But what about me, the tree with no limbs left?
I can spread my roots, but I have nothing left to nourish, no branches. Just hollowed out memories and hopes.
What’s the point?
That’s why trees fall. Sometimes there is just no more point in weathering this world.
“Selene,” Titus whispers life into my name. I can’t grasp it.The brown of his earthy eyes feels like a steaming cup of chai trying to soothe me as he reaches for me. “You’re hurt.” He glides his fingertips along my jaw.
That touch is so… dangerous. It can cause wars.
“Titus,” Tristen warns as he comes into view.
I close my eyes and push my cheek against the soil. If I had more magic left, I would release it, allowing the grass to grow around us. A small detail of beauty amidst all the terrors.
Tears flee from the corners of my eyes as if those tiny drops can water the dirt and bring forth the life I just dreamed about.
Two hot hands grab my face like a pillow, gently pressing into my comfort.
“I am hurt beyond repair,” I whisper. “I have failed.” I squeeze my eyes shut.
“No, you haven’t,” Titus responds. My eyes open as he pulls my upper body onto his lap. My muscles melt like metal thrown into a forge eager to be molded into something beautiful.“Tell me what has happened,” he demands. He flashes his fangs like the string of my bow ready to fire.
I sense Tristen sitting down; the sunlight darkens as he covers us in his shadow. Tristen’s eyes differ from Titus’s; they’re a colder brown, like dirt lost in frozen tundras, with streaks fossilized grey—memories he wishes to keep buried.
He scans our surroundings. He can see through his shadows. Interesting.
Titus pushes my hair off my face. “You’ve used all your magic. You feel fevered. You made yourself sick,” he acknowledges.
My lip tugs into a sad smirk. “I’d ask how you know that, but we both know how. It’s a bush we have beaten so we can walk over it. We chopped it down to the ground, but we forgot about the roots, so it continues to grow.”
“I never forgot, Selene. I allowed the roots to grow deep. I knew the cost of uprooting them was one I could not afford,” Titus acknowledges. Misery hugs his face like morning dew clinging to grass.
Another tear slides down my cheek.
Titus catches it with his thumb and brings it to his lip. “You are my mate.” He swallows my tears.
I’m a coward who has lost everything, so I close my eyes and nod, unable to speak; if I admit this, that means I can lose him, too.
Titus breathes a sigh of relief that isn’t shared by his brother, whose shadows darken.
“We have too many problems,” I eventually reply. I allow my dreams to fester behind my closed eyes, in the darkness where they are safe from the light of reality.
“Mating bonds are a gift, not a curse.” His intake of breath is sharp.
“Tell my husband that.”
“We’re not the first couple who have had a mate bond destroy vows,” Titus gently offers.“If Galen cherished you, I’d feel guilty. I would run and let the two of you try to work things out. That is not our fate. I will fight for you; if I have to steal you away from him, I shall. I will not linger in the shadows for much longer, Selene.”
His words make me feel like a vast ocean separates us. I can’t risk swimming out for fear I’ll drown before I reach him. So, I remain trapped on my island of isolation as other boats sail by.
Tristen clears his throat. “I agree. We have too many enemies at the moment. This has to remain hidden until we can sort it out.”
I open my eyes.
“Give us a minute, Tristen,” Titus hisses. His eyes quarrel with his brother’s.
“We have too much to tell her,” Tristen counters. “We can’t do this now.”
