“How about something pleasant?”
“What do you ... you can do that?”
“Of course.” It was not a perky, charitableof coursebut anof course you ignorant halfwit.
“Um, okay.” I hesitantly laid back down. He laid back down with me.
The air before me began to ripple. Golden light pried through the darkness. A soft trickle of water spilled through the silence, along with the distant call of birds. The ground warmed beneath me, and my fingers wrapped around cool blades of grass. Gilded rays streamed down from a crystal blue sky, veiling the land in ashimmering gold. My body was delicately draped over a blanket of purple and blue flowers. And it washed through me again, that strange sense of calm that I leaned into.
“Where am I?”
“Svealin.”
I had never thought to imagine the vampire world because, as of not too long ago, I didn’t believe it existed. I believed they came from the underworld. A place comprised of darkened, blood red skies, jagged cliffs, and blackened, lifeless trees. But even as I tried to consider what Sebastian had said, that he was from a world similar to ours, this was certainly not what I expected.
And the soft breeze curled over my skin, cooling the warmth of the sun. And the water continued to strum its soft lullaby, the stream nearby. And I drifted along with it. My eyes grew heavy until they fell closed. I could have sworn I felt gentle fingers brush my hair away from my face. But sleep took hold and pulled me under.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The Hushed Woods was my own personal nightmare. Though I supposed it was meant to be everyone’s. As we approached the border of the woods, a void-like presence stretched before us, swallowing up the trilling of birds and the leaves shifting from the breeze. It appeared like any other woods. Most of the leaves had fallen where they decayed on the ground. Some trees still held on to golden yellows and vibrant reds. But unlike any other woods, disquiet emanated through the long corridors of trees, what stoked the unease within my chest. The further we went in, the more muted sound became, until all sound had been snuffed out by the thick air that pressed in all around. All that eased the heavy silence was Nyx’s steps that rustled the underbrush. And my breathing. And Sebastian’s. The slow rise and fall of his chest behind me rocked me gently.
I leaned into him ever so slightly before I realized what I had done. And my eyes widened as he lowered his head to me. His cheek nearly grazed my own. His lips brushed the shell of my ear. “You’re scared.” It wasn’t a question.
“No.” For some reason protesting him just felt right.
“I can hear your heartbeat, and I can smell it.” He cansmellit? I pushed past that.
“I don’t like the silence.”
His face was still so close to mine. His nose trailed along my temple. With his arms wrapped around me to hold the reins, he was truly enveloping me, and I found it hard to breathe. I wanted to tell him to keep his eyes on the path, but there was no path, and Nyx seemed to be maneuvering around the trees just fine.
“Why?”
“Because it’s lonely.”
“Lonely, how?” He drew in a deep breath, and ... did he just smell me? I gripped the horn of the saddle hard.
“I just don’t like to be with myself in that way. Completely on my own within my thoughts, with no distractions to keep them from taking over.”
“What is within your thoughts?” His voice dropped low, to a velvety caress. Each word spilled down my neck with his warm breath.
At present, my thoughts were entirely scrambled. A light shimmered underneath my skin; I wanted to let it breathe and burn brightly. But a part of me held back, knew it was wrong. It would only turn to a ravenous fire leaving a desolate path.
“I ...” I couldn’t think.
“You don’t like your thoughts?”
“No.” I could tell he was waiting for more. “There is a lot that keeps me from contentment, being able to just enjoy. I ...” I couldn’t find the words. No one had ever asked me such things.
Movement shifted in the distance. He must have spotted it when he went rigid behind me. He stopped Nyx with a soundless command and slowly placed his hand over my mouth. He didn’t know I was used to being quiet in the face of danger. But I remained still, not making a sound. Though what I saw was more terrifying than anything Alaric had ever shown me, because this was real. And it only distorted my reality further, showing me once more that I knew too little. It told me anything was possible in all the wrong ways.
The creature moved slowly, a darkened mass wrapped in shadows that rolled off its body to the ground, dispersing into a dreary fog. Its gangly, skinny limbs were bent. Its arms were so long that they nearly dragged along the ground. It was hunched over as if its own weight was a chore to carry. If we were any closer, it surely would have towered well over us. And what was most disturbing was that itsmovements made no sound. Its steps did not disturb the underbrush. It left no mark on the land. I could only imagine when night fell, this creature would meld with the dark seamlessly, not making a single sound to warn of its horrid presence.
We waited as it dragged its limbs by at a glacial pace. Even Nyx seemed to know not to make a sound. Sebastian kept his hand over my mouth. My head rested at the crook of his neck. Our bodies pressed tightly together. And I realized his arm was like a vise wrapped around my waist, as if he feared I’d jump off Nyx and run away.
His scent roiled around me, prodding me all over, pulling me down. Amber, leather, the smoke of a distant fire. His proximity was becoming intoxicating. My head felt lighter from the weight of it all. I tried to focus on the creature, on the terror before me, on my possible death, my own life that dangled before me. But his heavy touch sent shivers through me, setting my core on fire. My thoughts clashed together, writhing around into a tangled mess.
The creature began to fade into a darkened mist until it dissipated completely. Sebastian released me, and I sucked in a breath. He gathered up the reins and urged Nyx onwards again. After a few short moments, he broke the suffocating silence.
