Libera Me Read Online Free Page B

her lies.
    “And she isn’t Nesy, Zane. I’m not certain who or what she is. Regardless, it’s not Nesy. I would have felt her somewhere. And I felt nothing.”
    “It has to be her, Cass. It just has to be.”
    “It’s not.”
    “And the ancient prayers? How would a human girl know those?”
    “I never said I thought she was human. Clearly she is more than that. But she’s not our Nesayiel either.”
    I open my mouth to protest, the words falling silent before I can speak them.
    Cass is right. The real Nesy wouldn’t have felt so broken. So destroyed. So lost. Clenching my jaw, I walk away.
    “Zane?” Cass’s voice clings to my skin.
    My wings flutter in a nonexistent breeze and I spin around. “Where is she Cass? If this isn’t Nesy, then where is she?”
    My mind swirls in a pool of anger and despair. Everything I’ve searched for, everything I thought I’d found, nothing more than a lie.
    “I don’t know,” Cass says as she walks to me. “And it doesn’t matter.”
    I want to scream “it does matter”, tell her that without Nesy I can’t breathe. She is my reason for existing; there’s nothing more necessary to me than her.
    I want to tell her that I’d gladly give my life to bring Nesy back. Whole. Unbroken.
    But the words won’t form.
    Aydan moans, drawing our attention. He pushes himself up and rubs his head, disoriented. I walk to him, entering his thoughts. I see the attack—four men with knives and guns pin Aydan to the ground and slam his head with the butt of the gun. I feel the pain as his vision blurs before he finally passes out.
    But that isn’t all I feel.
    Anger.
    Rage.
    Vengeance.
    It’s raw, feral, and all too familiar.
    “Cass. Enter his heart and tell me what you see.”
    Cass closes her eyes, extending herself into Aydan as he pulls himself upright and walks to Nesy. In an instant her eyes bolt open.
    “No,” she says. “No. I don’t believe it. I won’t.”
    “It all makes sense though. The smoke and ash in the air. The reason you saw no other demons. Everything.”
    “He didn’t receive the marks. He can’t be turned. The Council would have known. Nesy would have known.” Cass voice cracks.
    “Would she have? Really?”
    “Yes! If Aydan had turned, he would’ve let Nesy die that night. He certainly wouldn’t have taken her to Celestium. And he wouldn’t have begged for his own death.”
    He would have if he loved her.
    “Cass, we have to tell the Council. Get them to protect Nesy.”
    “She isn’t Nesy.”
    “It doesn’t matter. He thinks she is. And he will go after her. Sooner or later.”
    Cass paces the space between us. We watch as Aydan bends down, caressing Nesy’s head. 
    “Please be okay,” he whispers as he cradles her body. He is so gentle with her, more gentle than his thoughts. There are no signs of the hatred bubbling below the surface, no indicators of the rage.
    But it’s there. And he won’t be able to control it forever.
    “Please, baby. Open your eyes.” Aydan kisses her forehead as his eyes fill with tears. “I can’t lose you again.”
    Nesy stirs, turning her face toward mine. I watch her eyelids open, watch as her eyes lock with mine and her expression shifts from confusion to fear.
    Moments before she begins to scream.
     

 
    Chapter 5 – CONFUSION

     
    Aydan
    Her scream shatters the night air, unleashing a feral rage through the depths of me. I want to kill the assailants. I’ll do anything to chase away the demons that fill Nessa’s thoughts and causes the anguish I see in her eyes and hear in her voice.
    “Sshh,” I whisper, pulling her to me in a fierce embrace. My body folds over in pain. I suck it down, allowing it to fuel my focus. “You’re okay,” I say through my rage. “They’re gone.”
    Nessa won’t be soothed. Pointing just past me, she begins to tremble. Shake. I turn, peering into the blackness behind me. Only the night air shrouded in a mist that is out of place for May greets me.