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“He sees a woman that he has a duty to protect, just as I do just as you feel about us. You lost it when the Florin attacked him. What you felt is what we feel for you. You’re looking at things one-sided.”
I was, I realized. But still, Rumir had crossed a line with his actions afterward. He wasn’t my Alpha. And he had no right to assert his dominance over me. But I’d deal with him later.
“What did you see in its mind?” Lucian asked.
I paused, trying to find the words. “There was anger—too much anger—and a need to kill. It hadn't been hunting those Vernims to feed. It just wanted to kill. That was all. I hated that it had to die.”
“I could tell,” he replied, and I sighed, pushing away the memory of what I’d felt inside the beast before it had been completely consumed.
I’d apologized to it just before our connection broke, but that hadn’t felt like enough. Whatever or whoever was controlling it, it didn’t care what it was doing to the creature.
I sat up and turned to him. “Thinking back, there was a presence.”
“A presence? What do you mean?”
I frowned as I tried to remember what I'd felt. Anger was an emotion and could be felt, but in the florkin, that anger had taken over as if it had a mind of its own. It was controlling the animal. "It's hard to explain, but it felt as if the anger inside it was a living thing. It was driving it to act the way it did against its will. The Florin was trapped inside itself, dying.”
Lucian’s brows knitted with concern, and again I thought of my vision. Now more than ever, I felt this incident was connected to it because I'd felt rage during that vision—rage that had been forced onto me. And I couldn’t help thinking that it was no coincidence that the florkin’s eyes were red, just like the liquid I'd seen in my vision.
I have to tell him.
So I told Lucian all about it, about the sea of red liquid, of him and Rehema being consumed by it.
“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”
"Visions aren't set in stone. The future is always changing, and that vision in particular, as powerful as it had been, was vague. They aren't always clear, and I didn't want to wrongfully alarm anyone. I was waiting to see if something else happened. On Earth, when it looked like the visions I’d seen would come to pass, I’d always have more than one. I usually took those as confirmation. But here, I’ve only had the one."
He turned away and placed his elbow on his knee, covering his mouth with his hand. He looked deep in thought but also worried.
“After what happened at the café with the dryad, I started doing some research,” he said. “Like I’d said to you then, it’s odd for souls to be violent in this realm. But I was concerned, so I did some digging, looking to see if there were other incidents.”
“And were there?” I probed.
He nodded. “Yes, minor things like arguments, but nothing significant enough to draw much attention. So, unless someone was checking, no one would realize these things were happening more often than they should.”
“Could it have really been a disease or something?”
“There has never been an outbreak of any kind in this realm. Besides, what disease feels like a presence? You said the florkin was being controlled. Maybe someone was controlling it, and you thought it was the rage you felt.”
Now that's a different story. Who would do such a thing?
I didn’t voice that question because there wasn’t an obvious answer. We were in a realm populated by millions of supernaturals and gods. There were too many possible suspects. Still, if Lucian’s theory was true and someone had done this, who would risk killing so many souls? And why?
Lucian turned to face me. “Speak of this to no one else, okay? Not yet. There are too many factors to consider and questions that can't be answered. If this gets out, it could cause a panic. I'm going to do some digging, though, and I'll let you know if I find anything.” He got up and pulled me up as well. “Get some sleep. You look tired.”
He tilted my head back and kissed me. I sagged in his arms, feeling exhausted. But the warmth of his body reminded me of the power he'd displayed tonight.
“Ice?” I pulled back and touched his arm that had been covered by it. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He took my hand and kissed it. “It’s late, Natalie. Get some rest." For a second, I was disappointed because I thought he was closing himself off again. Then he kissed me once more, startling me before whispering in my ear, "I didn't say anything about it before because it wasn't necessary. I’ll tell you about it tomorrow, okay? Now go inside so I can leave. I don't trust you not to get into trouble out here.”
I laughed and kissed his cheek before turning away. But as I did, my smile vanished as I recalled the promises of death he and Rumir had made to each other. My afterlife was turning into a nightmare. I knew no one could outrun their destiny, and this was ours. But still, I felt like this thing between us was doomed.
I slipped into the house and leaned against the door, feeling beaten.
Who said this place was paradise?
* * *
