Yet, what if she did not need stability, as I assumed? Ever since I met her, she had the strange ability to stand on her own in a way she never should have had the power to. Every step of the way, no matter how much I challenged her, she did not bow. Yet she remained flexible enough to keep the pressure from snapping her. She moved with the change while somehow keeping her head above the water and facing the uncertainty with calm clarity.
Perhaps this new role would not make it easier to sway her to our cause, and if that were the case, what then? During the long night I spent outside the Bavadrin temple, I had plenty of time to consider the options. However, every thought led me to the same realization that I could not bring myself to take her life.
I looked at her face as she leaned against me. The slight wrinkle in her brow, the way her lips lightly parted, all of her wascaptivating. She seemed so vulnerable, and I longed to shelter her.Ashes.What is this woman doing to me?
Ariana dozed off again, but this time dreams accompanied her sleep. She mumbled something incoherent, even for my keen hearing. The sound of her heartbeat climbed. A moment later, she flinched, and then a small whimper escaped from her. And though she did not appear to be in any blatant distress, I couldn’t help but feel as though the dream was unpleasant.
I moved my hand to her thigh, jostling her gently in an attempt to wake her before the dream had a chance to turn into an all-out nightmare.
“Ariana,” I said her name.
She woke, though it was not gentle. Her heart rate spiked, and she leaned over, nearly plummeting from the horse. Caught off guard myself, I almost missed grabbing her. She was practically falling before my hand captured her waist and yanked her back. Her hands flung to my arm, holding it as if startled by my presence.
Quick breaths rattled from her. “Sorry, I’m fine,” she said, and the pressure of her shoulders lightened as she tried to lean forward, but my arm prevented her from it. “I just need a second. Will you release me?” she asked, her voice unsteady.
I slowly let her go, afraid that she may lose her stability and fall. Instead, Ariana leaned forward while keeping her balance, and I realized she was trying to touch me as little as possible.
My stomach sank at the thought that she was having a nightmare that had anything to do with me, but with the way her heart raced and her leaning away from my touch, that was the only thing it could have been.
I asked her what I already knew. “What was your nightmare of?”
Me. It was of me.
30
ARIANA
The dream began with me wearing the dress I wore when I ascended. All around me, the room was shimmering, casting various light patterns in my peripherals. I stood in the center of a chamber filled with Bavadrins and Lysians. They were celebrating together as friends. The scene brought me so much joy that I needed to find Erik to show him we could be more than enemies, to show him that my kind and his could share in the joy.
Scanning the crowds, I could not find him, so I moved, searching for him. I ran past the faces that surrounded me, but I was lost. No matter where I went, I was not getting anywhere. It was as if I were trapped in that room. So, I ran harder, my legs moving faster till the faces all blurred together. It felt as though an eternity passed.
Finally, familiar deep blue eyes caught my attention, and I halted before them. My hair flung around me in a wild mess from the sudden change in motion.
“Where are you running off to?” Erik asked, his voice deadly soft.
“I was looking for you.”
His eyes studied me as if they were burrowing into my soul, rendering me speechless. Before me stood a King, dangerously powerful and focused so entirely on me it was difficult to even draw breath.
A small smile graced his full lips, and he brought his hand up to my neck, moving my wild hair back over my shoulder. When finished, he did not withdraw his hand. Instead, he grazed my jaw, his fingers brushing past my neck so that his fingertips caressed the base of my skull. My skin burned wherever he touched, sending my pulse climbing. His grip tightened, forced my head up so that I could not look away from him.
“Erik, what are you doing?” I asked, finding myself breathless.
The people in the room began shimmering out of existence until it was just the two of us.
With a ghost of a smirk on his lips, he stepped closer. Nearly all the space between us was stolen in one move.
“Erik,” I warned, though I was not sure what I was trying to warn against. Would I use my conjuring to bring him to his knees? No, I didn’t want to do that.
I found myself both frightened and intrigued by the situation. The feelings competed for control. To run or to stay?
He leaned in, the space between us dwindling. “Tell me to release you, and I will.” The words were a whisper. He surrounded me, holding me captive, and I couldn’t formulate a response.
His hungry gaze dipped to my lips.
My mouth went completely dry, and it felt as though my heart catapulted into my throat. Then, when I didn’t move, didn’t make a sound, he leaned even closer.
His hand gripped my thigh, his voice calling my name. Yet it couldn’t have been him.
