Tethered Souls | Books 1, 2, and 3

{Book Three} 143 | Oracle

ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ Tethered ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

Chapter 17

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• Luna •

Luna was rendered speechless. Amir didn't even blink. Titus and Colin stood silently as Faisal stared at them. The last time she saw him, he was caught in the middle of a fight between her and Sam, and he died. But now? It was as if nothing happened.

Faisal looked like he was a foot taller than before, but he wasn't lanky. He had firm muscle beneath his white medical scrubs. She figured he had just come from one of the labs on the base but had stopped what he was doing to see the others. His expression suggested he didn't know anything about her and Amir, and he was just as surprised to see them.

Finally, he rushed through the threshold, his breath heaving. Luna took a quick step back as he launched himself at Amir from several feet away. He caught him before Faisal tumbled forward.

"Faisal," Amir said, his voice muffled by his cousin's neck. "You're . . . you're alive."

"I couldn't leave you and Luna to deal with BARDA alone," he said, his voice thick. "Both of you need me, even if you can't admit it."

"Hey," Titus hummed, and the group turned to him. "You do realize they have an entire rebellion on their side? They aren't alone."

Faisal laughed. "I know. I'm just glad you guys made it out alive. I was about to detonate a bomb and go all Punisher down there."

Everyone in the room smiled, except Chase, who shifted his gaze to the window and stared.

Luna cleared her throat before speaking. "I don't get it. I killed you."

"No. You only thought you killed me," Faisal explained. "But I faked my death."

"What?" Amir asked as they moved toward the table but remained standing. "How?"

"How do you think?" He stared blankly at Amir. "I learned from the best."

Luna cradled her palms over her chest, sniffing, as another figure appeared through the doorway. She couldn't believe how . . . how much Connor had changed as she dragged in a soft breath. His hair was long and shaggy, and he had a full blond beard. Small circles formed under his eyes, and a scar ran across the top of his brow. Even so, he was still a mirror image of his brother.

Two Chases under one roof . . .

Her head was about to spin.

Chase turned his head as if anticipating his brother's entrance. His mouth moved, but no words came out. Everyone stopped for a moment and exchanged glances between the two. It was strange for her to see this moment because she had never known that her ex had a twin brother throughout the years they were together, and now that she knew, she didn't know what to say.

When Connor locked eyes with her, he curved his lips into a tight grin and opened his arms wide. "I'm glad both of you are here. Greer just came down to my room and told Zoe and me you made it out."

"Yeah," Amir said. "He helped us in our escape. He actually forewarned me about what they had in store for us in Canada."

"That's horrible." Connor let go of him and took a step back. "We heard once Faisal came back."