Xavier.
I didn’t dare say his name out loud—Master did not permit names. Would this man want me to call him Master too? I didn’t want to. His name sounded like royalty, like the kings and princes from my fairytales. Just like them, he seemed nice. But I wasn’t stupid to let myself believe he would be. After Mama went away, I learned fairytales only existed in my head. The princes I met were dark, dangerous, and brutal.
“You’re safe.” His square jaw, shaded by a neat beard matching his hair, relaxed his lips into a wide smile.
Forcing myself not to drown in this man’s tenderness, I blinked. Yet his eyes held my attention. Unlike the greedy glares of the men I’d encountered before, there was nothing inappropriate in his stare. It was almost like he could see right into my soul, see my pain. In the dark, they’d been a light of hope. Now, in the light, those deep blue irises offered me something I lacked, something I’d die before I gave into it.
Trust.
Licking my dry lips, I dropped my hands to the floor. My fingers curled into the thick carpet, a foreign sensation beneath my skin. I only knew cold floors and a hard mattress. Still, I chose not to let its luxury taint my usual suspicion. Slowly, he held out an arm, and my gaze dropped to his strong hand. I wasn’t sure what he was expecting of me.
“I won’t ask for your trust, love, just your calm.” Surprised, my gaze flicked back up to his. “Give me your hand,” he said softly. I hesitated. “I won’t hurt you,” he repeated.
Trembling, I slid my hand into his. The searing warmth of his touch caught me off guard. I flinched, feeling my fear build again, and along with it came an anticipation I didn’t understand. A sensation so new, I balled my hand. Unsure whether I liked it or not, I didn’t pull back.
He took my hand and placed it on his chest. “Close your eyes and listen to my voice.”
I stopped shaking against his hold. Never in my life had I heard such gentleness from a man. Usually, it was shouting or commanding or filled with anger. Breathing hard, I stared at him wide-eyed, and even though it was fisted, he didn’t try to pry open my fingers but just held my hand to his chest.
“You’re safe,” he soothed.
Out there on that mountaintop, something about how he looked at me reminded me of Mama’s warm eyes when she’d ease my aches with her words, her touch. Now, my lids grew heavier, and I let them close with a shiver, my hand opening to lay flat against his chest.
“Feel my heartbeat,” he whispered. “Breathe. I’m right here with you. No one is coming for you. You’re safe.”
Whether it was his voice or the vibrating thump beneath my fingers, I felt my tense muscles slowly give in, one by one. I never understood the word relax before. As I experienced safety like no other, the horrifying visions behind my closed lids gradually faded, leaving in their place a shadowy blur of colored lights. They reminded me of my abstract paintings, pretty yet mysterious.
Was it wrong to feel this way? Would I wake to more lies? Had I been given a drug to make me feel this lethargic, this comfortable? It wouldn’t be the first time. Only now, I felt different. I felt safe.
“Feel my heartbeat. Listen to my voice,” resonated through my fear once more, immediately erasing my wild thoughts. Instead of alarm, I latched onto that heartbeat beneath my fingers until I felt my body go limp, and I fell forward. “I got you,” the last words I heard before darkness claimed my sight again.
Chapter 15 – Cinder
“Igot you.”
I drifted in and out of sleep, hearing that voice in my head, and with it came dreams I’d never had before. Open fields of thick green grass, soft beneath my bare feet, my hair loose and flying in the wind behind me, laughter, bubbly, loud laughter that sprang from my throat. A sound I didn’t think I’d hear, ever.
