Tethered Souls | Books 1, 2, and 3

{Book Three} 169 | Pawn

ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ Tethered ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

Chapter 43

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• Amir •

Amir's heart broke.

He knew something was wrong, but nothing like this.

This whole thing disturbed him. He should have known BARDA injected Elizabeth with serums. After Luna returned home, BARDA fulfilled their horrible plans. Dr. Kim had hurt Mrs. Carlyle to destroy her daughter. The man predicted Luna's outburst once she discovered Elizabeth was defective.

Luna's mother had nothing decent in her and lost what she had. Her humanity was shattered before anyone entered the house, making Amir sick.

Luna's heart broke too. Even though Faisal lived, Amir grieved for him in the same way. He couldn't help her.

She gasped and smashed her fist against the wall. "No."

Luna reached out, crying. She slumped, hugging her stomach.

He seethed. Despite appearing like Elizabeth, Amir didn't use the gun because it would have been loud and disrespectful. Vile. His mother-in-law lifted her arm a second too late, and he punched her in the shoulder, throwing her around the counter. She reached for a knife but was struck by him in the back of the head. She dropped.

Elizabeth's aura flashed twice. Her arms flailed and hit the floor as her head dipped. Her light dimmed, leaving a human shell.

Leaning back, Luna sobbed.

Amir attended to her. "Luna, baby . . ." he whispered. "I'm sorry" was all he could whisper.

While groaning, she whimpered.

"There was nothing . . . Elizabeth was already gone before we got here," he stammered, trying to give his wife some closure. "They captured her somehow."

Luna pounded the kitchen floor as she wailed.

His boots and ground trembled, knocking plates and glasses off the kitchen counter and cabinets. The ceiling tumbled. The table drifted. Chairs fell. A window broke in the living room.

Oh, no.

Luna was about to bring her house down.

Kneeling, Amir hugged his wife. He went limp when she shook. She was cradled in his lap. Her wailing continued.

He didn't know what to do. He cared so much about her but couldn't help.

Luna's grief overtook him.

Amir whispered, "Everything's fine, baby. I've got you, Moon. I'm not going anywhere."

Luna didn't seem to hear him while she held his body. Her heart and chest were beating fast. She huddled, and her ragged, anguished cries tore him apart.

He wished he had entered the house first.

But there was no way to tell what they would've encountered. Amir could only hug her and stare at the wall, knowing more enemies would come. Except for a slight tremor in the foundation, the house had stopped moving.

Hearing movement in the living room, Amir kissed Luna's forehead and caressed his finger down her back. Liberty called her sister's name after the front door slammed against the wall.

He frowned, knowing this would destroy Liberty too because she lost her mother.

"In the kitchen."

Luna was shivering frantically in his arms, crying less but still upset.