Page 140 of Echoes of the Banshee

My stomach twists.

Can it be corrupted? Can I be corrupted?

Is it already too late?

The questions claw at me, merciless and cold.

I’m still walking, but it’s automatic now.

All I can see is a future unraveling in front of me, thread by thread.

Everyone will find out. They’ll be afraid. They’ll hate me.

I’ll lose everything I haven’t even managed to build yet.

I’m going to end up alone.

I don’t know where I’m going. I don’t care.

I just keep moving.

“Thea?”

Mavrik’s voice cuts through the fog. I blink up at him, disoriented, realizing I’ve stopped in the middle of the path. His hand finds mine and he tugs me gently forward. I follow without thinking. It’s easier than standing still and drowning.

We move through winding hallways, up a narrow staircase, until we step out into the sharp, open air of the bell tower.

The view spreads out before me, half spiritborne, half nightblind. Two worlds colliding. Neither one feels like it belongs to me.

I sink down onto the cool stone floor beside Mavrik, my breath shallow.

I need answers. I need something.

Anything.

Soul magic.

Who the hell even knows how that works?

Who could I even ask?

I’m mated to a banshee and I have soul magic. We’re both doomed.

I look over at Mavrik, suddenly tired of trying to hold everything together. The cool stone beneath me is grounding, the silence between us a welcome relief from the storm in my mind.

But even in the silence, I feel the pull between us, the invisible thread that tugs at my heart every time I look at him. Is it him? Could it be him?

I’ve been thinking about this moment for so long, agonizing over whether I should ask him, confront him, demand the truth. What if he’s Lazarus? My chest tightens at the thought. What if he’s not?

I don’t know if I’ll ever have the answer, but I can’t keep pretending that nothing’s there. Can’t keep pretending that I don’t feel something pulling me toward him. I glance at him, my breath shallow.

He meets my gaze, and for a long moment, nothing else matters. Not the questions, not the doubts, not the past I can’t escape.

Without thinking, I lean in, my lips brushing against his before I can second-guess myself. The kiss is soft, tentative, but then, like someone lit a match it explodes.

His hand slides to the back of my head and suddenly there’s no room left for doubt. I melt into him, chasing the warmth of his mouth like it might drown out the noise in my head. For one impossible moment, it almost works.

I pull away slowly, blinking in the sudden clarity. Mavrik’s smile is soft, and for a moment, it catches me off guard. It’s sweet, innocent even, like nothing could be more natural than this.