I am eternal.
Like a dam being broken open, blinding light flooded her mind. Shadows shrieked as they burned and shrank away until they diminished to nothing but ash, swept away on a phantom wind, and carried into oblivion.
Slowly, the light dimmed and faded, leaving her in the darkness of her room. The room she shared with Dominic. But she wasn’t afraid this time. Not as the Eyes of Elysian shone through the window, the curtains having been blown open somehow. Adara gazed at the stars high above the moon and whispered a “thank you,” believing the gods had saved her.
Because she was weak, scared, and a pathetic coward, covered in her own sweat she’d mistaken for blood in her nightmare. She lay on the floor, having fallen out of bed from her violent thrashing. The hem of her nightgown was in charred tatters. The skin on her arms and legs was red and blistered from the sweltering heat.
Assessing the damage, she knew that she would heal quickly, that she had gotten her magic under control before it could leave permanent damage upon her like it had on her hands. Muscles aching, hands shaking, Adara picked herself up off the floor, blinking the tears away, blinking away the images of blood anddarkness and death that intruded in her mind. She hurried to the washroom as bile rose in her throat, knelt before the pot, and vomited. She couldn’t stand the sight of all that carnage, the smell of such torment that had been permanently sealed in her mind. It felt so real.
She retched again, and suddenly, candles flickered to life in the room, and her hair was being swept back from her face. A soothing hand rubbed reassuring circles on her back.
“I’m sorry,” Dominic murmured, sliding a candle across the floor before her so she could see the light. “I forgot.”
Tears sprang to her eyes. Whether it was from shame that Dominic had seen her like this or from relief that someone had come to her aid, she wasn’t certain. He said nothing more as she vomited again, every ounce of her body aching and trembling. Said nothing as she rose on shaking legs while he braced a hand around her waist to support her. Said nothing as he stepped toward the tub, turned on the faucet, and fetched a towel and soap.
Silence followed as he shot her a look—pity, concern, sorrow, Adara couldn’t tell.
“Please leave me alone,” she whispered, failing to keep her voice from wavering.
His only reply was placing the towel and a lavender-scented bar of soap beside the tub. Then he left, gently closing the door behind him.
She peeled away her sweat-slick nightgown and slumped into the tub. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there, staring at the flames dancing on the candle Dominic had set at the edge of the washbasin, but when she returned to the bedroom, she was relieved to see Dominic’s eyes closed as he lay on his side.
Careful not to wake him, Adara slid beneath the sheets. She faced him, but his back was to her. Adara’s eyes traced over the thick, jagged scars crossing over his muscled back. Her fingerswere a gentle caress, lightly tracing over the dips and ridges of his scars like they were a map that would lead her home. She concentrated on the steady rhythm of his body rising and falling with each inhale and exhale, her breaths matching his.
With him in front of her, nothing else mattered. Not the darkness. Not the monsters she’d seen in her nightmares, poised to attack.
The real monster lay right in front of her, and she couldn’t help but feel comforted.
Chapter 28
Atthebrightlightshining in through the window, Adara’s eyes fluttered open. The comfort of the thick duvet atop her reminded her that she wasn’t sleeping in her berth onThe Lykren. A warm breeze tickled the back of her neck, and she wondered when the window had been opened.
Her eyes widened. No, not a breeze. A breath. Accompanied by a light weight around her waist. Something hard pressed against her back, warmth radiating from it. Adara blinked once more, as if waking from a daze, and finally, it all snapped into place.
Dominic’s breath grazed the back of her neck, his lips mere inches from her skin. Her back was pressed against his strong chest. Their bodies were molded together with his arm draped around her torso.
She jolted upright. “What the Hel!” she shrieked, springing out of his reach. Stumbling over her own feet, Adara’s shoulder slammed into the wall, eliciting a wince of pain.
Dominic, still groggy from sleep, didn’t notice as he startled awake, latching onto a knife he’d planted on the bedside table last night. He aimed it in front of him, the initial shock in his widened eyes ebbing away as he scanned the room and found they were in no danger. Glancing between the two of them, his eyes widened almost imperceptibly as he must have realized what he’d been doing in his sleep. “Would you believe me if I said I got cold and used you for warmth?” He yawned, lying back down and stretching out across the disheveled sheets.
Adara glared at him while rubbing her sore shoulder. “No,” she said sternly. Gods,she knew it had been a bad idea to sleep next to him—waking up in the comfort of his arms, hearing his voice, raspy and heavy with sleep, seeing his unkempt hair, which he ran a hand through as he lay there staring up at the ceiling. Adara averted her eyes, hating how damn attractive he was. No wonder so many girls had given up their keys to him.
She tried to convince herself that she only enjoyed those few seconds of being in his arms before throwing herself off him because she missed Callan. She’d give anything to the gods to make it possible to see him one last time. Every pleasant memory she had of Cal had been plagued by the image of the last time she’d seen him: bloodied and broken in her arms, gasping for breath, using his last bit of air to tell her he loved her and handing over his key. A weight settled on her, like she could still feel the ghost of his limp, lifeless body in her arms.
Adara’s hand reached for the key around her neck, resting against her sternum. She traced the shape of the metal, hating that his key had not formed a ring around her finger, hating that he had not been her soulmate. She didn’t understand why Calandra would send Callan into her life, let her fall in love with him, the goddess herself knowing they weren’t made for one another.
Firelight danced, illuminating the room further as Dominic flicked his fingers and set the candles ablaze. Adara’s hand instantly dropped, remembering who she was with.
“Well, then I guess it’s a good thing my entire body was touching you,” Dominic said with a smirk. “You can’t exactly chop offeverypart of me. That would be breaking our deal.” He pulled on a cream tunic, followed by a dark green jerkin with gold thread embroidered across the lapels.
Adara cursed that inane blood oath she made with him to ensure this game of love would reach its end. “Well, there was one specific body part that was pressed upharderagainst me than any other. I could settle for cutting that part off.” She crossed her arms and didn’t bother to hide her suggestive glance below his navel.
Adjusting his clothes with a smirk on his face, he replied, “That’s the best part, love. Aside from this.” He waved a hand in front of his face.
Although she could agree with him about that devilishly handsome face of his, she’d never let it show. Adara snorted and rolled her eyes. “Please, the only good thing about you is that you can afford to buy me pretty things.” She strode across the room and opened the armoire to pull out the light blue gown, holding it on display as she admired the skirts that glittered in the early morning sun shining through the window.
Placing a hand on his chest, Dominic feigned affection. “Aww, how sweet. You’re notentirelyrepulsed by me.”
