We didn’t know which door she was behind. We couldn’t hear anything but our breathing and the echo of our steps. Our control rebuilt itself at an agonizing pace until the middle door opened.
As one of her powers surrounded and protected her, she unleashed hell.
I’d take every punch she needs to throw.
Now. Always.
I’d rather feel her fists than what’s tearing through her.
The meadow gives way to trees, and my gaze sweeps every shadow, every hollow space. Rationally, I know no one else is here, but I still search.
Still hunt.
My grip tightens on her legs, and a breath slips out of me when she wiggles closer.
She’s okay with my touch.
Any other time, I’d cherish this silence. Not now.
This is the kind that feeds the souls. They whisper and remind me they’re waiting. There’s no silencing them. I can only distract them with a task.
And the only one I have is on my back.
She’s my priority.
She needs the quiet. No fixing. No more explanations. Just holding and enduring.
Relief flickers in my soul when I spot the house through the trees and then it dies just as fast. If she wants to stay in her room again…
I don’t think I can be locked away from her.
Neither can my brothers. They close in the moment we step out the tree line, their bodies pleading what their mouths won’t.
Don’t push us away, my endling.
My jaw locks, and my legs follow suit when Riven opens her door and steps aside. I don’t want to go in.
I go anyway. If she chooses this room, then I’ll stay too.
Her body slides down my back, and we all reach for her, hold her, until she finds her balance. When she squeezes my wrist, I let her go and turn to face her.
“I’d like a shower.”
The four of us share a glance at the uncertainty in her voice. She stares down at either her mismatched shoes or the way she’s trying to hide the stains on her shirt.
“Come on, little goddess. I got you.”
The farther she and Kyzen walk away from me, the stronger my soul coils tight. By the time they go into her closet then disappear into her bathroom, I’m on the verge of suffocating.
“Let’s get out of her space so she has some breathing room when she comes out.”
Amick heads toward her door, but instead of moseying his ass out, he holds it open and motions for Riven and me to come on.
I huff, casting a quick glance over at her bathroom, where I now hear the water running. It wouldn’t surprise me if she’ll be ready to go right to sleep the second she gets clean.
She needs to eat first.
I need to see her actually eat.
