Chapter 37
Chapter Thirty-Seven
A tlas arrived, clutching onto Kinley protectively yet delicately. He carried her over to the bed, folding his wings behind him before laying her down on her side.
This was a nightmare. Even Hell wasn’t this cruel. My insides felt like they’d been gutted like a fish. Each whimper she made as she lay there further added to the wreckage.
I tried to crawl into the bed with her, but Sylas appeared at my side and grabbed my arm firmly. There were no words, just a look that told me to hold up. My entire being wanted to wrap around her and make sure she never knew pain again.
“Let Atlas help her first,” he murmured.
It killed me to resist my instincts, but I reluctantly agreed by stepping back. Once it was clear I was willing to give her guardian angel room to work, I watched what unfolded with intrigue.
Atlas stood there, an aura coming from his wings and filtering over his body down into his hands. He gently placed one on her head and the other on her arm, and the shimmering light seemed to flow from him into her.
His forehead creased with intense concentration as he stood there for a few minutes, quietly allowing the energy to pour off of him and into her. Her mewling was incessant as we all waited for something to change in her current condition.
Finally, Atlas exhaled a loud breath, and his body lost some of the tension it had been harboring as his hands fell away from Kinley.
“There’s a poison in her body, and it’s resisting my healing abilities.” He looked over at us with frustration weighing on him.
“Then, try again, mate!” I exclaimed, matching the energy in the room.
Atlas sighed and leaned over closer to Kinley, his fingers stroking over her cheek that had dirt and mud caked on it. “Angel, you need to help me out. Let me help, please. I know it hurts, and I can make it better, but you have to be willing to accept it.”
Resignation filled her shaky voice as she finally managed to speak her first words since we’d found her. “No glue. No tape. Nothing will fix it.”
“Love, that’s not true.” My voice cracked lightly as I spoke.
Sylas sank into a chair, perching his elbows on his knees. His palms pressed together like he was praying as he pressed his lips against the sides of his fingers. He may not have said anything, but it was clear his thoughts were on full blast inside his head.
“Keep trying, Atlas,” he finally muttered against his hands.
Drawing a deep breath, he nodded and went back to work. It was hours of this throughout the night, with Atlas taking minimal breaks as he pushed himself to give our girl every ounce of comfort for her suffering.
Gradually, her body began to still, and the trembling came to a halt. The gasps and groans of pain became less and less. Even her pallor seemed to improve, or perhaps that was just me looking for any sign of hope.
None of us dared to leave her side, not for a second. Once we were certain she was no longer in agony from whatever horrific toxins had been assaulting her from the inside, we began to slowly work on making her comfortable in other ways.
I was grateful that she wasn’t fighting our efforts to take care of her, but that in and of itself was alarming.
When I swiped the washcloth over her exposed back, the wounds on her back had healed, but the physical scars remained. That wanker’s name stared at me like it was a bloody souvenir of what she had endured. The only name that should be on her holy body was mine.
It took teamwork, but we all managed to get her cleaned up without any fuss and into a fresh set of clothes. The entire time since we had found her in the cemetery, she had only spoken once.
No glue. No tape. Nothing will fix it.
Those words echoed in my soul while I paced back and forth at the foot of the bed. I watched as Kinley stared blankly as she lay there completely still. There were no tears, no words, and hardly any blinks.
I dragged my teeth along the edge of my thumbnail, not giving a fuck if I chipped off the last of the black nail polish on it. Seeing that bastard on top of our angel earlier had caused every protective instinct in me to angrily lash out. It was an anger that was still ready to roar up to a boil from the simmer where it sat on my back burner.
There was nothing I wanted more than to take this pain away from her, to remind her of the strong and independent celestial being she was. No matter what had transpired, Nicodemus did not have a claim on her and never would. I would personally see to it that he shite on his own balls and ate them before ever laying another finger on her.
Atlas sat on the edge of the bed, affectionately stroking his fingers over the top of her head. He cooed to her, whispering words of support as he tried to lessen her suffering while she seemed to swim in several oceans of mental anguish.
While Atlassian may have been able to physically heal her, it stopped there. The emotional and mental damage was clear from her unresponsiveness. Additionally, we couldn’t even gather what psychological destruction had been inflicted, given her current state. That was the most frightening part of this ordeal.
Had Nico managed to shatter her mind once and for all?
