“Breathe!” a voice demanded from a far distance. “You must wake up now. We have searched far too long for you!
I gasped as arms gripped me and held me firmly. A sensation of energy flowed through my body as if the universe itself poured it’s life force into my body.
“Tilly! Listen to me!” the voice persisted. “I won't let you die like this!”
The energy infused me like a drug, and I felt a strength and sensation I'd never experienced before.
“Since first setting my eyes upon you,” the voice continued softly, “my soul has become a restless wanderer. What is worse, if you die, my spirit will continue to suffer in infinite darkness for eternity.”
If you die.The words buzzed furiously in my mind.
Then I felt myself being frantically shaken with strong hands. “Wake up, now, I demand it!”
My eyes flew open. Shivering, yet damp with sweat, I gulped down air.
“What happened? “I croaked.
Cillian quickly gathered me into his arms. “What are you doing?” I tried to shrug free, but I was too weak.” I looked at his hands, the same hands that had gripped the Elorium with such violence in the cellar and wondered how they could feel so gentle now.
“Tilly, It's all right! You’re safe. Just breathe.”
Panting for breath, I stared wildly at him, at first without recognition until my pounding heartbeat settled and the confusion in my mind began to clear. I stared into Cillian’s warm eyes, before sagging against his chest. Gently, he stroked my hair. “Don’t worry,” he said softly. “No one’s going to harm you.”
Still feeling dazed, I looked down at the cream brocade divan I sat on. At first, it was unfamiliar until I gazed around and realised, we were in the opulent room of paintings. Seeing all those masked faces in the portraits sent a shiver through me. I hadn’t set foot into this room since my experience with the voices and the chamber, and I had no desire to be there now. I tried to rise but Cillian held me firmly in his arms.
“Easy, Tilly, you’re still in shock. There’s nowhere you've to rush off to. You’re safe now.”
I looked at him and wondered at his words. Yes, I was safe...for the moment.
Cillian placed his hands over mine and briefly closed his eyes. Comforting warmth emanated from his fingers and coursed into my flesh. His fingers tightened slightly, as though he were afraid that if he let go, I might slip away again. I didn’t want to feel anything for him, but his touch was gently comforting, and it gradually diminished the pain.
“What happened to me?” I asked barely able to speak because of the pain that still resonated from my lungs. “How did I get here?”
Cillian hesitated before answering, his jaw tightened as though the memory unsettled him. “You don’t remember?”
Images from the cellar emerged from the fog of my mind, growing clearer as I recalled the Elorium and the terrifying events I witnessed until I lost consciousness.
“The Elorium fed on your energy,” he said with a genuine concern. “Even though Seraphina’s spells should have controlled the creature, she still found a way to drain you.”
“Drain me?”
“We took you to your room after the Elorium fed on your energy, but you didn’t want to stay there.”
I looked around uneasily. “Why am I in this room? Did you bring me here?”
“You were sleeping. All night you’ve been drifting in and out of consciousness. When I went to check on you earlier, I found you wandering in the hallway staring at the tapestries. I tried to take you back to your room, but you refused and insisted you wanted to come here.”
A humourless smile tugged at my lips.
“Of course I did. Why wouldn’t I wander into the one room that terrifies me the most in this place?”
Cillian’s brows frown.
“At least you’re smiling,” he murmured, a soft warmth in his voice. “There’s nothing to fear in this room, Tilly.”
If only he knew. I already felt uneasy and wanted desperately to get away from the faces in the portraits. What would compel me to come here? My mind whirled with too many questions.
“You said I was...unconscious?”
