As if sensing my discomfort, the commander wrapped his large hand around the cup, setting it down beside him. He leaned forward, forearms resting atop his knees, hands clasped loosely. “What happened?” he asked, his voice as gentle as the look he gave me.
I swallowed and reached for the light throw blanket at the edgeof the sofa. Tucking my feet under me, I wrapped myself tight in the down-soft fabric and sank deep into the cushions—wishing to hide.
“Would it be easier to show me? Like before.”
From the corner of my eye, Caius stiffened, but he stayed silent.
I searched Endymion’s face for the truth behind his offer, wondering if it was even possible. I’d unwittingly pulled him into a dream before—could I actively choose to show him?
As if sensing my doubt, he wiggled his fingers and raised a brow in that almost playful way of his. Though I doubted anyone raised in a militant court truly understood playfulness.
Shifting forward, I let my gaze drop to his open hands before meeting his eyes again. The truth was, my pain had become his last time—and I didn’t want either of us to relive it.
“It’ll hurt,” I said, voice small. “I’ll hurt you.”
“You won’t,” he countered without hesitation and leaned closer. “And I won’t let it hurt you either. I promise.”
My mind wanted to protest—vehemently. But the instinctive part of me that had trusted this fae before—forcing him into a dream—hummed at the thought of sharing the memory with him. And I’d be lying if I claimed the burdens I carried hadn’t been a little lighter after that. Perhaps that was the most important consideration of all.
Then again, wasn’t it possible that it hadn’t been a dream at all, but a vision spurred by magic? What if being on fae land—while being fae—had changed something in me? I knew little of magic, and even less about the fae. But Endymion… knew far more. Surely, he could discern the truth when I couldn’t.
That notion clenched my resolve. Pain or not, I had to show him. Because if something happened to Tarrin that I could’ve prevented, I’d never forgive myself.
Mind made, I met the intensity of his cobalt eyes and shifted closer. “Last chance,” I said, offering him an out.
His mouth ticked up in a mischievous grin. “And lose the chance to feel your hands in mine? I don’t think so.”
A half-scoff, half-laugh escaped me as I shook my head at his ridiculousness. “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you, Commander.”
“Do I strike you as someone who breaks his promises?”
“Well, you also promised to follow the orders of your High Lord, and yet here I am,” I teased, gesturing around me, the blanket slipping from my shoulders with the movement.
Caius barked a laugh, which cut off abruptly at Endymion’s sharp glance. The summer lord lifted his hands in mock surrender, humor lighting his strong features.
The full weight of the commander’s focus was back on me. “Nyleeria,” he said after a pause, my name laced with the faintest trace of desperation.
The silent plea in his voice—his expression—sobered me. “No, you don’t,” I said on a rasp, finally answering his question.
“Then trust me when I say there’s no need for your warning. I’ve got you. I’ve gotus.”
His certainty settled over me, and gods above, I wanted to cling to its edges. Wrap its warmth around me. Get lost in it. But no. I would not anchor to him. This was strictly academic, for him to know what happened. Nothing more.
Pulse thrumming in my veins despite myself, I nodded, unable to trust my voice, and forced my focus onto his hands instead of the damn warmth begging to shroud me.
Without another word, I unfurled my legs from beneath me. The rug’s warmth greeted my feet as I leaned to the edge of the sofa. Hovering my palms just above his, a tingling sensation took hold immediately—intensifying with each heartbeat as if the slender gap between us were charged.
Then, as if he’d become my gravity, our palms collided.
I gasped the second we touched, the connection stealing my breath. It was raw. Electric. All-consuming.
Too consuming.
Panic surged swift and heavy, my body screaming for me to pull away—to break the connection. Without hesitation, I made tooblige, but before I did, a warm sense of calm enveloped me, smothering my fear in a blanket of invincibility.
I felt safe. Damn it, I feltsafe. Deep emotion flooded me, my eyes stinging from the rush of it.
You’re okay, he said.
