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“Emrys, please!” I yell as I struggle to pull his dead weight up and over. Suddenly, other hands help me, and we fall back to the deck. Emrys lands on top of me, coughing and shaking. Sitting up, I roll us over and brush away his sodden hair, cupping his freezing face as he blinks, finally seeing me above him.

He reaches up, brushing away my wet hair, and for a moment, I’m in his head, seeing what he sees—myself, drenched, with frantic eyes, and he thinks I am so beautiful. I can barely breathe as I snap back into my own head and see his tears mixing with the rain.

“Come on, we need to get you warm.” Hauling him up, I drag him downstairs to the kitchen with the others’ help, who appear out of the dark. I grab my blanket and rush back, where Emrys is stripping. His hands tremble as water drips down his skin. I try not to notice how beautiful he is and how his scars only add to his appeal. Once he’s naked, I wrap the dry blanket around him and help him sit as Raiden sets coffee before him. Emrys simply blinks, almost like he’s not really here.

“You need to dry off and get warm too,” Kitt mutters, and I glance at him then myself. There is a puddle forming under my crouched form, and it’s then I start to feel the cold. Nodding, I spare Emrys a look before hurrying to the bathroom. I strip, shivering at how cold I feel, then grab a towel. I dry off before wrapping the last blanket around my body. It barely comes to my knees, but it’s better than nothing. I hold it in place as I hurry back into the room. I sit next to Emrys and offer him my body heat as he stares at the coffee, unseeing. There is more life in his eyes, however, and he flinches when I press closer.

“I was back there, trying to get out of the tube. It was opening, and I was free. I didn’t even see—” He croaks, lowering his head in shame.

“We know. We saw it,” Bram murmurs softly.

“We were there too,” Torrin admits, his voice tight with repressed emotion.

“We nearly lost you,” Kitt whispers, sounding broken. “I couldn’t fight my way from the nightmare. If it wasn’t for Ferol, we would have.” I turn at his words, finding those granite eyes locked on me, swirling with relief and fear.

“I saw it too. Something was wrong.” I shrug as Emrys finally looks at me with fear, shame, and disgust warping his pretty gaze. “Don’t take it to heart. Only I get to kill you.”

His lips curve softly for a moment before he lowers his eyes and shuffles closer, resting his head on my shoulder and relaxing. It’s no doubt a temporary loss of inhibition, the mate bond offering him solace and comfort. Hell, even I feel whole with him touching me. I lean into him as I look at Raiden, who is lingering nearby, wringing his hands.

“Coffee, please,” I say, tacking on the nicety. His eyebrows arch at my politeness, but before he can move, Emrys silently pushes his mug to me. Reaching out with my hand farthest from him, I wrap my fingers around the mug and warm it, wanting the heat more than anything as the boat continues to be thrashed by the storm. Closing my eyes, I lean into him, trying not to think of what I saw or the things I felt. I lied. I didn’t see this tube they are talking of. I saw what happened before.

I saw him being created and tortured, and it made me angry on his behalf despite our muddled feelings. My poor, scarred boy has been through so much.

“I’ll get you some clothes,” Kitt mutters, and then he leaves.

“I’m sorry, Emy,” Raiden murmurs, his voice sadder than I’ve ever heard it. “I didn’t see you get out of bed until it was too late.”

“It’s not your job to keep me safe, Ray,” Emrys replies without opening his eyes. “Thank you, Oriana.”

My original name startles me, but I don’t move away. How long has it been since anyone called me that? Oriana died in Gehenna, but I don’t punish him for saying it, not when he’s clearly struggling. I feel tremors moving through his body, and his hands have a white-knuckle grip on the blanket. He’s barely holding on. For now, while the storm rages on, we are stuck together, and for a moment, we aren’t enemies. We are just two people reaching for each other through madness and pain. I felt it when he looked at me—hope for what I represented to him.

Kitt returns soon after, but when he offers us clothes, I look at Emrys and wait. When he doesn’t move or open his eyes, I close my eyes with him and begin to drift to sleep. When I wake, Emrys is gone. They all are. The clothes are folded on the table, and there is another mug in front of me that’s still warm. Sighing, I slip the blanket off and dress in the borrowed shirt and trousers, having to roll them up, but they are warm and smell like them. As much as I want to deny it, it’s a comforting scent.

I’m just folding the blanket when I see a radio on the side. I head its way and crank it on. It’s old, with a wide antenna, and for a minute, I only hear static. I keep turning the dial until it crackles, then a soft song drifts through the speaker. It’s unfamiliar, but the husky female voice is entrancing, and the music sounds vintage. I sway back and forth as I listen.

I missed music and dancing with my friends and, when no one was watching, singing my heart out—something else they stole from me.

“Allow me this dance?” The voice startles me, and I spin in shock. I was so lost in my thoughts, I didn’t hear Emrys enter.

He’s dressed, and his hair is wet and pushed back. There are no weapons in sight, and he looks . . . soft, somehow. The lights are low, with the room occasionally brightening from lightning as waves crash against us. I shouldn’t, but I put my hand into his, laughing when he yanks me into his hold. Smiling down at me, he swings me up in an arc. One hand is in mine, and the other rests on my back as he moves me around the kitchen, swaying to the song before spinning me out and back in. I can’t help but smile. For a moment, I’m a teenager, dancing for fun and uncaring who is watching. Right now, I’m not Ferol or his enemy.

We are lost in this stolen time.

The music wraps around us as we sway, slower and slower until we barely move, his hand tightening on mine as he looks at me. “Thank you for saving me,” he whispers as the song finishes, then he kisses my forehead, lingering before pulling away. Without a backward glance, he flees, and I’m left staring after him with my heart in my throat. Sadness engulfs me.

For the first time, I wish things could be different.

I wonder what it would feel like to be loved by them rather than hated . . . .

CHAPTER

TWENTY-TWO

I’m dripping wet from the storm as I push into the kitchen and see her. She spins, her eyes widening when they land on me, and sadness fills her gaze for a moment. She thought I was Emrys coming back. I’ve been fighting it, standing in the storm to stop these feelings surging through me and the hive. My chest heaves as I stare at her, and she blinks, her sadness changing to confusion as she watches me warily.

That’s fair, since all we do is fight, yet it’s the last thing on my mind as my eyes drop to her lips.

“Kitt?” she murmurs. “We were just dancing.” She rolls her eyes, her sass getting under my skin. “Let me guess, it’s another thing you’ll try to kill me for.”