jinn 03 - vestige by Liz Schulte Read Free Book Online Page A

emotions streamed by me, some his, some hers, some mine. Quintus finally dipped his head in acknowledgement, but not before shooting me a look that I completely deserved. The vampire headed to the kitchen without saying a word, the kid scooted off to the room she slept in, but Femi stayed rooted to the floor, watching us—and looking more pissed off by the nanosecond.
    Olivia lowered herself slowly into a chair as if the movement hurt her. “Femi, please.”
    “No,” Femi said. “I have a say in this. It isn’t just about the two of you now. It’s about all of us.”
    Olivia took a deep breath. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Go ahead.”
    Femi stalked around the room. “I’m only going to say this once, so you both better listen. I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you, and I’ve tried my hardest to do what Baker would do and stay out of it, but I can’t any longer. He would hate this. He gave his life because he believed in you two, thought you could change the world. It never even crossed his mind that you would give up on each other.” She looked directly at me. “This isn’t her fault, Holden. You were there. You know that. She told you to take care of us and let her go. You made your choices, and you can’t blame her for them.”
    She glared at Olivia. “And how dare you give up so easily, after we fought so hard to get you back? Who cares what this dimwit Holden thinks? You’re better than that. Stronger than that. You might love him, but you don’t need him to live. The Olivia I know would fight for her life. She would take the gift her friend gave her and save herself, so she could make the world a better place. That’s what you do. Have you forgotten? I’m ashamed of both of you.”
    Femi turned on her heel and stormed back to the kitchen.
    Olivia watched her go, lower lip trembling as she held back tears. She was silent for several moments, lost in thought. I was tempted to peek inside her mind, but resisted. Finally, she exhaled and looked at me. Where did we even go from here?
    “I didn’t want to tell you,” she said. “But I was…trying to get help. I didn’t want to—”
    “Bother me?” I asked, echoing her words from earlier. Anger lapped at my insides, threatening to cascade in flames again. “Were you really going to let yourself die? Do we mean that little to you? Do I mean that little?”
    She laughed, but it was an angry, bitter thing. “No, no. It’s clear I’m the one who means that little to you. That’s fine. I expected it and it doesn’t matter. I still love you.” She looked away. “But we’re done.”
    I took a breath that stabbed all the way into my heart.
    “And don’t put words in my mouth. I wasn’t giving up. I was just letting nature take its course. It’s not the same thing. You can’t understand. Obviously you don’t want to.”
    There weren’t many stories I hadn’t heard in my years of assisting people give up their lives. “Try me.”
    She looked down at her hands, and mumbled something about how Quintus would understand better.
    “I assure you he doesn’t want you dead any more than I do.”
    “You’re a self-righteous asshole, you know that? Less than ten minutes ago you couldn’t wait to get away from me. We’re done hurting each other. You no longer have a say in what I do. Instead you’re going to sit here and listen to what I have to say because you owe me at least that.”
    My mouth snapped shut. She was right.
    She looked back up at me. “When a soul nears the end of its life, it clings to the body it inhabits and the world it knows, often making people desperate and willing to try anything to survive just a little while longer. Rarely are the decisions made in that time good or right.”
    It was the perfect moment to strike, which was exactly what I had done to her, only I didn’t recognize it at the time. Blinded.
    “I feel that desperation, Holden. Death is inside of me, and it’s spreading. There’s