A minute later, rain poured in through the opening in the cave and she laughed. She let go of Daris’s hand and hopped to the center. Turning her face up to the rain, Terena closed her eyes.
Mesmerized, Daris watched her joyous expression as the rain fell all around and he walked toward her, his heart pounding unevenly. The rain flattened his short hair, and he pushed it back as he looked down at her, stopping a foot away.
Terena opened her eyes and looked at him. For a second, he thought he saw her eyes reflecting the same wonder that must be in his own.
Daris reached for her. Her lips trembled. She tilted her face up to him and he lowered his head. His hands went to her waist and she stiffened, backing away a step as her mouth opened. Raising her hand to her lips, her nostrils flared.
“I saw this,” she whispered, and Daris leaned closer to catch it. “I saw all this.”
Terena looked up at him, her eyes wide. “You were standing right there. And then you… and then you kissed me.”
Daris started. He opened his mouth to reply and she gasped, her hand stretched out as if to touch him.
And then she ran.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Terena stumbled only once as she ran, adrenaline fueling her body. He might not have been expecting it, but Daris was fast and she sensed him a step behind as she spurred her body faster, fear seizing her chest.
He grabbed her arm, wrenching her around. She cried out as he wrapped his other arm around her waist. Terena bucked against him, slamming her foot down on his. He swore and loosed his hold enough she whipped her hand up and punched his nose.
She turned, but he was still there, hauling her back until her back pressed against his chest, her momentum forcing him to lift her and she kicked wildly at the air.
“Stop!” he roared. Her foot connected with his shin, but still he held on. “You’re going to hurt your—Terena, for the love of the gods, stop!”
She didn’t. The fear engulfing her when she’d realized this was what she’d seen in her dream—what she’d thought was a dream—had, in fact, been a vision.
A memory.
But it had been different, too. Subtle ways that pricked at the backof her mind. Different enough she had paused. At the least, that might mean something had changed.
“Please, Terena.” He pleaded with her to stop, but now his voice was soft, desperate.
Terrified.
“Let me go,” she whimpered and hated herself for it, but she was desperate, too.
Incredibly, he complied, his arms falling away. Terena stumbled, her mind registering him backing up, and she turned. Holding her hands up in a defensive stance, Terena’s wild eyes watched him warily. Daris held his hands up in defeat, his face flushed, the hurt in his eyes almost unbearable.
“Please,” he said, wiping the blood from his nose, his voice low. The way it broke at the end made tears sting the back of her eyes.
She blinked rapidly, watching him as he panted. Her chest heaved as she gasped for air.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking,” he said, “but I will not hurt you. I would never hurt you.”
A tear slipped from her eye. He flinched at the sight of it and backed up a step.
“I don’t—” He stopped, dropping his chin and shaking his head before looking back up at her. “Go. You don’t have to run from me. If you want to leave, just… go.”
Her blood roared in her ears. Terena watched him as he backed up a few more steps. Her heart squeezed, and she wanted to cry. More blood slid from his nose and he wiped it away, shoving his other hand through his wet hair.
Her whole body shook with the need to cry, and she didn’t know why it seemed like her heart was breaking as she looked at him.
“I have… visions,” Terena said, swallowing. She had no idea why, but she wanted—needed—to explain.He deserves to know why,she thought.
“I know,” he mumbled.
Right, Terena thought.
