I actually believe that you did it to protect me, but we both know you could have done more.Briar hastily swipes at the tears falling down her face, as if she’s frustrated she has to acknowledge them at all.
Another immediate denial springs to my lips, but I force myself to examine what she said. Could I have done something different and found a way to let her know we didn’t leave her to rot? Yes. The answer isn’t even a hard one to come by, but the reason why I didn’t is. A large part of it was to protect her. I thought leaving her in the dark would mean she didn’t have anything to be used against her, but part of me was scared too. I was afraid of what I would find and how I would react to it. There’s no way I could have sat here knowing she was starving, freezing to death, or worse.
I was terrified that my reaction would be what got her killed. I told myself she was okay, that she was strong, and she had to know I would come for her, but in truth, those thoughts only comforted me.
You’re right,I agree reluctantly. Denying it would only hurt her more.I let my fear control me.Admitting that is harder, and I doubt I would have even been able to do it out loud. I may not be a true god anymore, but it seems I still have a problem acknowledging when I’m wrong.
I’ll do better.It’s the only thing I can say.
Briar’s chest rises sharply when she pulls in a deep breath. If I wasn’t watching her so intently, I might not have noticed the slight shift in her features, the softening around her eyes and mouth, but it’s impossible not to be completely consumed by her. Seeing her and hearing even the echo of her voice in my head only makes me crave more of her. I need to touch her and be surrounded in her scent. The urge to go to her is nearly impossible to ignore, even with the knowledge that it could put her in danger. Part of me wants to defy the gods and dare them to try to take her from me again, but it would be more than foolish to challenge them, especially when I still don’t know why she was taken from me in the first place.
Okay.Her acceptance is so soft, I wonder for a moment if I really heard her at all, until she questions,Will you be at the selection?I’d swear there is a note of hope in her tone, but I could be reading too much into it.
Yes, it will be my first chance at seeing the gods and confirming who is behind this.
Have you spoken to Syrinx?
I haven’t left this room.
Briar’s shoulders slump, and her full lips curl down in a frown.I shouldn’t have waited so long.
I dismiss her with a wave of my hand. She doesn’t need to be concerned about making me wait.I would wait an eternity if I had to.
She lets out a weak chuckle.And that makes me feel worse.
That wasn’t my intent. I just want you to know you did nothing wrong, flower.
Her lips pull into a half smile, and she says,I missed you.
Miss isn’t a big enough word to describe the way I crave you.
A slight flush pinkens her cheeks, and she looks down as if she’s bashful for a moment. When she glances back up fromunder her lashes, the shields she’s using to keep me out crack just enough to allow me to brush against her thoughts. She’s still hurting, and I hate that I’m to blame for it.
I think about asking how she’s blocking me again but think better of it. Any defense she has is more than welcome, even if it protects her from me.
Will I be able to see you at the selection?Her query is tentative, as if she isn’t sure she should be asking.
No matter who I have to kill.
I swear I feel a spark of anticipation coming from her after my words, and the relief written on her face confirms it.
I’ve kept up my training and learned a few new things.She lifts a slim shoulder and turns her head, allowing the fur at her collar to brush her cheek. There isn’t much I wouldn’t give to slide my fingers over her skin in the same way. I’m so distracted by the simple movement, it takes me a moment to process her words.
A barb of possessiveness prompts me to ask,What new things?Who could teach her more about combat or something else that I already haven’t?
Briar rearranges her position, folding her legs in, then she makes sure her cloak is covering her completely before softly divulging,How to use my ability. Syrinx was right, I am like the other void, or I think I am.She seems to hesitate. If she wasn’t doing such a good job of blocking me, I would know what made her hesitate.
Tell me what you mean. What have you done?My question comes out almost accusatory, but that isn’t my intent. I’m just surprised. My contact hadn’t mentioned anything about Briar developing her ability.
I haven’t killed anyone,she defends as if I would care about anything other than the consequences she would have to face because of it.
Briar.Saying her name with intense expectation is all it takes for her to spill her secrets in more than one way. The walls around her mind crumble as her lips loosen, and she begins fervently rambling off details while flooding my mind with thoughts and images. A soft, intimate groan escapes my lips. It’s almost as good as being inside her and having her wrapped around me until she is the only thing I can feel.
I’ve been able to siphon other people’s powers when they are used against me.She goes into detail about the first time it happened and how she was too angry to feel weak anymore, which seemed to trigger her pulling the ice wielder’s magic and almost turning it against him. Images flash through my mind of her standing in a sand pit alone, scared, and pissed off. I relive how frightening it was for her as she tapped into her magic and it devoured the male’s before she even fully understood what was happening.
My mind sorts through all the feelings and emotions right along with her words. It would be easy to focus on her nervousness, which seems to be the most dominant of all her emotions, but I want to know what is making her so apprehensive about telling me this, and why she’s feeling that edge of excitement. Lastly, I want to explore the warmth simmering low in her belly that she’s actively trying to ignore. Picking up on her desire is almost enough to distract me from the revelation of her newfound ability.
Briar stops speaking abruptly, cutting off her words but not her stream of thoughts. She’s trying to decide if I will be happy about the new development or disturbed. She remembers what Syrinx said months ago about my kind of power being hard to resist, even for a mate. Briar is worried that after I learn that she is capable of draining me that I really will abandon her.
