The Last Harmon [Complete]

Chapter 31

I hold my breath until the door opens. He stands there, scorned and ticked off. His fingers tap against the frame as he debates with himself about whether to let me in. I keep my head down, timidly watching the way his feet shuffle slightly when he breathes. Eventually, he steps backwards and leaves the door wide. I walk into the room slowly, shivering at the wind that blows through the balcony window.

"If you've come to lecture me about the importance of letting you train then don't waste your breath," he says as he turns away and approaches his desk.

"I just want to sleep," I whisper.

"You've not long woken up. Do witches tend to sleep a lot?"

"After big spells, maybe. It's a form of regeneration."

"Or laziness."

I bite on my lip and I fall onto the flat blanket on the floor. I twist my hands above my knees, wondering where to even begin. How can I play nice with someone I can't literally stand to be around? I watch him for a few moments as he sits in his chair and starts writing. He knows I'm observing him, but he doesn't care, he acts as though I'm not even here. He slips the piece of paper into an envelope and licks it closed, placing it inside a drawer.

"What are those?" I ask.

"None of your business."

"I don't know what else I have to do to prove myself," I say. "No matter what I do, you'll never trust me. Sophia trusts me, why can't you?"

He flicks his eyes to me for half a second before glancing down. "Because I know what it's like to belong to something bigger than yourself. To be owned, even when you think you're not. I have to be cautious about everything and everyone, if you don't get that by now then you're not as smart as I thought you were."

I smile. "You think I'm smart?"

He stares at me.

"I get that you have your responsibilities and your orders," I say. "And it must be exhausting being the leader of a whole species, but I just don't buy this cold and careless jerk portrayal. I think you care about a lot of things that you pretend not to care about, and I think that this lifestyle has led you into dark places but your human side is still there. I've seen it."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"I saw it that night at the bridge. You could have killed those wiccans at the plane, but you revealed yourself instead, you waited to let me talk to them."

"They had information, they were useful alive," he says.

"Is that what you think of me?"

"Yes."

I snort. I click my tongue against my teeth as I glance at the window. This is useless, absolutely and ridiculously useless. I can't break through his defence mechanism, it's like a sheet of steel. I take a deep breath, feeling brave, but what I'm about to say could either help me or end me.

"Sophia told me about your family," I whisper. "That they were murdered by Amara."

He blinks for a second, his eyes glazing over with a building fury. I don't know whether to keep going or run.

"I've felt that pain," I continue. "I've felt that anger. That desperate need for vengeance or justice, whatever we try to call it. We both want to stop her more than anything, so why don't we?"

"Sophia shouldn't have told you that," he says. "She had no right."

"You've killed an Elder before," I say. "How?"