I stumble in the dark corridor as the truth pummels me.She was killed a lifetime ago, and I never dealt with the loss.But now she is here, beside me, talking to me, and it almost brings me to my knees.
‘He is distorting the truth to suit his narrative.’
I step out of the church in the forest, and somewhere in the darkness, Noah laughs cruelly.
Chapter Twenty-One
Mateo
Graves Tell The Truth
The forest swallowssound whole.
Branches tear at my jacket as I tear through the undergrowth, tracking the echo of Noah’s laughter.The bond burns under my ribs—Harlow’s fear, sharp and metallic, bleeding into me like she’s running beside me.
She can feel me slipping toward something dangerous, and the bond is reacting as if it were instinct.
‘Don’t believe him.’
The voice hammers through my skull, soft and frantic all at once.
“Fuck,” I breathe, pushing faster.
Aziel and Rowan are somewhere behind me, but Noah moves like he is made from smoke.He always has.A creature built of grief and rage and shadows.He knows how to disappear into the dark.
But tonight, he won’t escape from me.I will end this cat-and-mouse game tonight.I’ll rip every truth from him piece by fucking piece.
The trees thin and gravestones break through the weeds—crooked and sinking into the dark earth.A forgotten cemetery behind the derelict church.Moonlight paints everything in silver and shadows, lending an eerie tone.
Noah stands in the middle of it.Still and waiting.His chest rises shallowly, blood streaking his jaw.He leans against a crumbling angel statue like a pilgrim visiting a grave.
“You left your friends behind,” he murmurs without turning.
I step into the open.“You ran, and I followed you.”
“No,” he says, finally turning toward me.His eyes glint with something between madness and memory.“You left the coven behind because you didn’t want them to hear what comes next.”
