seed to plant.My own words echoed inside my head.
