Chapter 21 Gideon
twenty-one
Gideon
I’m on a cloud.
No, that can’t be right.
My fingers glide across soft, subtle sheets, finer than the clothing in the Sands, like butter slipping through my fingers.
A giggle sounds off around me, and my eyes come to life.
Looking up, I find myself staring at a creamy, scalloped sky, flicking in a distant light. Going to stretch out my arms, I feel restricted—same with my legs as I try to bring my body to turn to the right.
A heaviness comes from my ankles and wrists.
I’m fucking chained down.
I pull my arms and legs in, harshly attempting to break my bindings, which look to be some type of green rope twisted together, as strong as the dungeon chains in the manor back in Haven.
Soft, soothing tones are whispered to my side. I jerk my head, growling. I’m still in my human form and, unsurprisingly, naked.
None of that bothers me, though, because if I’m stuck here, it means I can’t find and protect her. That she’s my God’s bonded means nothing to me. He never had to order me to take care of her. I was doing it anyway.
As I pull roughly on the green rope, a soft hand is placed on my upper chest, followed by soothing words gently spoken in my ear. They make no sense to me. Instead, the alluring scent of water lilies fills my oversensitive sense of smell.
What was I doing?
A feeling of weightlessness overcomes me, my fingers, now clawed, digging into the bed beneath me. Looking up, I see large, rainbow eyes staring back at me, set in a bewitching blue face.
Mer.
The word is but a blunt murmur in the darkest recesses of my mind. The beguiling creature straddles my chest. Placing her sharp fingertips on my skin, she leans down, her angular teeth bared in a wide, wicked smile. My heart thunders wildly in my chest like it wants to be set free.
I just don’t understand why.