Aurion studied my face for a long moment. Then nodded. “I’ll give you space. But I’m not leaving. I’ll be close by to keep an eye on you.”
Guilt twisted in my stomach at the thought of kicking him out into a world he didn’t know. Into a realm he’d never been to before. “Do you have money? A place to stay?”
“I’ll figure it out.”
“No. Wait.” I pushed myself to my feet with effort. My legs felt like jelly. “Let me give you some tips. Starting with safety and money.”
I gave him a quick rundown of Earth. How money worked. How to avoid getting mugged or scammed. How to find a hotel. How credit cards functioned. Which areas of the city to avoid.
He listened patiently. Then pulled a small leather pouch from his pocket and opened it.
Gold coins spilled into his palm along with jewels and gemstones that caught the bathroom light.
“Will this be enough?” he asked.
I stared at the contents of the pouch. That was easily millions of dollars’ worth of precious metals and gems. Probably more than millions.
“Yeah,” I said faintly. “You’ll be fine.”
“Good. I want to investigate this Earth realm of yours. Learn how things work here.” He tucked the pouch away.
“I don’t want to see you for a while,” I said. My voice cracked. “I can’t. Not when you look so much like him. Not right now.”
Understanding flickered across his face. “I’ll guard you from afar then. You won’t see me but I’ll be close if you need help.”
“Thank you.”
I closed the door before he could say anything else. I wasn’t being the best host but I literally couldn’t stand upright anymore. My legs were shaking. My chest still ached. Everything hurt.
I walked up the stairs to my apartment. Each step felt like climbing a mountain. When I finally reached my bedroom, I fell face down onto the bed without even taking off my shoes.
It was nighttime. The room was dark except for the streetlight outside filtering through the curtains. And the bed still smelled like us. Like the life I’d had for a few brief weeks before it all fell apart.
The scent broke something inside me that had been barely holding together.
I cried all night. Sobbed into my pillow until it was soaked through. Cried until my eyes were so swollen I could barely open them. Cried until my throat was raw and my chest ached from the force of it.
The bond was still there. I could feel it like a phantom limb. But it was closed tight on his end. No emotions coming through. No connection. Just an empty space where his presence used to be.
Eventually exhaustion dragged me under into a fitful sleep filled with nightmares of red eyes and cold voices and rejection.
I didn’t know how long I slept. Time felt meaningless. But at some point a shriek pulled me violently back to consciousness. Afamiliarshriek.
26
— • —
Wen
The shriek yanked me out of sleep so violently I nearly fell off the bed.
I sat up with my heart pounding and my vision blurry from swollen eyes. Bella was standing in my bedroom doorway with her hand over her mouth and her eyes wide with shock.
“Krystin! Daphne! Get up here NOW!” she screamed down the stairs.
Oh god. I must look like absolute hell.
Thundering footsteps on the stairs and then all three of them were crowding into my bedroom, talking over each other in a cacophony of concern and confusion.
