Page 112 of Speak No Claim

“The only ones who don’t know are you and my sister, I mean, she knows some, but not all. At first, it was the only reason I agreed to watch you.”

“And now?”

“You’re the reason I can’t stop obsessing over you. Their plan backfired because, baby, to watch you, to learn about you, your every movement, your every gesture, your smile, your laugh, the way you dance, the way you cook, how you talk to nature, how you can read people so easily, your beliefs, your knowledge, your beauty…” I caressed the side of her face, leaving my blood there too.

Maybe in a way, this was my ritual for her.

“Your kindness, the way you love, your innocence, your sass, your determination, your wit, your smart-ass fucking mouth, your strength, your courage, the power you have over wild animals and my fucking dick, everything about you… is to love you, Hennessy Belladonna.”

Her eyes filled with fresh tears. “That’s the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me.”

“If I had a soul, I’d hand it to you. Do you understand that?”

She nodded. “I understand everything.”

“Good.”

“Deja?” She swallowed hard, my eyes hardening. She knew she wouldn’t get anything else out of me after that. Changing the subject, she questioned, “How long have you been stalking me?”

Unable to resist, I leaned forward, kissing and licking those tears off her face too. “Since the second you stepped onto American soil.”

“That’s four months, Onyx. You’ve been lying⁠—”

“I never lied to you.”

“What do you call what you’re doing right now? You think any of this is normal?”

“Since when have you ever been normal, Hennessy? You talk to nature like it talks back to you.”

“It does.” Without missing a beat, she added, “And you can hear it, or this wouldn’t be your escape too.” She gestured to the firepit.

“I come here to stop the voices, Hennessy.”

“Does it work?”

“It did until you woke them from the dead.”

“Is that what your aunt meant by the woods are witnesses?”

“Just as much as you are. Now do you understand that?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” I repeated.

If I had the power to freeze time, I’d have done it right then and there, but magic like that didn’t exist. If it did, what played out next would’ve never happened to begin with.

In an instant, my whole world flipped upside down as I knew it would eventually. Preparing for it wasn’t enough, no, not even close.

Sacrifice was never something I enjoyed watching. Especially when the victim didn’t earn it, which in most cases, they didn’t. Except none of that mattered.

There were rules to follow, and I just broke all of them, putting our lives at risk to share some of the truth she deserved to know.

I hung us on the cross that night under the full moon. You reaped what you sowed, and I understood that the moment I shouted, “Run!” to Hennessy.

But I was too late. The consequences of my betrayal caught up to us. I grabbed her hand, yanking her up with me and hauling ass, straight out of hell. The demons always caught up with me, particularly when I was dragging an angel with me.

We didn’t make it out of those woods, not when we ran into Caspian…