Page 137 of Serpent In White

The two of them in his tent, her fingers in his hair, his soft lips giving in to her desire.

Holy shit.

I’m taken aback. I didn’t expect that. I hadn’t even considered that Abdiel might have feelings for this girl in return, and now that I’m thinking about it, I’m not sure why. She’s beautiful… and they seem to have some friendly chemistry, which I suppose could turn into lustful wanting.

But Abdiel is head over heels in love with Darian. That much I know for a fact. He wears his love for my brother on his sleeve, out in the open for anyone with half a mind to see if they wanted to.

I gulp over my suddenly dry throat. What does any of this mean?

Darian won’t be pleased. I can understand the feelings, but jealousy is a form of pain, and pain usually turns me on. Watching Abdiel and Darian together hurts sometimes, sure. Okay, most of the time. But I also know that they want me, and that applies a small bandage to the gaping wound I let fester by standing on the sidelines of their budding relationship.

It’s all so fucked up. I’m not angry with Abdiel for kissing the girl. He’s young, and as I told Darian, he’ll need to explore all avenues of his sexual awakening before he decides what he likes. My brother is jealous, he always has been. And he doesn’t let it fuel him, like I do. Rather, he despises it.

Something jolts me out of my thoughts. It’s a fear I recognize, coming from the mind of the tiny girl next to me. She’s remembering something else now…

Something they saw up on the mountain. Something that almost took them…

“Excuse me,” I grunt, stumbling over to Abdiel, who’s still joking with Lorn and Jasper.

Taking him by the arm, I pull him away, and he gives me a peculiar look.

“What’s wrong?” He mumbles, glancing over to where Rhiannon is crouching down, looking at some flowers.

“What happened? On the mountain.” My tone is more frantic than I typically allow it to be in front of others.

Abdiel’s face goes ashen. His eyes dart around us, then he blinks slowly, remembering it. He remembers so I can see, from his thoughts.

The clearing. The black rock, like a piece of obsidian out of place, yet its existence is subjectively necessary in this one spot. It belongs there, when it’s there. But that doesn’t mean it’s good.

It’s not. It’s very very not good.

I see Abdiel and Rhiannon, sitting on it. And Abdiel is crying.

Tears flow from his eyes while he grips Rhiannon’s hand.

And then I see myself. I see myself as he saw me, a vision of that day… That terrible, awful day that changed so many things.

It had to happen; it was part of the plan.

But it still hurt.

Gasping, my eyes widen at Abdiel as he stares at me, and we speak without words.

Did that really happen?He asks me.Did you really cut yourself the day my parents died?

I blur my thoughts fast. I’m afraid if I think too much about this, he’ll hear something that will upset him. The kid isn’t stupid at all, because he catches on, stepping in closer to my face.

“Stop hiding it from me, Drake,” he rumbles, close enough that I feel it on my chest. “You can’t hide forever. You went to the clearing that day. Why? What do you know about my parents’ deaths?”

“Little mouse…” I breathe, shaking my head.There is so much you don’t know. If I were you, I’d keep it that way.

He seethes in my direction. I feel his frustration, coming off him in waves. “I’m not satisfied with that. Something happened to us up there. That spot… there’s some spooky, other-worldly shit living in it, and I think you know that. I think you’re…” He pauses and gulps visibly. “I think you’re feeding it.”

My jaw locks, and this time I inch closer to him, my face hovering over his. “Listen to me, kid, and listen close. I’ve been on that mountain for half my life, for years before you were even born. I appreciate that you went up there to learn. I think it was necessary for your Ecdysis. And whatever happened with you and the girl, it led you right here, right now. Don’t push it. Just because something exists, doesn’t mean it’s for you to know about.”

Abdiel looks like he wants to keep arguing, but it’s not in his nature. Eventually he sighs and runs his long fingers through the waves of his golden hair.

“You should come to dinner tonight.” His eyes settle on mine, and he’s not shy about unleashing his thoughts on me.