The Price She Paid: Shadow & Bone (Book 2)

Chapter 26: Love.

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"We need to talk," Baghra whispered.

One glance at Alina and she knew. She led us to an unused storage closet, full of various boxed supplies. I closed the door behind us, making sure it was locked.

Baghra had taken a seat on a dusty crate and Alina was pacing nervously.

I cleared my throat. Alina stopped pacing and looked up at me, but I wasn't looking at her, I was looking at Baghra.

Now that the relief of seeing her alive had passed. I found myself furious at her. The last time I had seen her was in the basement of the Little Palace, where she had told me the truth about Aleksander being the Black Heretic. Despite the fact she had reveled the truth about Aleksander that night, she had continued to keep things from me.

She lied about my birth, about my true bond with Aleksander and how it had been there since I was born. She lied and because of it, I had to find out the truth from Aleksander.

"You lied about my birth, about how deep my connection was to him."

She sighed.

I wanted her to apologize, to show remorse over her actions, but neither happened. She took the time to cross her legs, placing her hands on her knee, as if she was contemplating what to say.

"I feared if I told you the truth, you'd seek him out despite yourself."

I clenched my hands into fists, feeling my nails press into the skin on my palms. I wanted to scream at her, to make her realize just how angry I really was. I wanted to hurt her the way her lies had hurt me.

"No, instead I sought out the Stag in an attempt to stop him and ended up bound to him for the rest of my life!" I jabbed my finger in her direction, stepping towards her. "You should have told me! You should have warned me!"

"I told you to run—"

"And I didn't listen and now he's stronger then ever!"

I could feel my powers buzzing under my skin, waiting for me to call on it, to wield it. I couldn't summon down here, if I did I was scared wouldn't be able to stop.

"Thousands of people are dead and Sebastian is—" I swallowed down a sob, shaking my head. "You sent him after me, you sent him to protect me. He wanted to run, but I told him I couldn't. I shouldn't have let him come, I shouldn't have—"

Baghra rose to her feet. I expected her to be mad, to yell but instead she was smiling, her eyes filled with unshed tears.

"There was nothing you could have done, Evelynn."

I shook my head. She was wrong, I could have stopped him from coming. If I had, he'd still be alive.

She let out a sigh and moved towards me, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"The only person you should blame is Aleksander. He did this to you, he did this to him, to us."

"I see him," I finally admitted. I glanced at Alina but she was already looking at me, her lips pressed in a thin line. "We see him. Even when he's not really there, we can see him, we can hear him."

Baghra's eyes widened in surprise.

"Aleksander can come to you as a projection?"

I nodded.

"David thinks he still has residue of the Stag's antler in his hand. That's what he used to bind us all together. I asked him if we could break it, but he wasn't optimistic."