Chapter 19 #2
“No,” he interrupted, his eyes locking on mine.
“I’m asking you not to bear the responsibility.
I’m asking you to leave that to me. It is imperative that I reach the Rift, find who is behind this, and end it before it destroys both our worlds…
me, Alexandra, not you. And you have to know that if I had any way of opening up the Rift without you, so as to save you that burden, then I would do it. ”
I stared at him, my throat dry. There was desperation in his tone, but also conviction. The kind that came from someone who had already accepted what he was willing to sacrifice, and that someone wasn’t me.
And in that moment, I knew I had no choice. If there was even the smallest chance that what he said was true, that I was somehow connected to the Rift, then we had to try.
I released a long, shaky sigh.
“Alright,” I said finally. “If there’s no other choice, then we’ll go.”
His shoulders eased, a rare emotion flickering across his features before he told me, “Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me. And I assure you, I’ll be with you every step of the way. You won’t face it alone.”
Something in his words eased the fear that coiled in my chest.
“Alright,” I said softly. “So what do we need to do?”
“We’re not far from the Rift… Perhaps a few more hours of riding.”
I nodded, watching as he disappeared briefly into the tent.
When he reemerged, he was shrugging into his doublet, sliding one strong arm through the sleeve, then the other, the movement pulling the fabric taut across his shoulders.
His cloak followed, falling like black oil over the armor he’d already fastened beneath.
It was a sight that shouldn’t have made my stomach flutter, but it did.
Taking it as a sign that we were ready to go, I started helping him pack up the camp, ignoring his gentle insistence that I rest and eat.
I had already forced down what was left of last night’s bread and cheese, though it might as well have been ash.
Knowing where we were headed made it impossible to taste anything.
Once the camp was packed away, Atlas moved past me to retrieve Acelin’s bridle, which lay beside the tent.
I lingered awkwardly, unsure how to help, until he lifted the blanket and saddle onto the stallion’s back.
His movements were fluid and precise, each motion efficient and practiced.
I watched as he tightened the straps, then checked the tack twice more to ensure everything was secure.
Watching him like that, focused, steady, and every motion purposeful, I realized something quietly terrifying. He wasn’t afraid. Not of what was coming, not even of the Rift. And I didn’t know if that made me feel safer… or more afraid.
I noticed a blanket had been folded and placed neatly over the front of the saddle seat and across the pommel, secured with ropes.
The extra padding made the saddle look far more comfortable, and my thighs and ass would most definitely thank him for it.
But more than anything, I wanted to thank him for his thoughtfulness.
So, I laid my hand on his arm as he checked the stirrups one last time.
“Thank you,” I told him, my tone shy as I nodded to the blanket he had used to fashion a cushion. He glanced at it briefly before understanding registered.
“You’re welcome, Alexandra,” he said with sincerity.
After that, I let him help me mount Acelin once again, and with that, we were on our way.
We rode in companionable silence. The steady rhythm of Acelin’s gait, the whisper of wind through the leaves, and the soft patter of rain against our clothes created a fragile peace around us.
I rested lightly against Atlas’s chest, allowing myself to absorb his warmth.
Yet as the wind picked up and the drizzle turned colder, I couldn’t stop the shivers that rippled through me.
I longed for the comfort of the tent again.
For the cocoon of blankets and body heat that had made me feel safe in a way I hadn’t fully felt in years.
He must have sensed it because without a word, he passed the reins into my hands and leaned me forward slightly, his arms secure around me until I found my balance.
I then heard the faint rustle of fabric, before his firm hands wrapped his cloak around my shoulders.
He pulled me gently back against him, the trapped warmth of his body heat seeping through the layers of my clothes until it reached my core, molten and comforting.
“Are you sure?” I began, glancing over my shoulder.
“What about you? Won’t you be…”
He silenced me with a whisper that brushed my ear like velvet.
“Ssshh, take it. I’ll be fine… Besides, I run hot, remember?”
I chuckled softly, touched by the sweetness of the gesture. The scent of him surrounded me, warm and intoxicating, filling my senses until my head felt light. Combined with the steady sway of Acelin beneath us and the rhythmic hum of the forest around us, it lulled me into a drowsy haze.
I tried to fight it, blinking rapidly and widening my eyes, doing anything to keep from drifting off. But the warmth, the motion, and the steady heartbeat against my back pulled me under. My eyelids grew too heavy, and I surrendered to the safety of sleep.
I wasn’t sure what woke me. Maybe it was the uneven rhythm beneath us, the way the ground suddenly shifted and broke the familiar sway. Or maybe it was the sunlight piercing through the dense canopy and onto my closed eyes.
Either way, when I stirred, the light was stronger, cutting through the shadows. The sky above was grey but bright, which was strange for the heart of a forest this deep. Then we entered a clearing, one that took my breath away.
It was as if a giant had torn through the earth in the dead of night, uprooting acres of ancient trees. Leaves, branches, and shards of bark littered the ground. Trees that had likely stood for centuries, perhaps even millennia, were snapped clean in two by a force I couldn’t begin to imagine.
Massive trunks lay toppled across one another, their roots jutting up toward the sky like broken limbs. As my gaze followed the line of destruction, I realized there was a path carved straight through the forest, a scar cutting deep into the Earth.
The trees within that path were completely gone, reduced to splinters and dust. Those just beyond it were charred and twisted, their branches stripped bare by the blast of whatever had torn through here. Further still, the damage lessened until the forest resumed its eerie calm.
Whatever had done this hadn’t just broken the forest, it had carved a trench into the very ground. Confusion, awe, and dread tangled inside me. I turned in the saddle to look at Atlas, searching his face for answers, but he was already dismounting.
“We’ll need to go on foot from here,” he said, his deep voice quiet but resolute.
“It will be too difficult for Acelin.”
His brown eyes met mine through a fringe of dark lashes, their calm doing little to settle the storm rising in my chest.
I nodded as his hands wrapped gently but firmly around my waist and he pulled me down.
I must have been getting used to riding because this time, when my feet actually touched the ground, I managed to stay upright.
Though it didn’t stop Atlas from keeping his hands on my waist to ensure I didn’t end up flat on the debris-covered forest ground.
His hands lingered, warm and steady, before he finally released me. Atlas gave Acelin a soft pat, his voice tender as he murmured, “We won’t be long.”
“But won’t he wander off?” I asked, glancing at the horse.
“No,” Atlas replied, his tone calm but sure. “We are connected, he and I. It means he will always want to stay close, and if we are ever apart, he will always know how to find me.”
I couldn’t help but smile at their bond.
He looked at me over his shoulder as he began to move through the maze of fallen trees, his boots crunching against the broken bark beneath his feet.
I followed close behind, placing my steps carefully in the impressions his boots left moments before.
Each movement sent faint echoes through the silent forest, a reminder of just how empty this place was.
He stopped often, offering his hand to help me climb over thick trunks or steady myself when the ground shifted.
Each time his hand found mine, the contact sparked warmth through the cold air.
It was a small reassurance in the desolation around us.
But then, when I tripped on something, he caught me, and I fell straight into his chest.
“Whoa, easy there…” His voice trailed off when I looked up at him, our breaths simultaneously hitching as the air grew thick.
Then his hand reached up to my face as if by its own accord.
As if he had no will to stop it, and I wasn’t about to encourage that he did.
Instead, the moment his gloved hand cupped my cheek I found myself leaning into it as he whispered my name.
“Alexandra.” Then he lowered his head in what I hoped, more than anything, was to be…
Our first kiss.