22. Willow
Willow
It’s been three cycles since Rhune, Nyx, and I officially made up in the healing pools, and I haven’t been homesick once.
Between sleeping, taking care of Kevin, eating, and getting dicked down by my mate, there really hasn’t been time for me to do so—and it’s honestly freeing.
This strange world feels more like home with each passing moment, and it’s getting harder to remember how I was ever happy on earth.
Sometimes, I wonder if I ever truly was.
While I spend my days with Rhune and Nyx, I haven’t seen much of Dravik or Cin.
Cin is still locked in his room, stuck in the same trance-like state, and no one can seem to snap him out of it.
Meanwhile, Dravik has spent his time outside, battling the raging storm as he looks day and night for… something.
When I asked him about it, he told me he’s felt a wrongness in the air, and he wants to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. I didn’t ask him to elaborate, and since that day, I’ve tried my best not to think about what Dravik might find out there.
It’s pretty easy not to, considering the newly formed bond between me and Rhune takes up most of my thoughts.
I’ve slowly been giving in to the bond these past few cycles, and it feels amazing. Every time we’re close, the burning under my skin eases, replaced with the most pleasant warmth. It’s euphoric. It’s everything I never knew I needed.
On top of being ridiculously sweet and attentive, Rhune is ravenous.
He wants to fuck all the time—and as the cycles go by, I find myself wanting him just as much.
Sometimes, I’ll wake in the middle of the night burning up from the inside, and the only thing that takes away the pain is Rhune’s touch.
It alarmed me at first, but Nyx explained that it’s the newness of the bond, and it will relax as it settles into place. I’m not sure what will happen to me if I somehow bond to another demon, but I’m hoping I never have to worry about that.
At least, that’s what I tell myself. When Nyx is touching me, licking me… I forget that I don’t want a second demon mate.
As if he knows I’m thinking about him, Nyx peeks over the top of his book, his eyes shining with a playful glint. “Your scent… it changed just now.”
I shift self-consciously, lowering my face as heat spreads across my cheeks. “Did it? That’s weird.”
“Yes…” The corner of his mouth lifts in a knowing smirk. “What were you thinking about just then? I have a theory, and want to see if I’m right.”
Rhune raises his head from my lap, gazing up at me with wide, hungry eyes. “I want to know, too.”
“I’m sure you would. That’s too bad.” I stick my tongue out at Nyx, which causes his chest to shake with laughter.
“Will you tell me?” Rhune asks, batting his lashes sweetly. “You could whisper it to me…”
I grin, leaning down to kiss the tip of his curved horn. “Maybe later. In bed,” I add in a whisper.
Rhune’s skin shivers with anticipation as his tail playfully flicks the air. “Really?”
“Really, really.”
“I can’t wait,” he says, burying his head between my thighs once more. “I wish later was now.”
I let out a soft laugh, reaching down to run my fingers through his soft pink hair. A wave of satisfaction thrums through our bond, and I let out a gentle sigh, allowing my eyes to close as I bask in the high.
Yes. Things are good here. I’m finally settling in. I’m happy.
That’s what makes me worry.
Despite all the wonderful things I’ve experienced in my time here, I can’t shake the feeling that something is so incredibly wrong. I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is, but I fear it has something to do with the nightmares I’ve been having lately.
Instead of my usual visions of that creepy upside-down tree, my dreams have been plagued with premonitions of a massive, worm-like creature chasing me through the maze-like tunnels of the underground lair.
No matter how many turns I take or how hard I run, I can’t escape that gaping mouth and its horrible rotating, needle-like teeth.
Typically, I wake when it inevitably catches up to me and swallows me whole—but not before I’m forced to witness Rhune, Nyx, Cin, and Dravik being torn apart by its greedy jaws.
I’m not sure how my mind conjured the horrible creature, or why it’s forcing me to live through such a traumatic event night after night, but at this point, I would gladly welcome back the creepy tree dreams.
My anxiety soars as the twisted visions continue to flash through my mind, and I’m so deeply entrenched I don’t realize my face has dropped.
“Willow? What’s wrong?”
I force my mouth into a smile, but I have a feeling it’s not very convincing. “Nothing at all. It doesn’t matter.”
“Okay. I believe you.” Rhune nods, ever-trusting. Nyx, however, isn’t buying it.
“Is it nothing, or does it not matter?” he asks, his cunning eyes narrowed and piercing right through my armor.
