“Do you trust me?” Ocean scoffs, cocking her brow in answer, and I sigh. There’s no time for this. “Ocean, I need you to stay on that side of the door and use whatever magic you can to keep it locked, no matter what.”
“Why?” She folds her arms over her chest, the challenge clear in her gaze.
“Because if she’s down there right now, she needs me more than ever, but I can also guarantee that she doesn’t need an audience.”
Her lips purse in agitation. “Then you stay here, and I’ll go,” she retorts, and I shake my head again.
“This is my doing, I have to take accountability,” I insist as another cry of pain cuts through the air.
“Elodie,” Ocean blurts in a panic, taking a step toward me, but she halts when I lift a hand, stopping her from trying to pass me.
“That’s not her in pain,” I grunt, desperate for her to understand. It takes a moment, but her eyes go wide, blinking at me repeatedly as her pupils grow smaller. “Ocean,” I plead, nodding toward the door, and to my surprise, she takes a step back, her spine straight as she looks deep into my eyes.
“I don’t know what the fuck is going on down there, Rion, but you help her. You help her right now.” She slams the doorshut, her demand lingering in the air, but I don’t bother taking a moment to absorb it; I’m too focused on getting to the bottom of the dingy stairs.
My steps slow as I reach the last step, awe-struck as I gape at the fallen door. It takes my attention for a whole ten seconds until my gaze snaps to the enraged warrior of a woman dropping the weight of her hammer into her father’s skull again and again.
I inch closer, remaining as quiet as I can, waiting until I’m needed. The second she leans back, her shoulders hunched forward as she sags, exhaustion threatening to get the best of her, I swoop in, slipping my arms around my girl as I keep her on her feet. “I’ve got you, Petal.”
Dipping my nose to the curve of her throat, I inhale her sweet scent that infuses me with the warmth of home.
She’s back. She’s safe. She’s in my arms again.
I’ve never felt more whole.
Taking a step back from the mangled body, I slowly wrap my fingers around her blood-stained weapon of choice, and she lets go of it willingly. I waste no time tossing it off to the side as I continue to inch back, bringing Elodie with me until my back hits the farthest wall away from her father.
Simultaneously, a whimper parts her lips as her hands fly to her mouth, but the sound quickly morphs into a weighted sob that rattles through her frame. Wordlessly, she turns to face me, hiding her face in my chest as she crumbles.
As gently as I can, I lower us to the floor, leaning back against the wall as I cradle my Petal in my arms. Every sob consumes her, and I do the only thing that I can; I hold her. My palm slowly slips up and down her spine in comfort, but I give her the space and time to let it all out.
Trauma is a bitch, the worst of them all, and what my girl has endured at the hands of this man is incomparable. But more than that, knowing he’s gone is even more emotional. Even herein The Vale, another lifetime away from her home, this man and the pain he caused her were still lingering around her and clouding her vision. It kept her shoulders stiff and her constantly looking behind her in fear.
Now she’s free. She knows it.Shefucking did it. But that doesn’t eradicate it all effortlessly on a single breath; it’s got to worm its way over every muscle, twist through every vein, and allow her entire body to heal before she can even begin to live a life not infected by him anymore.
It’s something I’m far too familiar with. She wasn’t the only one to have the worst father in existence.
Before I can get lost in my own thoughts and pain, I redirect my attention to Elodie as her breathing evens out and her sobs grow muted. Slowly, she peels herself from around me, only to silently nudge my thighs apart and take a seat between my legs with her back pressed against my chest. I don’t get a chance to consider what she does and doesn’t want from me; she takes it, just like she takes my arms and drapes them around her, keeping her safe and the chill away from her body.
I still don’t move until she snuggles deeper against me and I manage to rest my chin on her head.
“Hey, Petal,” I rasp, and she hums, the sound weak before she clears her throat.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers, her fingers curling around my forearms as she clings to me.
“I missed you,” I admit, opting to ignore her unnecessary apology, but she scoffs, revealing the self-loathing before she even speaks.
“Now you’re probably disgusted by me,” she bites, her hold on me only growing tighter as her mind and body collide on what it is they want.
Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, I grin. “Never.” She scoffs again, confirming that she doesn’t believe me, but this is achallenge I refuse to back down from. “Do you want me to have a go too, so that we can be disgusted together?” I offer, and she snaps her gaze to mine as her jaw falls slack. She stares deep into my eyes and I don’t hold back.
I want her to see every part of me.
I want her to know every part of me.
I want her to have every part of me.
“He’s here because of you,” she rasps, but there’s no anger in her eyes as she speaks.
