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He nods, eyeing Sera’s open door behind me. “She’s alright?”

“She is.”

Looking around us, as if he can see the shadows too, he purses his lips. “It’s going to be a long night.”

“That it is, brother.”

23

CLOSE YOUR EYES

SERAPHINE

Rolling over and stretching, I take stock of how I feel.

Awful would be the word I’d use.

“Fuck,” I groan.

“Yeah, you drank a lot.” I hear a voice from my right, sleep-filled and deep.

I jolt awake, my swollen eyes from a night of revelry nearly pried shut, makeup still caking them. “Elias?”

“Oh, you look rough,” he says, grinning.

“Shut up. Why are you in my bed?”

He gives me a sad look, and I know immediately why he’s here.

I was screaming again.

“I’m sorry,” I tell him.

He shakes his head and moves in quickly, tugging me closer, when all I want to do is pull away. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. If you want to talk, I’m here. We all are.”

“I can’t…” Shit, I literally can’t, and not just because of the nightmares, but because of why I have them.

I earned them.

They’re my penance for what I did.

I don’t deserve to be unburdened.

“I’m fine. Thank you, though.”

“Sera, you’re anything but fine. The way you whimper… Shit, I just think you’d benefit from telling someone. Maybe Lucien can…”

“No one’s doing anything, Elias. I said I’m fine.”

I try to get out of his grasp, but I fail.

He holds me tighter, his warmth making nausea swim in my stomach that seems to be still digesting leftover alcohol from last night.

“Don’t run from me.” His tone, the look in his eyes, everything about how serious he got, makes me stop fighting in his arms and glance up at him.

“I’ll leave it alone, but I needed you to know the offer was there.”

I bite my cheek as I give him a subtle nod. “Thank you.”