“It’s just… I’ve been having these dreams.”
He leans in, hanging on my every word. “About the tree?”
I shake my head, taking my lip between my teeth. “These are different. They’re more… violent.”
“Violent how?”
I open my mouth to explain when an ice wyrm roar explodes underground, powerful enough to make the room feel like it’s tipping on its side. An icy chill runs the length of my spine as I wait for the call to end.
That’s the third one this cycle. And… it almost sounds like they’re getting closer.
I shake those thoughts away. I’m just worrying for no reason. The massive creatures are hundreds of miles beneath the surface. Nyx explained that there is no danger of running into them in these old tunnels.
Except, when I look at him, his expression is twisted in horror.
“Rhune,” he says, his voice a harsh whisper. “Grab Willow.”
“Why?” I ask. “What’s going on?”
No one has time to respond. It all happens so fast.
As soon as the last syllable rolls off my tongue, the ground shudders again, and the room is filled with a mighty crack as a deep crevice spreads along the center of Rhune’s bedroom, tearing through the ice-rock like a knife through softened butter.
“Look out Willow!” Nyx yells. There’s a sound like a whip cracking the air, and Nyx’s wing is fully outstretched, protecting my head from the massive chunk of the ceiling hurtling toward me.
There’s a loud thump, and the boulder slides off the slope of Nyx’s wing, crashing to the floor instead of where it was originally destined—my unprotected skull.
I’m barely able to register Nyx’s pained grunt before my feet leave the ground, and I’m thrust into Rhune’s chest. Without words, Rhune wraps his arms around me like a vise, crushing me against him as he shoots off the ground.
There’s a deep whooshing sound as his wings beat the air, propelling us toward the exit like a rocket, and all I can do is cling to Rhune and hope for some kind of miracle as the rest of the ceiling crumbles around us.
Rhune soars through the winding tunnels at mind-breaking speed, twisting and contorting his body mid-flight to dodge the crumbling ice-rock.
Every now and then, he lets out a pained grunt when one of the larger chunks manage to clip a part of his body, but he never lets it show, and he sure as hell doesn’t slow down.
Just before they make it to the main chamber, an eardrum-shattering roar explodes throughout the tunnels, so loud and powerful that I feel it shudder deep in the marrow of my bones.
Oh God. Oh God, we’re going to die.
“Don’t look!” Rhune screams over the roar, tightening his arms around my torso as we jerk to the side, flying close to the wall. “Close your eyes, Willow!”
But I couldn’t even if I wanted to.
As soon as Rhune speaks, a massive, white, worm-like head crashes through the surface of the ice, spraying demon-sized chunks of ice-rock through the air in a fantastic display of destruction and raw power.
It releases another rattling scream, and my nervous system shutters, leaving me limp in Rhune’s grip, unable to move or do anything besides stare in horror.
Just like in my dream, the ice wyrm’s mouth is gaping, filled with rows of thousands of rotating, needle-like teeth.
Its skin is pale and fleshy, with ridged segments that are reminiscent of earth worms. There are no eyes to be seen anywhere on its strangely curved head, but it doesn’t seem to need sight to track its prey.
With a screech, the ice wyrm’s body curves sideways, aiming its terrible gaping mouth right at us. A stomach-churning clicking sound emanates from its rotating jaws, piercing through the creature’s screams as it inches closer.
Rhune jerks to the side, dodging out of the way moments before the ice wyrm snaps us up. An angry screech rattles the walls as the creature tries to swoop around for another attack, but Rhune manages to drop and dodge at the last moment.
Using the creature’s disorientation to his advantage, he sails toward the exit tunnel, every one of his muscles taught and ready to defend me with his life.
“We’re going to be okay,” he promises—but I’m not sure if it’s for me or him. “We’re almost free.”
Just before we enter the tunnel, I look back, and my heart rises to my throat as I take in the silhouette of Nyx’s body at the other end of the room. He’s flying straight toward us, his eyes locked on me and his expression creased in effort as he dodges the falling chunks of ceiling.
And he doesn’t realize the wyrm has found a better meal.
Sensing a new target, the ice wyrm abandons me and Rhune, each of its powerful muscles shuddering as it repositions its head, aiming right for Nyx. My mouth opens in a silent scream as those gaping jaws draw closer, watching it play out in slow motion. Die. He’s going to die.
“Nyx!” I scream. “Nyx, look out!”