Her eyes widened.
He stilled. Then a smile started.
Oh, shit. “No, I didn’t—”
“Yes.” He cupped her face gently, but she gripped his wrists.
“Aerén, you have to let me go.”
“No. Trust me to find a way, Leya. Just give me that. And know this upfront—your sister and I will never happen, whether you’re in my life or not.”
God, she shut her eyes. With his arrow-straight moral compass, she wasn’t surprised.
The winds picked up, snapping at her hair and stinging her face. The billowing clouds grew darker, concealing the sporadic sunlight, sending a flood of unease over her psyche.
She shook off the foreboding. It wasn’t a harbinger, dammit! Just the change of season.
“Where’s Hana?” she asked, worried now.
“With Drav’n. He took her out to show her around. She should be back at the castle since he’s on border patrol soon. Rebels will come out in force, using the storm as cover to cause trouble.” His gaze dropped from the clouds to her.
Unable to let herself hope over something that had no happy ending for them, she pushed away from him to sit on the sand. Aerén might have dangerous abilities, but she didn’t think even he could undo fate—
Save him…
The impact of the reedy voice stabbed her mind like shards of ice, blasting her out of the haze Aerén had trapped her in. “No!” She grabbed her head, pain splintering her skull, a shattering moan escaping her.
On his knees, Aerén grasped her shoulders. “What is it?”
“The voice.” She whimpered, kneading her temples as the first icy raindrops fell. But…Aerén washerewith her, not captured, not hurt. God, she must be losing her mind.
“What voice?”
Panting hard, she lifted her gaze to his. “The nightmare. You…”In that cage!
Blowing out a rough breath, he raked back his wind-tossed strands. “Leya, we’ve been through this.”
His calmness slowly penetrated her anguished mind, hauling her back. “Then why is this voice tormenting me?” she yelled. “I have no peace because it echoes inside here all the time!” She jabbed a finger against her skull.
“Leya, stop.” He reached for her.
She knocked his hand away and leaped to her feet, glaring down at him. “So, you only brought me back to your world to calm a neurotic woman, is that it?”
“No, because it’s important to you.” He rose, uncoiling to his full height. “But you have to let this go. I’m no one’s captive. Now, I have a damn storm to watch out for before it unleashes its wrath…” He glanced up at the agitated clouds darkening the sea, turning the truculent gray-blue water a murky gray as the drizzle grew steadier. “C’mon, I need to check that the island denizens have been evacuated to the mainland.”
No matter. She’d do it on her own. Or, get Severn to help if need be and find the damn place. Swiping the droplets from her face, she glanced around for her things, the rain gathering momentum.
Aerén grabbed their clothes and weapons from the shore and tugged her to him. His arm banded around her waist, reminding her of how he felt against her bare skin, and her breath caught as his light stare held hers. He dematerialized them…
They reformed in the private living room separating their bedrooms.
Aerén shut the balcony door, keeping the winds and the susurrous rain muted, and dropped their belongings on a gilded chair. Leya moved closer to the massive windows, her attention fixed on the rustling deluge, water splattering the balcony, forming puddles.
“I have to go, Leya.”
She wanted to warn him to be careful. Instead, she whispered, “There’s always innocent lives lost. We have weather like this on Earth, too. Heavy deluges causing horrendous flooding, hurricanes uprooting and ripping anything apart, and tornadoes that whip through the lands, wiping out everything in their path…”
Aerén joined her at the window, the gloomy room wrapping them in a pod of closeness. “Indeed.”