None of us dared to use our intimate touch to try and lure her out of whatever pitch-black part of the universe where her mind had stalled.
She had been back in our care for almost twenty-four hours now, and nothing had changed. It had been pure silence with only the scraps of trauma left behind.
Sy’s hand firmly grabbed my shoulder, stopping me from wearing a hole in the black shag carpet. Instead of giving me an order with some sense of superiority, he just looked at me with a hint of softness in his light blue eyes.
There were no words, just a silent communication that we were all in this together.
Atlas looked over at Sy for guidance. “There has to be more we can do.”
There was a long moment of contemplation from Sy before he looked over at me and spoke. “Rook, can you use your illusions on her again? Make it more…immersive?”
I swallowed hard at what it would take to pull off what he was asking. “Aye,” I said quietly but with reservation.
My eyes looked over at Kinley’s catatonic state on the bed. This wasn’t her; she should have never been forced to suffer like this.
Not bothering to look away from her, I continued. “It comes at the cost of a greater expenditure of my energy to conjure that grand of an illusion, especially for any non-human. To weave my trickery into her mind and blend it seamlessly is not just a simple flick of my wrist, but it can be done.”
Atlas reached over and rested his hand on top of Kinley’s, squeezing it softly.
“Is there any risk to her?” he asked, and rightfully so.
Without hesitation, I responded, “I would never consider it if there were, mate.”
“Do it,” Sy interjected bluntly.
That snagged the guardian angel’s attention, his head turning suddenly to look at our self-elected, fearless leader.
“Sy, do you really think—” Atlas cut him off mid-question.
“What other option do we have here? Look at her!” He gestured his hand towards our girl. “The longer she’s like this, do you really think that’s going to be beneficial to anybody?”
A light sigh escaped my lips as I looked at them both and put on my mediator hat. My deft fingers wiggled, and a black Montera hat appeared in my hands. With a flip, twist, and spin, I placed the traditional bullfighter accessory on top of my head.
The look on Sy’s face made me think he was one snort away from making a good bull.
“Let’s all take a deep breath,” I coached them both. “With me on the count of three. Un, deux, trois.”
Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply, letting the scent of discord fill my lungs before blowing it all out through my mouth.
Opening my eyes, I noticed that neither of them followed suit. My shoulders dropped in response.
Addressing Atlas first, I said, “For what it’s worth, mate, Sylas may be right this time. I fear that the longer she is stuck in this condition, the riskier it becomes.”
Then, I shifted my gaze to Sy. “If I am going to do this, I need to know what imagery to present to her. It should be something profoundly comforting that speaks to her most basic nature.”
Sylas looked at me and didn’t miss a beat in offering up a suggestion. “Heaven, specifically the Garden.”
My, my, my. This was going to be a new one for me. Though I was up for the challenge. Anything to help bring healing to our angel in whatever way possible.
Determination filled my steps as I strode over to the bed while removing my hat and tossing it at Sy. I laid behind Kinley’s back, still leaving a small gap between us.
Slowly, my fingers slid over her elbow until I had a light hold on her.
I whispered in her ear, “Alright, love. Let’s take you home.”
I never thought I’d see the actual Garden of Eden, but here I was. Even though I knew this was a vision that I fabricated inside Kinley’s mind, it was founded on pieces of her oldest memories.
It wasn’t entirely what I expected. It wasn’t a garden in the traditional sense. No, it reminded me of an Amazonian jungle. Far more wild and free and a lot less pretty and pristine. Suddenly, the serpent metaphor in Adam and Eve’s origin story made far more sense.
There was a clearing in the brush where the forest canopy opened up just enough to filter in a wide beam of sunshine. In the center, Kinley sat on a massive tree root exposed above the earth.
She was radiant looking, her hair entirely a pure platinum blonde with no raven strands in sight. The halter A-line dress she wore had a shimmer to the ultra-white fabric that stood out amongst the greenery. The folded set of wings at her back matched the stunning white of her dress. Much like her hair, there wasn’t a speck of darkness to be found. It was a look on her that I had never seen before, one that made her appear so…pure and untainted.
It became obvious when her mind caught onto the change of her surroundings, drawing her awareness to the illusion instead of the darkness she had been lost in. Her eyes darted around, soaking in the sight of the replication of the holy garden.
