Where There's Hope: Panopolis #4 (Panopolis Series) by Cari Z

Author:Cari Z [Z, Cari]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2024-01-26T00:00:00+00:00

11

Chapter Eleven

Confession might be good for the soul, but it was hard on the heart. Onyx vacillated between wonder and shame so fast that the only thing Jamie could think to do to calm him down was put him to work. Mundane tasks—pick up things in the backyard, clean Boo’s box, sit down and drink this delicious matcha—until it was too dark to be anywhere but inside.

Even then, Jamie didn’t let Onyx retreat to the far side of the couch by himself like he tried—he closed the distance and snuggled right up to him until Onyx turned and buried his face in Jamie’s neck with a sigh. It was a little awkward, with him being so much taller and the bound arm between them, but Jamie made it work.

With the lights low, the doors—such as they were—firmly closed, and the curtains all pulled shut, it felt like they were huddled together in a dark, safe cave where no one could touch them. Jamie knew it was all an illusion—there was no such thing as safe after today, not in this house—but it was one he was okay with for now. Especially for the duration of the talk they needed to have.

“What do you remember?” he finally asked, one arm around Onyx’s shoulders as they sat there, entwined and exhausted. “Anything specific?”

“Bits and pieces,” Onyx mumbled against his collarbone. “More all the time, but it’s just so … disconnected. Fights. Views from high up in the air. More fights. It’s like playing a bad video game in my mind.” He canted his head so he could look up at Jamie without moving too far. “What should I be remembering?”

“There’s no should,” Jamie said instantly.

“No, there is because … look, I know I hurt you.” Onyx dropped his eyes again. “I’m the reason you’ve been sick, aren’t I? We fought, and I almost killed you.”

Jamie shook his head. “You didn’t almost kill me.”

“Don’t lie to me, please,” Onyx begged. “Don’t try to make me feel better about this; I don’t deserve to feel better. You were … you had a costume, it was yellow and green and blue, the green was the same shade as your hair, and you were … I remember you collapsing. I remember feeling—” He stopped speaking, pinching his lips together tight. “I know I hurt you.”

“You did,” Jamie acknowledged. “You did hurt me; that happened. But it wasn’t necessarily fatal.” A ruptured kidney is only probably fatal. “I should have waited for an actual doctor to help me, but I panicked and thought I could fix myself. I turned my power inward, and that … that was a big mistake.” He shook his head. “A huge mistake. I was scared, I was in pain, I had never tried anything like that on myself before, and I took it way too far.

“All the tumors I’ve been having, the surgeries to remove them, everything that’s been going on with my body—it’s from my own power. I supercharged my cells, and I’ve been trying to turn them down ever since.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.