Page 230 of Jagged Souls

“Want to talk about it?”

I collapse back onto the bed, perching on the edge of it, breathing hard, my body drenched in sweat.

I shake my head.

So we just sit there in silence until I calm down enough to breathe. It felt so fucking real. I know I will eventually have to talk about it, have to address it, but I’m not ready right now.

I stand. “What time is it?”

He glances at his phone. “Three twenty-nine.”

I drag a hand over my face. “I slept for over four hours, and still feel like shit.”

“Because four hours is not enough sleep, especially if you’re catching up for six days. You should lay back down.”

“I need to see Micha.”

“She’s with Lou and Kiyana.”

“Who?”

“Khalid’s girl. She’s changed her name now that she’s learning how to summon demons.” A name is power where an eknor is concerned, so if the demons learn the name of the person who’s summoned them, they can break out of the containment circle.

I frown. “Wasn’t that what it was before?”

Maddox shrugs. “No idea, bruh. Khalid always calls herkira, and none of us wanted to ‘disrespect’ her enough to ask what it actually was.”

Because Khalid is fucking mental whenever it comes to her being ‘insulted.’ It’s the same reason I never asked. “At least it’s close,” I say. Might be easier to remember.

Then my eyes widen as the rest of his words settle in my brain. “Lou’s not supposed to be anywhere near a fucking summoning circle,” I snap as I run for the door.

“Chill, bruh. Nothing’s going –”

But he can’t guarantee nothing will happen! And if a demon does try to take her back to Halzaja, Micha will try to stop them. Then I’ll lose her all over again. I race down the hall and slide around the banister before taking the stairs down to the basement. I push open the door, terrified I’m going to find an empty room, and don’t breathe again until I see her.

She’s sitting on the floor, smiling at her sister, but there’s a hollowness in her red eyes. A tension to her shoulders. It’s not good for her to keep everything bottled up, but any time I try to suggest she talks to Maddox too, she tells me she’s fine. She looks fine. She sounds fine. But inside? She has to be struggling. I hear her whimpers in her sleep.

“Varius,” Lou says, not even having the good graces to look ashamed. In fact, she fucking smiles at me, but I’ll deal with her later. Striding across the room, I head for Micha. She jumps to her feet, a wall up around her, a fear in the back of her flat eyes, and I stop. As much as she pushes for sex, she won’t even let me hold her.

I’d be tempted to give in if I thought she’d cuddle after. But I know she won’t. For all her talk about being fine, she’s just not.

Forcing myself to calm, I look at Lou, then at the floor. There’s no summoning circle, and I feel like a fucking fool.

Maybe Maddox is right, and I need to chill out.

Or maybe I just need some more fucking sleep.

Seventy-Two

HIM

I’m sitting in Maddox’s room again, my guilt clawing at me. Micha is acting like she’s fine, but beneath her act, I know she’s struggling with adjusting back to the normal world. She’s hurting because of me. Because I failed her.

“I should’ve saved her sooner,” I say.

“How?”

“I could’ve stopped Eduardo from leaving with her at the school.”