Verum (The Nocte Trilogy 2)

“I killed myself,” she says simply. “I didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t take any more pain.”

I understand pain.

I nod.

“My brother….”

My voice trails off. Thinking about Finn makes my chest hurt.

“I can’t live without my Finn,” I say limply. And Olivia shakes her head.

“You have to. He’s gone, but you’re not.”

“Why did I keep dreaming about you?” I ask her, confused now in a very real way.

She gets up and her form is s

o slight, so small. She’s dark like Dare and her eyes gleam like the night.

Black, black eyes that examine my soul.

She cocks her head, in the same way that Dare does.

“Because you couldn’t remember me. You couldn’t remember what happened. And what happened to me, is why Dare is who he is. He’s a protector, Calla. He’ll protect you until his dying day.”

“Why did you want me to bring him to you?” I ask. “You’re dead.”

“Because I left him and I shouldn’t have,” she says, closing her dark eyes. “He didn’t deserve it. And now he’s in pain, and he’ll stand by you until he can’t stand up anymore.”

She’s right.

Despite his own pain, he was by my bed,

He’s been here the whole time,

humming to me.

She shakes her head. “My son had to do what he did,” she tells me, and I know she’s talking about Richard now. “I wasn’t strong enough to stop it, but he was. Dare was strong enough.”

Her voice is small.

“Your story is so sad,” I tell her, because it is. The saddest thing I’ve ever heard. She shakes her head knowingly.

“It’s not. The saddest thing is knowing that you think none of this has been real. Your dreams are always real, Calla. Even if you don’t realize it. You’ve got to open your eyes. Open your eyes.

Open your eyes.

Open your eyes.”

I startle awake, the insistence of her voice shocking me into lucidity.

My eyes open.

The light is so bright it’s blinding.

The humming stops.

“Calla?” The voice is familiar. It’s a voice I love, more than life, more than anything.