For now, I kept my presence shielded from her so I could stand and observe. Interfering too soon could make this entire effort nothing but wasted mind games.
She stood, walking over to a vibrant orange blossom growing at the base of the tree behind her. Her fingers delicately brushed against the fragile petals, admiring its beauty. Her movements were slow and deliberate, with an air of elegance.
Seeing her observe the peace of her surroundings eased the burden on my heart. I wished I could keep her in this reality for all of eternity. However, even I had my limitations.
I removed the cloaking from my presence and swallowed past the lump in my throat. I called out to her. “Love.”
When she turned, the immense joy that filled her eyes brought me so much hope.
“Rook!” She ran to me, tossing her arms around my neck in a grand embrace that brought a bittersweet smile to my face.
My arms wrapped around her waist, squeezing her tighter than ever while I buried my face into her hair and savored the moment. The scent of her enveloped me in the fragrance of water lilies and summer nights.
Kinley only pulled back slightly so she could look up at me with those captivating blue eyes that appeared bluer than I had ever seen them. “What are you doing here?”
There was just a bit of hesitation as my smile faltered slightly. “I just wanted to see you happy.”
Given the sensitivity of her mental state, I wanted to tread carefully with what information I presented to her. I didn’t want her memories tainted by this illusion because I introduced trauma to it.
Both my hands came to rest on the sides of her head as I looked at her in awe. “You are the most exquisite flower here,” I complimented her.
She responded with a kiss filled with an overwhelming amount of love despite it only lasting for a few seconds. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in eons.”
Pressing my forehead onto hers, I remained close. “I know, love. But listen, I don’t have long, so I need you to listen to me carefully, yeah?”
The first subtle sign of worry creased at the corners of her eyes. She nodded. “Of course.”
Here went nothing…
“I want you to hold onto this feeling you have right now. This place, the warmth of it, the safety, and the immense amount of peace it brings you. Can you do that for me?”
“I-I can, but…”
One of my hands dropped from the side of her head to capture her chin, my thumb tracing her skin lightly. “No buts. Promise me that no matter how lost you feel, you’ll hold onto this feeling. I don’t care if you think things are beyond repair, you think about this place and what it does to you. Think about how much I love you, how much Atlas and Sy love you.”
“Wait, where are they? How come they aren’t here with you? Did something happen?” Her voice began to grow with worry, and I couldn’t have that.
“No, no, no. Ssh, love. They’re fine.” I leaned forward and kissed her forehead several times to chase away the creases forming there. “All you need to do is let yourself be loved. You can do that; I know you can.”
Kinley nodded, even if there was a part of her that was confused by my insistence that she focus on this particular state of mind.
“Good. Now, there’s one last thing I need you to do. It is the most important thing of all, so listen very carefully.” I locked my eyes onto hers so she would understand the seriousness of what I was about to say.
“Promise me you will come back to us. Promise me you will fight for that. Don’t you dare give up.” My hold on her chin tightened slightly under the gravity of my words. I wanted to strike a chord in her.
Softly, she spoke her commitment. “I won’t give up. I will always keep fighting for where I belong. Promise.”
As with any promise worth its weight in gold, I sealed it with a kiss. I wasn’t taking any chances. I devoured the taste of her, savoring every hint of sweetness my tongue could seek out inside her mouth.
I could feel my strength fading, and knowing the reality I’d be returning her to nearly crushed my soul.
Breaking the kiss, I repeated myself. “Don’t forget what I’ve said.”
Like a drunken stint on the spinning teacups ride, the illusion ended before Kinley could respond. My entire body felt floaty from the amount of effort it had taken to keep her under that complex level of trickery.
Groaning, I rolled onto my back, not even having it in me to sit up until the dizziness stopped.
Kinley lay beside me, making small noises of distress. I could hear Atlas speaking to her. “Angel? Please say something.”
Sylas came over to my side of the bed with a rare look of concern. “You doing okay?”
If I hadn’t been worried about upheaving an entire loaf’s worth of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I would have nodded. I chose a shaky thumbs-up instead.
Still focused on not passing out, I didn’t see the movement, but I could feel weight shifting on the mattress next to me where Kinley lay.
Her voice sounded so frail and small as she finally broke free of her mute state. “I hate how much it hurts.”
Never would I have prayed for a flood of her tears, but I considered her sobs filling my ears as a battle cry in a fight to not be lost to her pain.