Chapter 132

ACHILLES. A muffled scream escapes Claudia's lips. She staggers back and I catch her in my arms. She's trembling, so much so that even I can't hold her steady. She just presses herself close to me like a climber desperate for purchase, holding onto every bit of skin and clothing she can find. Her face is filled with horror, silent tears flowing down her cheeks and pooling at her chin. "I didn't do anything," she whispers, but it sounds more like she's trying to convince herself. "I didn't do anything to him. I was just trying to get deeper into his mind and suddenly I was in pain too...." Claudia looks up at me as though to check if I believe her, but that's something that she doesn't need to do. I pull her close to me, planting a kiss on her forehead. I know that she didn't kill Larkin. At least not on purpose. Because right now, I'm pretty certain that this mind exploration thing has fucked him up real bad, but I would never say that it’s Claudia’s fault. I would never blame Ari