Chapter 40 Ariana
ARIANA
Drifting off to sleep in Erik’s arms had to have been my favorite way to fall asleep. Especially after a thorough exploration of each other’s bodies. Ending in our souls intertwined, bodies trembling, and our thoughts void of anything but the moment we shared.
With my mind thoroughly emptied, I fell asleep quickly. The dreamless nights were my favorite. This, however, was not that.
I slipped into a dream that was not mine, pulled into a room I did not recognize.
It was as if I closed my eyes at home, and opened them standing somewhere else.
The walls were stone. Torches hung on each of them.
There were no windows. A single bed, desk, and two chairs were within the space.
None of it was remarkable in any way. There was a wooden door, otherwise there did not seem to have been any other way in or out.
Deep inside, I reached for my internal river of strength, harnessing it to rise and flow through my veins. Nothing happened. I couldn’t sense a thing, as if the door to my conjuring was shut.
I was defenseless. Taking another inventory of the room, I searched for anything that could have been used as a weapon.
Settling on the chairs, I turned towards them, fingers curling around the back of one before every muscle in my body tensed at the familiar sensation flooding the room. Stagnant air.
I whirled around and froze when my eyes locked with Clause’s crisp stormy gaze. My heart jolted into my throat.
“Hello, love,” he said. Power rippled through him, out of him, surrounding me.
I could hardly breathe, my muscles locked in place at the sight of him. This was not possible. I had escaped him, left him in the Sidhe lands.
He viewed me with a cold, cunning stare, rendering me speechless.
I needed to get out, to run as far away as possible.
But there was no escape. I was surrounded by walls and he stood between me and the only door in this place.
Not that I even knew whether it could be opened or what was on the other side.
Panic shot through my veins. My body grew more and more desperate for oxygen, yet I could not draw a full breath. My head spun.
Clause took a step in my direction and I took one back, away from him, forgetting all about the chair I was going to grab, not that it would have done me much good.
He stopped mid-step, gaze never leaving mine.
“I have told you before that I will not hurt you.” As if that was the only reason I would want to keep my distance.
“Doesn’t mean I want to be anywhere near you.” I managed to reply despite the tightness in my chest.
His lips curved upwards, though the look in his eyes remained ice. “Don’t tell me you prefer the Lysian whose arms you sleep in.” His voice was uncomfortably hollow.
My heart fully stopped as panic surged through me. Once it restarted, it took everything in me to try and not react to his words.
I needed to get out of this place.
He continued moving towards me at a leisurely, slow pace.
“I have to admit, I hate that you continue to give your body to him.” I retreated until my back hit a wall and I had nowhere else to go.
Clause remained just hardly out of reach.
“That you allow him to touch you.” He took another step, crowding me now.
“Allow him to bury himself inside of you.”
His audacity to insinuate he had a say in what I did awoke the rage within. I grabbed on to that feeling, prefering it to the panic.
As if intending to caress my cheek, Clause’s hand lifted. I moved my arm, hitting his arm and blocking the hand.
“Do not touch me.” I seethed.
His jaw ticked with… was that irritation? The hatred inside of me was so bitter that I could taste it on my tongue.
“Do not tell me you are angry, after the mess you made in my city.”
“I thought it was our city,” I snapped.
“You are not standing at my side, are you?” Gray eyes narrowed before he turned from me, walked across the room, and dragged one of the chairs around so that it faced me. He took a seat. The relief of the distance he put between us was extraordinary.
“What do you want now?” I dared to ask. There was a reason he pulled me into this place, whatever this was. Some sort of dream that was not one.
“For you to return home,” he answered, as if it was simple.
“Your home will never be mine.” I forced the words out despite my clenched teeth.
He sighed. “My patience has its limits, Ariana.”
“You are delusional if you think I will ever stand by your side after what you made me do.”
He looked genuinely surprised. “I am going to explain a few things, as it appears you do not listen, nor pay attention.” I bristled, though didn’t respond, and he continued.
“After you took that sad soul from the whorehouse, you crossed one of my men. Punishment had to be served. Perhaps I could have chosen something different for it, but once I spoke it to existence, it was final. You may think me immoral. But trust is important, even if I do not have it for others. My word is final. This keeps things in line. My people know where I stand when I speak. They believe me. I would not take back or amend your punishment once it was spoken.”
My entire body stiffened. “So, you took a child’s life and forced me to kill my friend. Just so you wouldn’t lose face?”
Clause leaned back in the chair, a cruel smirk on his handsome face. “I let you choose which life to take. I did not force you to pick a friend. And do you know how many innocent lives your little stunt took in efforts of your escape?”
A glacial hand snaked around my heart and squeezed at his words.
“I am not going back with you,” I said, changing the subject.
He allowed for the switch, saying, “Maybe not today, but you will.” His gaze briefly traveled over me and I was thankful to have a shirt and pants on, things I was not wearing when I fell asleep.
When his eyes met with mine once more, there seemed to be a sadness melding with determination in them. “Until next time, Ariana.” He vanished.
Startled, I remained pressed to the wall. The heaviness of his presence left with him, the air becoming lighter and more fluid without his control. Yet I did not exactly feel alone.
“Hello? Is anyone here?” I said into the room. No one responded. “Who are you? Where are you?”
Suddenly, it was as if I was thrown from that space, the dream abruptly ending. My eyes flew open, finding myself naked though covered by a blanket in Iver’s room with several people staring at me.
Those last words rang like echoes through my mind, until next time, Ariana.