Immortal Consequences(129)

She snaked her way closer, hand lifted toward Wren’s face. One of the shadows fluttering around her arm slithered onto Wren’s shoulder, skating over her collarbone. August watched helplessly as Wren’s eyes widened in fear. He fought through the pain, lifting himself onto his knees, but he couldn’t break free of the magic holding him down.

He couldn’t save her.

“Recently, I had a feeling I could no longer trust my brother. Call it sisterly intuition. So I made the choice to enter Blackwood and see for myself…observe.” Edith let out a sigh. “I pushed my luck in the second trial. Showed my cards too early. You see, my brother and I have a pesky little way of knowing when the other is around. And when I sent that shadow creature, I knew my brother had finally sensed my presence.”

Wren shook her head. “But—”

“I know you probably have questions, but I’m afraid they’re going to have to wait. We’re running a bit behind schedule.” She snapped her fingers, and Wren’s body shuddered as the spell loosened its grip on her. Before she could retaliate, one of the shadows wrapped itself tightly around her wrists, shackling her. “Sorry. Precautionary measures.”

Wren groaned as she fought against the restraints.

“Why are you doing this?”

Edith’s smile darkened. Her gaze shifted to August. “Do you want to be the one to tell her? Or should I?”

Panic seized him as he fought through the pain. It felt as though his body were engulfed in flames, his brain pounding mercilessly against his skull.

“Loughty…” His lungs betrayed him as he gasped in a ragged breath. He tried to stay focused, to keep his eyes on hers, but brown dots had begun to clog his vision. “I’ve…I’ve kept things from you. Lied to you. But I need you to know that I would never have let her—I would never have let her take you.”

Wren’s face creased with confusion.

“Take me?”

He buckled forward as another wave of pain seized his chest, but he kept his gaze locked on hers. A part of him was afraid that if he looked away, if he gave in to the pain, he’d lose her completely.

“Edith recruited me. Long ago. She convinced me to join the Demien Order before I realized what it had become.” His words tumbled out of him. He knew he didn’t have a lot of time. That Edith was going to win this fight no matter what. He couldn’t stop her. Not now. But he could try to make Wren understand. He could use the seconds he had left to try to mend what he had broken. “I was…I was assigned to gain your trust. To bring you to her when you were ready. And at first…I was going to do it. I thought it was the right thing. But—but it isn’t who I am anymore. It isn’t who I want to be. And the closer I got to you, the more I knew I couldn’t go through with it. Everything—”

A guttural scream cut him off as another wave of pain sent him collapsing toward the ground. He looked up through his damp curls, wincing as he pushed himself back onto his knees. He could barely get the words out, but he had to keep going.

“—everything changed. I knew I couldn’t do it anymore. That I couldn’t help Edith. A part of me had known for years that what the Demien Order had become was just another form of destruction.” He drew in a breath and fought to remain conscious. She needed to hear this. To hear every word. “But it was you who turned the light back on, Wren. The one who brought me back to life after years and years of drowning. It was you who dragged me back from hell. It was you. It was always you. It will always be you.”

Silence split the night. Unspoken words simmered behind Wren’s eyes.

And then a single clap. And another. And another.

“Beautiful,” Edith mused with a grin. She mockingly clapped her hands together, head falling back as she let out a cackle of laughter. “Did you plan that? I mean, that was some groundbreaking stuff right there. You should really write that down.” She cupped Wren’s face between her hands, angling her closer. “But I’m afraid we’re going to have to cut this lovefest a bit short. We have somewhere to be.”

Wren fought against her restraints. “I don’t understand. Why have August spend all these years gaining my trust just to recruit me?”

Edith inhaled a sharp breath, something hungry and feral gleaming in her eyes.

“Because we couldn’t just snatch you from your bed in the middle of the night. We needed to wait. To be patient. To obey what is written and fulfill the Soulless One’s prophecy. Because you, Wren Loughty, are not just a regular recruit.” Edith’s gaze snaked over Wren’s face, drinking her in. “You are…so much more.”

Wren shuddered.

“What…am I?”

At this, Edith chuckled.

“You’ll find out soon enough. But for now…you need to come with me.”

Wren took a rigid step backward.

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Now, Wren.” Edith chuckled. “Let’s play nice. I can’t have you kicking and screaming the whole way there. I need you compliant. You can do that for me…can’t you?”

“Never,” Wren spat out.

Edith’s gaze hardened. “Fine. Then watch him suffer.”

August collapsed onto the ground as a searing pain shot through his limbs. It was fire. All at once. Engulfing his limbs. He wanted to rip his own skin off. To peel back the layers and let himself wither away. He must have been screaming. There was a noise echoing in his ears, loud and grating. But he’d lost track of what was up and what was down, consumed by the never-ending pain.