Chapter 62
Chapter 62
*Jiselle*
“Max.”
His name barely left my lips, yet it cracked the silence like lightning across a still lake. He stood there, half–swallowed by the forest’s shadows, but there was no mistaking the shape of him–tall, broad, and heartbreakingly familiar.
The moonlight filtered through the canopy overhead, catching the edges of his dark clothes, his messy hair, the strained set of his jaw. He looked older somehow. Like days–weeks–had passed and dragged him through hell before spitting him back out at my feet.
But it was his eyes that undid me.
Grey. Not cold or calculating. Not like the last time I saw them.
Stormy. Not violent, but turbulent.
And locked on me like I was something fragile and fading. Like I might vanish if he blinked too long.
He didn’t say a word.
Neither did I.
My fingers itched toward the hilt of the dagger clipped to my side–the Bastain gave me.
His gaze flicked to it, then back to me.
And then… he stepped forward.
I didn’t move.
“Jiselle,” he said finally, his voice low, wrecked. “Thank the moon goddess.”
I stayed silent.
He took another step, just barely into the clearing, and the shadows peeled back from his face. I saw everything in that moment. The weight. The regret. The kind of realization that comes when you’ve crossed a line you can never uncross.
“What are you doing here?” I finally asked, my voice sharper than I intended. “You were supposed to be gone. Confined. Being shipped back to your territory. Remember?”
He hesitated, then gave a breathless, bitter laugh. “I escaped.”
“You what?”
“I couldn’t stay there. Not knowing they’d hurt you. Not knowing what they were going to do.” His words tumbled out fast, desperate. “I had to find you. I had to warn you. I couldn’t let them kill you.”
“Max…” I took a half–step back. “You forced a mark on me.”
He flinched. That hit landed.
“I know,” he rasped. “And I’m sorry. I’m so-”
“Sorry?” My voice rose. “You violated me, Max. You knew exactly what that would do. You knew, and you did it anyway.” “I panicked,” he whispered. “I didn’t know what else to do. You were slipping away and 1-” He dragged a shaky hand through his hair. “Morningstar. You kept going to him, Jiselle. I saw the way you looked at him. I felt it. You let the bond grow and I couldn’t compete with that.”
My stomach turned. “So this is Nate’s fault now?”
“No-” he winced. “No, that’s not what I meant.”
“I pardoned you,” I snapped. “Not because I forgave you. Not because Twanted you back. I did it because Eva begged me. Because she would’ve shattered without you. But don’t stand there and pretend like this was some twisted reaction to my
mistakes.”
His jaw worked, struggling with words. “If you hadn’t let the bond grow-”
“You think that’s an excuse?” I hissed. “You think that makes it okay?”
“No,” he said quickly, but there was still something in his eyes–some shadow of justification clinging like rot.
I shook my head, heart hammering in my chest. “You don’t get to come here and rewrite this. You don’t get to make me question what you did.”
His shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry,” he said again, but it was quieter this time. Less defensive. More broken. “Why are you really here?” I asked, swallowing hard. “Why risk everything to find moɔ“”
HostJ
Chapter 62
That stopped me cold. “What?”
“We don’t have much time,” he said, reaching for me. “You have to come with me. Now.”
I recoiled. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Jiselle, please,” he begged, his voice cracking. “I know I messed up. I know I hurt you. But I’m still bound by blood–I can’t tell you everything. Not yet. But I know what they plan to do when they find out what you are.”
“What I am?” My heart stuttered.
“I can’t say it,” he gritted out. “They made sure of that. This damn mark in my hand will ensure I drop dead if I saw even one word. But-”
“Ethereal?” I asked. My voice barely carried over the wind, but it was enough.
He froze.
Didn’t nod. Didn’t blink.
Just froze.
So still I thought the forest had swallowed all sound.
“That’s it, isn’t it?” I whispered. “That’s what they’re afraid of.”
He didn’t answer.
Didn’t have to.
“It seems like you already have your answer,” he said hoarsely.
“So that’s it? I know I’m not like you and Nate. But Bastain makes it seems like I’m more powerful and that’s the only one that is more powerful that what you two are. So that’s what I am, aren’t I? That’s why they will kill me?”
“If you stay here,” he said, stepping closer, “they’ll kill you. The Solstice? It’s not a celebration. It’s a ceremonial ritual.”
I stared at him, my breath ragged. “Why should I trust you?”
“Because I love you,” he said simply. “And I never stopped.”
My throat closed. “You loved me, and you still marked me against my will.”
“I was desperate,” he pleaded. “I thought they’d protect you. I thought I could stay close. But I was wrong. I heard things while I was locked up. Plans. Whispers. If you’re what they think you are…”
I didn’t want to hear it. “So your solution is to run?”
“It’s the only way,” he said fiercely. “I know how to get past the barriers. I’ve been planning since the moment they locked me up. We leave tonight.”
“No,” I said, flat and final.
He looked like I’d hit him. “Jiselle-”
“I’d rather take my chances with the school. With Bastain. With the council. Here. I’m not going anywhere with you.”
His face crumpled. “They’ll KILL you, Jiselle. For what you are.”
“Then let them try,” I said, voice shaking.
Just then, a low growl rippled through the trees.
Max tensed. I turned.
Nate.
He stepped into the clearing like a storm made flesh, his eyes locked on Max with unfiltered hatred.
“I should’ve known,” he snarled. “You just can’t help yourself.”
“Nate,” I said quickly, holding out a hand.
Max straightened. “I’m not here to hurt her.”
“You already did.”
“Don’t act like you’re a saint,” Max snapped. “She loved me first.”
My stomach twisted. The words hit like a blade.
Before I could say anything, Nate lunged.
I threw myself in front of him, arms up, my heart in my throat. “Stop!”
He froze, breathing hard, chest rising and falling like he’d been holding back fire.
And just like that-
Chapter 62
Max was gone.
No sound. No movement. Just gone, like mist pulled back into the shadows.
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Chapter 63
Chapter 63
