Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ellie
Something was off. Ellie couldn’t place it, but as she walked across the field toward the male she’d agreed to meet, she could sense it in the air. Magic humming, circling her, pulling her in different directions. Shadows rose and fell too, everything moving as if rippled by a current.
But the war was over, the battles won. The dark creatures were gone, defeated by—by—Ellie suddenly gripped her head and a spear of crippling pain flew through her chest. She sank straight to her knees, gritting her teeth.
Ellie looked up and found Kirian sitting on the same boulder where they met every Saturday afternoon. It was the only time their obligations allowed them a moment of peace. She breathed through the pain and forced herself to rise. She couldn’t waste time. She needed to get to Kirian.
They’d all had to see therapists after the war; her father had commanded it, especially of her. They’d mentioned something about panic attacks. She’d never had one, but apparently they could be sudden, given everything they’d survived. Even Rion was prone to them. Is that what was happening? Is that why it felt like her chest might cave in any moment?
Kirian. She just needed to get to Kirian. He’d make her pain disappear with his easy, charming smile. He always did.
Ellie shoved the pain down and shook away the shadows. Her body trembled for reasons she couldn’t explain and she was suddenly so, so tired.
Ellie told herself that everything was just in her head. It was normal to be haunted by nightmares after a war. Ariannahad read about it enough in her fantasy books. There was nothing here that could harm either of them.
It didn’t stop her from hurrying.
Ellie smiled at Kirian, hiding her pain as she plopped down on the stone beside him. He didn’t react or look at her. That was normal. The war had affected him, too. He still had his mother, but he’d lost others, friends they’d all grown up with. Ellie made a point not to bring such things up around him. They all had healing to do, after all.
“I packed your favorites again.” A pulse rocked the surrounding meadow and Ellie jolted to her feet, magic spreading in a circle that encompassed both her and Kirian. Her breath clouded, and she reached for the blade at her waist, scanning the area quickly once, then slower the second time. Ellie studied the edge of the tree line, the slightly shifting grass, even the sky for anything that might be soaring above.
Nothing.
She glanced down at Kirian. He hadn’t moved. Had he not noticed?
Another pulse. Ellie gripped her chest again, heaving as she struggled for breath. She fell back a step and spun, her magic flaring again.
“Kirian, get up.” He didn’t obey. Ellie moved closer to him, ready to defend the male. Was someone from Pádraigín here? Had they caught Kirian in their trap? Ellie was already searching for the edge of the illusion, ready to break it.
Something was coming.
Something—
“I love you.” Kirian’s tone had the hair on the back of Ellie’s neck standing on end. He still wasn’t looking at her. He was still that ghost of himself. He’d been that way since—
Another pulse and Ellie’s heart was racing—aching. She gripped the fabric of her shirt, trying to hold back the chokingsensation in her throat. It threatened to drown her, to pull her under and never let her go.
“I love you.”
“Kirian, we’re fine,” her voice cracked. “I’m not going to let anything hurt you.” His magic hadn’t grown beyond a few droplets. It was a clear sign that he wouldn’t inherit his Fae lineage. She didn’t care, she was strong enough for both of them.
“Come out,” Ellie screamed at the open meadow. Everything was blurring, curling in on itself, the trees becoming one with the grass, the darkness taking over, tainting the beautiful thing she’d created.
No, no, they couldn’t have him. They—
Gods, she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t—
A gasping sound had Ellie spinning toward Kirian, fear overwhelming her in one heartbreaking flood. He was standing before her now, eyes locked with her own. When had he risen? Tears were already streaming down her face for reasons she couldn’t understand. They were fine. They were safe. So long as they stayed here—
The sky above fractured like glass, long jagged cracks spreading across the crimson sky. They reached toward the horizon line, then beyond, sinking below the surface.
No. No, please, gods—
“I love you,” Kirian repeated. She stared straight into those heartbreakingly beautiful eyes. “And when you wake from this nightmare, know that I forgive you.”
The entire world shattered, and she fell away with the pieces.
