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Clarity slowly washes over him and his eyes widen. “Y-you…” he stammers, mouth dropping open. “You’reher.”
The way he saysher, like it’s some sort of disease, feels like he’s ripping my heart right out of my chest and spitting on it.
And yet…and yet, telling him the truth, ending the lies, feels better than I could have imagined. I only wished Dahlia had the chance to tell him the truth, too.
“Why are you here? What do you want?” Valtu manages to say, sounding so distraught and pained that it breaks my heart. But I have to remember what he’s capable of. Right now, he reminds me of a cornered animal. A dangerous one that’s ready to snap.
“I’m on a fool’s errand,” I tell him. It takes all my strength to say it. “I was hoping I could make you remember.”
He looks vaguely horrified at the idea. “You thought you could make me remember? I’llneverremember you.” His words are sharp and quick, a wasp’s sting to my chest.
“I know that now,” I say, my voice going quiet as the dejection becomes hard to ignore. “But it was always worth a shot.”
He closes his eyes, running his hands down his face, shaking his head. “None of it…none of it was real.”
“It’s all been real, Val!” I protest.
His head snaps up, dark eyes blazing at me. “Don’t call me that,” he seethes.
“My name is Rose, and I do have a brother and my parents live in Newport, Oregon. But I’m also Dahlia and Lucy and Mina. Val, I know you better than anyone else on this planet.”
“You know nothing about the person I am now,” he snarls, storming over to me, clouds of ash rising up as he stomps through the pentacle. He shoves his finger under my chin, forcing it up, his nail almost piercing my tender flesh.
I stand my ground, refusing to back down and keep my eyes on his. “I think I do,” I say carefully. “You’ve shown me plenty of what a monster you’ve become.”
“A monster because of you!” he screams, flecks of spit landing on my cheek.
I bristle, my face feeling tight and red. “Hey!” I snap. “You’re a monster because you erased me. I kept you good. I kept you whole.”
He removes his finger and steps back, laughing, a sharp and acidic sound that echoes around the room. “You kept me good? You ? Who helped kill an innocent human today?”
“That isn’t fair!” I cry out. “You did that on purpose. You tried to corrupt me.”
“Corrupt you? You’re the one who has been here under a lie, fucking me left and right to get what you want. And whatdoyou want, your revenge? You want to murder me for murdering you? You want the book too, is that part of your deal?”
“No.” Then I stop and close my eyes, breathing in sharply through my nose. I can’t lie anymore. “Yes.” I look at him, pleading. “I also came here because I need your help, and yes it involves the book.”
“Well, you’re not getting my help,” he says and takes another step closer until there’s barely any room between us. His breath is hot on my skin and his eyes are fire. “You’re not getting anything else from me. Ierasedyou. I got that damn cursed book to forget you. How fucking dare you show up here and hide who you are? How fucking dare you think that this was the right thing to do?”
I grit my teeth, trying to keep it together. “I did it because I love you.”
His head jerks back, his features distorting. “Love? This is what you call love? If you truly loved me, you would have stayed forgotten!” He averts his eyes and shakes his head back and forth. “No. This can’t happen. I will not make all my sacrifices for nothing.”
“Your sacrifices?!” I explode. “I’m the one who died!”
“Then you should have stayed dead!”
I blink. Inside I’m plummeting like an elevator, the cable snapped.
I stagger back a step and realize that this is the end of it. That I had a chance and now it’s gone and now Valtu will never, ever want anything to do with me.
I’m not getting the book.
I’m not getting him.
I’m getting nothing.
I’m staying forgotten.
