Shetapsmy chin up,andI feel the weight of her leaning in close to steal words straight frommy tongue. “He’s hurt. Exhausted. Alone.” She allows that to sink in before adding, “Eryx has been living with discord without relief, chaos without purpose.”
That image she has painted sounds… draining, painful, and borderline hopeless.
Before I can ask Nyx to tell me what I can do, she’s slipping through my fingers. Chased back by the scent of storms filled with clouds of citrus, infiltrating my awareness.
Consciousnesscameback in blurred waves of light. When my focus came back to my vision, I found myself staring up at drapes of fabric creating a burgundy canopy above me. My pounding head was supported by a plush pillow, and the weight of grey and whitefurskept me warm there on the bed.
Familiarity surrounded me except for the expression on the face of the god seated at my side. His eyes told the story of a man lost to his own thoughts, seeking shelter where heexpectedthere to be none. He clutched myhand with both of his like something precious. All of it left mebreathless.
Pushing myself upright slightly, he jolted out of whatever thoughts plagued him. Those dark cocoa eyes looked lighter, flecks of molten amber in them.
“You’re awake.”
I nodded, not pulling my hand from his grasp.
Clearing his throat, he sought composure to brace against the display of vulnerability. “You were out cold for a while. I thought—” He cut himself off once his voice wobbled, forcing steel back into his words. “Glad you’re alright.”
Taking a quick assessment of the room, it was an utter disaster. Cracks in the walls, dust and debris littered the space, and stains on the floor that I didn’t dare question. Chains that had held Jamie were left in a pile on the floor, with no sign of the butler.
“Is Mr. Peterson…?”
Already picking up on my concern, Eryx squeezed my hand with reassurance. “Off to the airport to meet someone special.”
Relief flooded my system, tension melting where I hadn’t realized I had been holding onto it.
Continued to survey whatever took place in this room, one major casualty had me sitting up straighter.
“What happened?” I nodded at the oversized birdcagewherehe had kept me captive. Instead of a pristine structure of evenly spaced bars andmetal, the door hung crooked from its hinges, and parts of it were dented inbroken angles. Several bars lookedto bemissing altogether.
Following my gaze, I watched as a muscle ticked in his jaw. Whatever had been inflicted on the cage brought a dark and haunted look to his face.
I watched as he worked his throat around words that seemed to cost him. “No longer yours, or anyone else’s, for that matter. I took care of it. All of it.” The admission came out rough, but honest.
He began to pull away, but I instinctively held onto him tighter. My other hand came to rest on top of both of his as I leaned in to meet his eyes with my own.
“Thank you,” I said, grateful for his act of selflessness. Still, a pang struck a chord in my heart.It reminded me of the ting of a pebble striking a tin can, oddly empty and lingering.
Eryx responded with a curt nod, clear that discomfort settled over him when I acknowledged what he had done. His eyes flicked downward momentarily,andhis thumb lightly tapped against the back of my hand before he withdrew.
Silence stretched thin. I was willing to let it hover between us, but Eryx chose to break it.
“You’re free to go, Charlee.” He didn’t meet my eyes.
A release I hadn’t been seeking, not after everything.
I ducked my head down to try and force him to look at me if he was saying goodbye. “And if I don’t want to?”
No hesitation in his response, just words cold and blunt like a frozen hammer, “You’re stupid.”
I couldn’t help the bubble of laughter at the candid response. The raw honesty broke through an otherwise heavy moment.
Doing my best to suppress a borderline inappropriate smile, I kept my eyes glued on him. “Maybe I want to be stupid.”
He withdrew from me, sitting back in the chair at the bedside. Lifting a hand to his nose, he pinched the bridge of it.
“Don’t argue with me,” he said wearily.
My teeth bit into my lower lip. “Maybe I want to do that, too,” I said softly as I shifted my position to perch on the edge of the bed, legs dangling off the side.
