I didn’t know if he was lying. But the flat look in his amber-colored eyes did hold a glimmer of something else there. Longing, envy…I wasn’t sure. And then he turned away so I couldn’t keep trying to figure him out.
I didn’t particularly want to figure Kraven out.
“This has been a fun talk.” Bishop’s words were tinged with anger and something else—familiarity. This kind of joking around by Kraven wasn’t new to him.
“So much fun.”
“Are you going to try to stop me from leaving?”
Kraven looked over his shoulder. “Nah. You go face your destiny. Roll those dice to see if you get a trip back to harp-land. I guess I’m in charge now. Feels good, actually.”
“Good luck.”
“Yeah, whatever. Go find yourself a gray willing to suck out the rest of your soul. I think that Carly chick was giving you the eye the other night outside that nightclub. Go let her stick her tongue down your throat. Party on.”
“Maybe I’ll do that.” Bishop stretched out his hand. “Give me the dagger.”
The sheath Bishop normally wore was now strapped to Kraven’s back. “And risk this falling into the Hollow? Not a chance. With you gone, I need this to help me do my job so I can reap my rewards. Now why don’t you go find yourself a deadly blonde babe and get out of my face? And try to make it forever this time.”
Kraven walked away from him, back toward the church, and—
Snap! I was in my kitchen again, leaning heavily against the counter while my heart hammered against my rib cage.
“Bishop, no,” I whispered.
If he found a gray to remove the rest of his soul, he might have a chance to go back to Heaven if that was all that kept a fallen angel anchored in the human world. In Heaven, he’d have his mind fully restored and he’d be able to investigate a way to restore my soul—which he’d promised me he’d do.
However, losing his soul could also kill him outright. And then the Hollow would open up and swallow him whole.
Natalie had returned from the Hollow, but she admitted she was an anomaly—in more ways than just her demonic hunger. There was no guarantee that Bishop could do the same. And Natalie hadn’t been killed first: she’d been shoved into the vortex still alive.
The thought of Bishop dying was a deep pain that spread out from the center of my chest. I heard a strange, mournful sound and realized that I was sobbing at the thought of losing him. Last night was close enough.
Kraven had suggested he find Carly to kiss.
My hands were shaking when I dialed Carly’s house, hoping she hadn’t left for Crave yet. Even though my cell phone didn’t work, thankfully the landline still did.
After the fifth ring, her mother answered to break the news to me that Carly wasn’t at home. She’d gone out, and I knew where.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with her,” Mrs. Kessler said. “She’s acting so strangely this week.”
My stomach sank. “Really? Like how?”
“She seems…different. And there’s something in her eyes—something vacant, like her mind’s a million miles away. Is she dating someone new who might have caused this? She won’t tell me anything.”
I exhaled shakily. “I—I really don’t know what’s changed.”
“But do you see it, too?”
I clutched the phone tight enough to hurt my hand. “Yeah, but I’m sure it’s temporary.”
I hated to lie. This wasn’t temporary, but I hadn’t accepted that it was permanent. I’d do anything I could to help her and make sure this didn’t get any worse.
“I don’t know, Samantha. The look she gave me tonight when I tried to stop her from going out—well, it’s been every single night this week!—it chilled me. She won’t even tell me where she’s going or with whom. I’d hoped it was with you.”
The kitchen counter cut into my back as I leaned my full weight against it and I just tried to breathe. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault. Teenagers, well, they can change in an instant sometimes. I know that. But this…” Her voice quavered. “I hate to think my Carly’s changed forever.”
My heart broke. “Me, too.”
I ended the call, feeling sick inside, but at least I knew where Carly was. Crave. With Natalie. With Stephen. And with a wide selection of tantalizing teens to trigger her hunger and slipping control.
I headed out of my house at a fast clip. I had to get to Bishop before he reached Carly—if, in fact, that was his plan. I didn’t know where else he’d go. I couldn’t lose him like this—not when he wasn’t thinking right. Not ever. I couldn’t let him kiss Carly.
My heart also twisted for another reason entirely—jealousy. It was irrational, I knew that. This wasn’t a romantic kiss. He would be doing it because he didn’t think he had another choice.
Bishop belongs to me.
It was a fierce and scary thought that overcame me for a moment, stopping me in my tracks on the sidewalk.
I’d known him less than a week.
But that didn’t change a damn thing. He’d quickly worked his way into my heart. He was my heart.
Maybe he was my soul, too.
The romance-soaked thought didn’t make me roll my eyes like it might have in the past. Instead, it scared me. It was the truth—plain, bleak and heart wrenching. I’d fallen for him so hard that I’d been left shaken and bruised.