Page 37 of Twisted Truths

Any second now, someone’s going to call and say, “Sorry, there’s been a mistake.”

I haven’t even seen their bodies. Maybe it’s not them.

George asked me if I wanted a viewing, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t see them like that. I didn’t want my final memories to be twisted and warped.

But I have to face reality. Even without seeing them, I know they’re gone. I feel it deep within my soul.

There’s been no mistake.

There’s just this room, George Watson sitting across from me, and too many goddamn caskets.

“Do you have something … simple?” I whisper eventually. Myvoice is barely audible. “Rylan wasn’t fancy. He’d want something normal. Not too … not too small, either. He was getting tall.”

George nods slowly and flips open the folder for me, careful not to slide it into my view too fast, as if he’s afraid to spook me again. “There’s a maple one,” he says. “Soft interior. Sturdy.”

My throat closes over again, but I manage a small nod.

We don’t speak much after that, with George simply pointing and me nodding. We select Ziggy’s, then Mum’s, then Paul’s.

Each choice feels like a wound I can’t see, bleeding out somewhere deep inside.

By the time I step outside, the sun is sinking behind the horizon, and I feel hollow. I don’t even remember saying goodbye to George. I simply walked out.

The first thing I do is pull out my phone. My thumb hovers over Levi’s contact, but I can’t bring myself to call him yet.

Instead, I send Paige a single text.

Nash: Done. I need you.

Then I take a seat on the wooden bench outside the funeral home to wait for her. With my shoulders hunched and head bowed, the weight of too much death presses heavy on my back.

Chapter Thirteen

HADLEY

Iexpect to be in trouble when I return to cabin twenty-seven with flushed cheeks and tingling lips. However, Ascendent Sierra simply asks if I’m feeling better and suggests I go lie down as I still look quite peaked.

Confused, I do as she suggests, only to have Gianna fill me in on what happened after I ran out of the guardian’s house, abandoning my role.

Gabriel covered for me, explaining he had delivered bad news of a sick family member in Sydney, and blamed my hasty departure on me being overcome with emotion. I try to look as forlorn as possible to sell the story, but inside, my mind is reeling. Why is Gabriel covering for me? What does he get out of it?

My mind can’t accept this version of him. In my three years at the Sunfire Circle, I’ve been conditioned to fear him. I think it all stems from Seraphina warning me away from him when I first arrived, but it’s more than that. There’s something about Gabriel that makes people uneasy. His presence is like a storm cloud that hasn’t decided if it wants to thunder or break open.While I’ve heeded Seraphina’s warning all these years, I’ve still watched him from afar. It’s almost been impossible not to.

He doesn’t play by the rules—proven by his unorthodox behaviour in introducing Zara as his Chosen—he’s powerful, distant, and dangerous. Yet, this past week, all I have seen is kindness. Okay, there was a little bit of intensity and menace … but mostly kindness, and protectiveness.

It’s perplexing, and I can’t let it go.

By morning, sleep-deprived and buzzing with questions, I pull on my boots and sneak out before sunrise, careful not to wake Gianna. While she’s been a kind roommate, she’s also too curious for her own good, and I can’t have her getting caught up in whatever this is.

The commune is quiet at this hour, with only the sound of twigs crunching underfoot and the distant chatter of birds waking up to keep me company on my mission. A mission that, if I’m caught, could get me exiled from the Circle … or worse. Thoughts of Zara cause my pulse to spike, and I try not to overthink what I’m doing, even though my heart is pounding like I’m about to undertake a forbidden ritual.

Guardian cabins are set apart from the others. They like to pretend they’re part of us, but they always keep their distance. When I reach the edge of the path which opens up to their homes, I hesitate, glancing around. As the eldest son, Gabriel’s cabin is right next door to his father’s, and I cannot risk Seraphina seeing me.

Not that it will matter if her son’s reaction to me showing up to his residence uninvited is unfavourable.

Sneaking through the trees, I circle to Gabriel’s back door, and before I can talk myself out of it, climb the steps and knock. As I wait, I cast furtive glances over my shoulder to make sure no one sees me. Doubt starts to creep in.

What if I’m making a mistake?