Chapter 15 #5
I stared down at my arms, expecting to see charred skin and blistering wounds. Instead, I found unmarked limbs that looked perfectly normal, even as phantom heat pulsed beneath the surface.
Theo reached for me again. “El, talk to me. Please.”
I had been trapped. No amount of screaming—no desperate clawing toward consciousness had pulled me out. I’d been buried alive in my own mind, forced to watch and feel my skin burn away again and again.
“I’m—” I swallowed hard, tasting ash. “I’m oka—”
“Don’t you fucking dare say that you’re okay!” he snapped. “I’ve been trying to wake you up for over twenty minutes.” His grip tightened on my arm. “I shook you. I screamed your name. I—”
He stopped.
What could I possibly say? He had every right to look at me like I was disintegrating before his eyes. Maybe because I was. Maybe that was exactly what was happening—piece by piece, nightmare by nightmare, until nothing remained but fragments.
Despite my attempt to keep it steady, my bottom lip began to quiver, then the dam broke completely.
Hot tears spilled over my cheeks as a keening cry erupted from my chest. I shot my arms out, wrapping them around his neck like he was the only thing keeping me tethered to this world. I collapsed against him, my face buried in the hollow of his throat as I sobbed.
“I don’t know why this is happening to me, Theo,” I sniffled. “I don’t—I can’t—”
“Shhh,” He wrapped his arms around me, one hand splaying across my back while the other cradled the base of my skull, working through the tangled, sweat-soaked mess of my hair. “I’m right here.”
I exhaled every ounce of air—every fragment of the nightmare. His heartbeat gradually slowed against my skin, and with it, the crushing weight in my chest began to ease.
“Okay, not to interrupt this very touching moment, but…” Theo’s head lifted slowly, like he was trying to process something impossible. “Please tell me I’m not hallucinating from sleep deprivation, but do you have a fucking balcony now?”
I pulled back just enough to follow his line of sight, and there it was—impossible and beautiful. The sky beyond bled purple and gold, the sun just beginning its climb above the horizon.
“Dalkhan.” I whispered.
“So what exactly is happening here?” Theo waved his hand toward the balcony, his eyebrows raised.
“Because I’ve been stuck with suffocating walls and zero natural light, and you get this?
” He looked around enviously. “I mean, what do I need to do? What exactly does he like? I’m not above a little seduction if it gets me this. ”
I slapped his chest as laughter bubbled up from inside me.
“You’re ridiculous.”
Just like that, Theo had done it again. He’d pulled me from the storm with nothing more than his presence and his infuriating ability to find light in even the darkest moments.
I raised a hand to cup his cheek. “Thank you, Theo.”
“Always, El. Always.” He raised his pinkie to his lip, pressing a soft kiss against it.
When he left, the room was too quiet. Too empty. I pushed myself up from the bed and moved toward the balcony. I traced the cool surface of the stone column as I stepped into the morning air.
The world was awakening around me. Birds cut through the sky like dark arrows against the bleeding horizon, their wings catching the early light. Trees swayed in the distance, their leaves rustling with secrets.
Standing there, the nightmare still gripping at the edges of my consciousness, I thought of Dalkhan. Of the impossible burden that waited for me, growing more pressing with each passing day.
According to Jasila, we no longer needed an escort to go outside, but that didn’t stop me from inviting Mira to come along with us. As I made my request, her eyes brightened in the reflection of the mirror.
She finished styling my hair, biting her lip as she studied her work like an artist surveying their masterpiece.
“Tonight we’ll be feasting outdoors, so I’m needed to help set up.” She grabbed my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’m sure I’ll run into you out there.”
She gathered her things and made her way toward the door just as Theo stepped inside. Her gaze dropped, cheeks flushing to a deep shade of pink.
It never ceased to amaze me how easily women fell under Theo’s spell.
He shot Mira a smirk and winked as she passed. I could’ve sworn she forgot how to breathe, how to walk, and possibly even her own name.
I chuckled. “Do you ever grow tired of women falling at your feet?”
His grin stretched wide enough to split his face in half. “Do you ever grow tired of existing?”
I picked up the nearest apple and hurled it at his arrogant head.
He stepped aside, snatching a grape from the bowl in the same fluid motion. The fruit disappeared between his teeth with an audible pop.
We spoke for a few minutes, but as our conversation dwindled, an unsettling realisation struck me.
“Where’s Tavrik?” I asked, frowning.
My stomach twisted. Tavrik was never late. Not once.
Theo’s brows furrowed, mirroring my concern. We immediately headed for his room.
My heart pounded as we approached his door. I threw it open, instantly regretting it.
I screamed, slapping my hands over my eyes and whirling away so fast I nearly tripped over my own feet.
Tavrik and Jasila were… occupied. Very occupied.
I pressed harder against my face, desperate to erase the image from my mind, but it was too late. It was burned in there forever.
Theo on the other hand, didn’t even flinch.
He stood with one hand casually resting on his hip, the other stroking his chin, studying the scene like he was admiring a work of art.
“Theo!” I hissed, grabbing for his arm.
“Fascinating,” he murmured, not budging. Solid as a damn statue.
I dug my heels into the floor and hauled him back with every ounce of strength I possessed. The door slammed shut behind us with a resounding bang.
I groaned, raking my hands down my face—my cheeks burning hot enough to start a fire.
Theo, meanwhile, looked like he’d just witnessed the most entertaining spectacle of his lifetime.
I shook my head at him. “Why are you smiling so much?”
“I’m impressed,” he admitted, crossing his arms. “Mainly at Tavrik for finally unleashing the beast, but did you see the way she was riding him like—”
I punched him. Hard.
He staggered back, laughing like a maniac and rubbing his arm. “Ow! But come on, that was impressive! I didn’t know Tavrik had it in him.”
“No, I didn’t see, and I don’t want to know,” I snapped. “I’m going to spend the rest of my life pretending this never happened.”
Theo leaned closer. “But did you at least hear them? Sounded like—”
I slapped my hand over his mouth. His shoulders shook with silent laughter.
Jasila emerged from the room.
We both whipped our heads in opposite directions, searching desperately for anything else to look at—the ceiling, the walls, our own feet. We must’ve appeared like idiots, spinning in frantic circles like children playing a demented game.
Jasila hurried past us, but not before our eyes met, for one brief, mortifying moment. A smile tugged at her lips before she disappeared around the corner.
My heart swelled for them. For the connection that had finally bloomed between them.
Until it didn’t.
Too many people were going to get hurt. Including myself.
Tavrik came out next, and the smugness radiating off him was visible.
It was the happiest I’d seen him in… well, ever. Joy suited him, made him look younger somehow.
But of course, Theo couldn’t let the moment exist in peace.
He slung an arm over Tavrik’s shoulder, grinning sheepishly. “Tell me everything. And I mean everything.”
Tavrik shoved him off, sighing as we walked away.
Theo trailed behind us. “What? What did I do now?” he called out with mock innocence.
Tavrik and I shared a sideways glance before bursting into laughter.