“Do you still feel it depleting?” he asks quietly, voice muffled from the washroom.
I squeeze my eyes shut, rubbing my fingers over my temples. He doesn’t need to specify whatitis.
“It isn’t the same as before I used the shard,” I answer, opening my eyes to stare at the ceiling. “It’s like it isn’t fully replenished, but no amount of rest will let it fill back up. It’s just…leaking like cracks in a flower vase, the water slowly dripping out.” The words taste sour on my tongue.
“We’ll find Nightfall.” His soft footfalls come closer, and his voice clears as he steps back into the bedroom. “If anyone can, it’s you.”
Tears gather in my eyes, exhaustion and frustration filling my chest with tightness as I keep my focus off him. He can already hear through my deflection; I don’t want to see it in his gaze, too.
Graylen rustles something on the far side of the room, giving me a moment to myself.
“And if we don’t?” I voice the thing I’ve been afraid to ask myself.
We both know my magic should’ve returned by now. We’ve spent weeks trudging through Crea to find our way here, and all I’ve felt is the ache of it slowly leaving.
“We will,” he vows.
I sigh and roll onto my side, facing where Graylen is triple-checking that the window is safely locked.
“I don’t think anyone is getting through there, little soldier,” I whisper.
His shoulders shake with silent laughter. He peers over his shoulder, his eyes light and sparkling with mischief.
I relax when a genuine luster shines in his gaze.
“Can never be too careful when I have something as precious as you sleeping next to me,” he whispers in reply.
My cheeks heat, and I roll my eyes—but warmth fills me at his teasing tone. It feels so familiar, sohim. It gives me hope that he might be healing after all.
Graylen spins toward me, reaching for the top button of his tunic. Slowly, he walks toward me, undoing the buttons until he reaches the end of the bed. He leaves the tunic on, but with the buttons undone, I get a spectacular view of his sculpted abdomen.
He looks down at me. I allow my gaze to shamelessly trace the ridges of his stomach and chest. When I’ve had my fill, I glance back up to where he towers over me.
The corners of his mouth twitch up, and he leans over, still not touching me or the bed.
A small strand of hair falls forward into his eye. He pushes it back, his shirt lifting to expose a sliver of skin, his pants slung low on his hips. The movement brings heat to my cheeks, memories of my hands splayed across his abdomen assaulting my thoughts.
Graylen stops to hover over me, the fresh scent of rain about to fall overwhelming my senses. I clear my throat and shake my head, pushing the memories away.
“Please.” His eyes sparkle as he grins. “Don’t let me interrupt the thoughts that caused you to blush.”
He lifts his eyes to meet mine, and IswearI can see fire dancing in them. My Aegis boy, my fiery, perfect man who drives meinsane. I feel my cheeks flame—undoubtedly a deep shade of pink now. With narrowed eyes, I say, “Hard to interrupt when there wasn’t a single thought in my mind.”
The left side of his mouth lifts into a smirk. “Oh, Ihighlydoubt that.” He chuckles lightly and twists to sit beside me, thebed dipping under his weight. “I could practically hear you thinking all the way from the window.”
I look down, a soft smile playing across my lips. “The same could be said for you most days,” I mutter. I hesitate, afraid of breaking the lightness between us. “You’ve been distant.”
Silence reverberates through the room, and I hold my breath. What if I just ruined the moment? Or, worse, what if I brought up memories of what happened to him?
Finally, he grunts in agreement and says, “It’s hard to stop thinking about the things that happened in the Vale.” He lets out a breath. “I can’t stop the thoughts from repeating over and over again.”
My throat tightens.
“Every time I closed my eyes, I sawher.” Graylen’s voice wavers, and he pauses, grimacing. Pain flashes in his gaze, and my heart lurches into my throat. “I still do,” he admits softly. “I go to sleep and wake up thinking I still have chains shackled to my wrists. I close my eyes, seeing nothing but visions of her vile grin.
“I’m sorry I pushed you away.” His eyes pinch closed before fluttering back open, his lids lined with unshed tears. My heart breaks a little more. “But I couldn’t stop seeing what she had done to me, even in the daylight. It’s all I could think about.”
All this time, I thought he was ignoring what had happened to him. Notrelivingit day in and day out.
