“That’s how I found my Fated. And once I invaded her body, I became instantly addicted, my soul unable to give her back after existing so long without her. It was an obsession, a deep-seated need to be with her again. And I didn’t care what I did or who I hurt in the process. I was so blind to my actions, engulfed in how it felt to have my Claire back again.”
Caius looks back to us. “What I did is unforgivable. I know that. And for the rest of my life, I’ll be trying to make up for what I’ve done.” He blinks as tears cascade down his cheeks.
“I had no idea that when she was reborn, she’d find four more Fated. I have no right to ask you, but I beg for your forgiveness. I need Cla-Hadley like I need the air to breathe. I can’t exist without her. Please, don’t make me live another second without my beloved.”
He gazes at Hadley with so much affection. “She saved me. Hadley saved me. She protected me from the forbidden fruit as I failed to do for her so many years ago.”
“But what you did—” Karston begins.
“What would you have done?” Caius demands. “Is there anything in this life or the one before that you wouldn’t do to be with her? To avenge her death?” My brothers and I exchange knowing glances. “You don’t know what it's like.” Caius chokes on his words, filled with so much emotion. “To hold your dead beloved in your arms—your soulmate—and watch as the light leaves her eyes, knowing you are the cause of her demise. I’ve suffered more than you can possibly understand.
“I can’t do this anymore,” Caius ends on a rasp, sounding broken. It’s shocking to say the least, to watch a monster as formidable as the Darkness turn into a puddle of tears before my eyes. “Either feed me the forbidden fruit and kill me, or save me. Save my body and let me help you find Lilith. Because she’s here. And she won’t stop until Hadley is dead again.”
We stew on this information. It’s so much to process. Cauis’s words hit home. Because he’s right, there’s nothing I wouldn’t have done for her, nothing I won’t still do to be with her, to protect her. It’s what any of us would have done.
“And what about the monsters in Hell?” Brax questions. “The ones that look like the souls they were stolen from?”
Caius shakes his head. “I have nothing to do with that. It’s Lilith’s doing. I can almost guarantee it.”
“And why should we believe you?” I interject.
Caius shrugs. “I am many things, not all of them good or even just, but I would never harm another intentionally. The essences I’ve borrowed are with my body in Hell. Once my body is freed, the essences can go back to the souls they belong to. I don’t have the power to create monsters. I don’t even have a fucking body on this plane, and the one I have is caged in Hell. Fuck. I had to borrow this one just to speak to you, to be something other than a cloud of smoke.”
“You really think Lilith is here?” Hadley asks.
Caius nods once. “There’s no doubt in my mind. Though I no longer have Fate powers, I can still sense things. She’s here. I can feel her.”
“He’s right,” Preston agrees. “I’ve not been able to tell you this yet, Had, but during my first necromancy class, Administer had us raise a corpse from the dead. Actually, I saw your grave beforehand, though I didn’t know it was yours at the time.”
Hadley pales, licking her pink lips, arms hugging around her midsection for comfort.
“We raised a corpse named Lucifer. A-and he asked where his Fated was. Then asked me where my Fated was. I had no idea what he meant then. Administer even asked Lucifer why he was dead, and he answered, ‘Caius.’”
“He said my name?” Caius asks.
Preston nods. “Yes. I have to think that Administer knows more than he’s letting on. Why bring us to Caemeterium Primis, the burial grounds of the Fates? Why raise Lucifer? He had to know who he was.”
“Caius, do you think there are other Fates here? I mean, besides Lilith?” Hadley asks.
“I think it would be foolish to think otherwise. Something big is going on here. Something the likes of which the Afterworld has never seen before. It’s like we are standing on the peak of a mountain, swaying back and forth, each way we lean offering a different outcome. I just hope when we fall, we choose the correct side. If we don’t…well…let’s just say we might not recover.”
Chapter 29
Braxton
The dorm room falls silent, but inside my head, things are raging. I can’t even believe that this is real, that the Darkness is right in front of me, having invaded one of my favorite Demon professors. And I can’t fucking hurt him. I can’t do fucking anything. And to top it all off? Hadley seems more intent on saving this monster…this…this Caius than she cares about us.
How did this happen?
Is it something I did?
I mean, fuck…I know I’m not a perfect boyfriend. Hell, I’m not even her boyfriend. Sending flowers, surprising her with chocolates, or whispering sweet nothings into her ear is just not up my alley. And right now, I feel like she’s choosing, and I’m not the one she’s picked.
“I’m going to untie him now.” Hadley’s sweet voice pulls me from the storm in my mind.
“The fuck you are!” Auston growls, shooting up from the bed. “That fucker stays tied right where he is.”
“Oh come on, Auston!” Hadley shouts. “He’s fucking smoke. If he wanted to, he’d be out of that chair right now. He’s only pacifying you.”
Auston’s shoulders visibly deflate. Because she’s right. We can’t contain him. We can’t restrain him. We can’t hurt him.
We’re helpless.
I’ve faced brutal things in Hell, terrifying monsters that attack with a ferocity not seen on Earth or in the Academy. I’ve had my body sliced open, acid erode my skin, fangs bite into me, yet none of that made me feel as worthless as I do right now.
I see the look Hadley gives this Caius. I’ve seen it before, only then it was directed at me. I fear I’ve lost that. Dammit. I should never have let her in. But how could I not? I tried to keep her out, I was mean to her even, but she still came for me with her sweet smile and sensual lips, giving her exquisite body to me.
And I fell for her.
“Can’t you guys see? He’s changed. He’s not the monster you think he is.” Hadley’s pleas only fuel my anger. She should be defending us, not him.
Hadley doesn’t wait for us to respond. Instead, she pulls a switchblade out of the chest at the end of Auston’s bed and slices through the ropes.
“I’ll return Dominic’s body to him, then I’ll come straight back here,” the Darkness—Caius—whoever the fuck he is, states.
“I can’t take another second of this,” I growl before turning my back on Hadley and storming out of Auston’s dorm.
I hear Hadley shout, “Brax, wait!” but I don’t fucking look back. I can’t look back. I can’t bear to see her loveless eyes stare back at me. It will break me.
My pace quickens, and soon I’m jogging for the nearest exit. The door out of the dorms almost tears from its hinges as I throw it wide and take off into the sky. I have no destination in mind. I just need to get away from there.