"You drive me insane,Nightmare."
"You're no picnic either," I whisper, pulling my lip between my teeth and sawing it back and forth. "But, I'm not something for you to possess or control."
He nods, and through my thick lashes I can see his face twisting in pain, "no, you're not, but if anything ever happened to you again…"
"It won't, I won't allow it."
"You're right, because I won't allow you to slip through my fingers a second time, Eveera. The realm won't survive it. What I’ve done over the past few months? What I destroyed in my pursuit of finding you will pale in comparison to what Iwilldo." My breath hitches as he holds my face back, his eyes boring into me while he speaks, "I will unravel the threads that tie this world together, foryou, with very little remorse."
And I thought that I was intense…"you'd sacrifice your soul?"
"What is love if not the sacrifice of one's soul?"
Rorin
I had every intention of leaving her there to stand uncomfortably with yet another of my admissions. But now knowing she's been taking off on a regular nightly basis — I don't trust her to be alone with herself or anyone else. I was done putting my trust in others to keep her safe shortly after witnessing her jump from her horse and dive straight into a horde of creatures.
While I’ve stunned her into silence, her serpents slide anxiously along her skin, their mouths opened as if they might strike in defense. I’m surprised she didn’t strike me down at my utterances of the word ‘love’. Instead, she’s just stood here, rocking back and forth on her heels.
Eveera’s attention drops down to my palms, and her fingers snatch out, grabbing my wrist and lifting my hand to her eyelevel. Confused, I watch as she examines it before snapping those golden orbs back up to my face. "Wield."
“Excuse me?” I sputter, tugging at my hand to take it back, but she digs her nails into the sensitive skin there.
"I said Wield."Her voice rattles around in my head, the intrusion unexpected.
"I'm not going to Wield."
Her left brow cocks up, "I've seen you — you twitch every time you use it. You squirm under that level of power because people made you feel weak. Now I find out you’ve been wreaking havoc on our neighbors for months? You didn’t cause tensions between Sorrel and Obsidian with just your hands, princeling. Plus, I caught Mousy’s comment before our spar – about how you've used it far too much lately. So you clearly have grown more comfortable since we last were together.” I yank again on my wrist, but she doesn’t relent. “Wield."
"You cannot demand that I Wield, Eveera."
Her chin lifts, defiant, “and you can't demand that I sit idly and safely by simply because you feel guilt overkillingto get what you want."
"I do not feelguiltover killing those who wasted my time. The only regret I have over my actions is that I didn't return home with youandEzra's head on a fucking pike." Her face stays scrunched as she processes the words that I'm growling at her. "I don’t need to practice my Wield to know how to use it."
“Yes, you do, or it’ll kill you in the process. Now, Wield. Put me on my ass.”
I huff, scanning her up and down again, trying to make sense of the enigma that she is. One second, she’s throwing stars at me and stabbing my shoulder with daggers. Next, we’re exploring each other’s mouths with our tongues… arguably much more enjoyable than her stabbing me. Then she’s running off in themiddle of the night to… to… “I’m not doing anything until you tell me what you were doing out there tonight.”
Her arms fold across her chest, and she sits into her hip.“I thought we were done with that conversation. I told you I’m doing what I have to do.”
“I heard, and I decided I’m not done with it.” Her eyes roll, and she tries to turn away, my hand catching her elbow. “You want me to Wield? Tell me what you were doing, and no excuses.” She sighs, looking reluctantly to her right. Her desire to avoid this conversation is obvious as she curls her shoulders inwards, mumbling under her breath. "What?"
"What? You didn't hear that?" She snarks.
I can't help the scoff that slips from my mouth, "clearly not."
"Well, maybe you should listen better—"
"Eveera."
She takes a deep breath before delving into an arduous explanation. Evidently, since returning, her trips with Vada have involved Eveera trying tocontrolthe creatures rather than destroying them. She tries to rationalize her reasoning, but while J listen all I can do is wrestle with the decision of whether I want to yell at her, kill her, or just accept the fact that she has no sense of self-preservation.
Annoyingly, I go with the third option.
Eveera’s rationales all end up back at the same point: the sentient creature we’d come across in the woods all of those months ago. Every night she’s been seeking out the beats that seem to be as aware asitwas, and “I succeeded,” she admits. “I found one tonight that was just as present. But when I tried manipulating its mind…"
"What happened?" I grit out.
