Suddenly, it felt like an arm was wrapping itself around my middle, hauling me up.
Shadows, I realized.
Odessa had tapped into her power and was wielding enough magick to pull us both out of the depths. The shadows placed us into a small crack in the wall where Nat was looking at us in disbelief.
“I thought you were goners,” she said.
“So did I,” Odessa replied.
“Thank you. For saving me,” I managed to say.
Odessa turned to me. “You lied. You said you wouldn’t let me fall.”
I felt a small smile pull on my lips. “Have to keep you guessing. Wouldn’t want to be boring.”
“Can’t have that.”
It took a moment for my breathing to return to a normal rhythm.
“Does this go anywhere do you think?” Odessa asked.
“It’s narrow, but maybe. There’s nowhere else for us to go. The ledge is gone,” Nat said.
“We’ll have to crawl on our bellies to fit through,” I remarked, eyeing the tiny space. Fucking small spaces.
“Alright, well, why don’t we get some rest here and then we can continue on. I don’t know about you, but I’m fucking wiped, “Odessa said.
“Almost dying a bunch of times can do that to you,” Nat said, looking every bit as tired as I felt.
“We should take turns as lookout, don’t you think?” I responded, not wanting to be caught unaware. While I knew Ineeded to rest, I also knew that the other teams were still out there.
“I guess,” Nat said, dropping down to the ground.
There was just enough room for the three of us to sit. We’d have to sleep sitting straight up, but it would have to do.
“You both rest. I’ll keep an eye out,” I said, sitting on the ground and crossing my arms in front of my chest.
“Fine with me. I can’t keep my eyes open for another second,” Odessa said.
She must have used a significant amount of power to get us both out of there safely. She could have let me fall, but she didn’t. She chose to save me.
And then she surprised the hell out of me. When she sat down next to me, Odessa laid her head against my shoulder, and it felt like she fit there, with me. It was an odd feeling to have and it made my insides squeeze with a feeling I didn’t know how to name.
Sure, I’d been interested in her, and felt drawn to her. She was beautiful. No, beautiful wasn’t the right word. She was breathtaking. But I’d been attracted to plenty of women in my life. I was no stranger to taking women to my bed and fucking them all night long, but I was never one for settling down. I liked the thrill of the hunt. The chase. The banter.
But somewhere along the way, Odessa had clawed her way past my defenses and settled deep into my soul.
Maybe it was this place, or maybe it was the way her small breaths felt fluttering against my neck as she slept, trusting me implicitly though she shouldn’t, but I realized now that I was falling for her.
I was here to steal her power, but she’d stolen my heart instead.
Resting my head back, I kept an eye out, listening for any incoming threats, but the only sounds I could hear were of Nat and Odessa gently breathing in their sleep.
A stray strand of hair had fallen across Odessa’s face, and I moved it, tucking it behind her ear, careful not to wake her.
She seemed so peaceful like this.
“Dex,” she breathed out in a whisper making my heart squeeze. I loved the way she said my name— like I belonged to her.
