Chapter 47 Eryx
Eryx
It is done.
And I feel like shit.
Chelsea’s warmth used to be within reach. I could feel it at the end of my power.
But it’s vanished.
All I’m left with is Nightmare’s cold presence.
We did the right thing.
Then why does it feel like I buried her?
Nightmare’s silence is answer enough. Then, a few moments later—
She’ll forgive us.
But Nightmare's voice is hollow. Empty.
It lost her too. The sunshine to our darkness. The one person who welcomed Nightmare instead of fearing it.
We both loved her. And we both just lost her.
If we’re lucky, she’ll forgive us, Nightmare. Right now I don’t think we’re all that lucky.
It feels like I just cut my arm off.
I’m exhausted by the time the unbinding is done. My knees are weak. My hands tremble. I need rest.
I open the door and freeze.
Chelsea.
She's lying on the cold stone floor right outside the threshold, curled on her side. Her robe has fallen open. One slipper is off.
She was here. The whole time. Listening. Feeling it happen.
I drop to my knees beside her, and my hands shake as I reach for her face.
Tear tracks streak her cheeks—still damp. Her breathing is shallow, ragged.
What have I done? I press my fingers to the side of her neck, checking her pulse. It's there—steady. But when I pull my hand back, I notice something that makes my stomach drop.
My fingertips should warm where I touched her. I should feel my magic stir in response to her. That's what always happened—our magics aligning, her golden warmth soaking into my skin.
But now? Nothing.
Where her magic used to hum in response to mine, there's silence. Where I used to feel her presence even rooms away, there's nothing.
The bond is gone.
Not faded.
Not weakened.
Gone.
She went through it alone.
So did we, Nightmare reminds me.
But not her. Please not her.
I slide my arms under her and lift. She's lighter than I remember—or maybe I just can't feel her magic anymore, that weight of power we shared.
She stirs, and for a split second hope flares in my chest. Then she curls into me. My throat tightens. Even unconscious, even after what I just did, her body still seeks mine.
But I don't feel her the way I should. No magic vibrating, humming, stirring.
Now there’s only the physical weight of her in my arms. Just flesh and bone.
I saved her life. But I lost my wife.
I've turned us into strangers.
I didn't just unbind her. I unbound us.
I saved her life by destroying what we built. And I don't know if that was the right choice.
As I carry her down the hall, each step feels heavier than the last. The shadows along the walls—they're darker now. Deeper. No gold threading through them.
No roses will ever grow here again.
“Eryx,” she whispers.
“Yes?”
I nudge her door open with my foot and carry her inside. The room smells like her—vanilla and something sweet I still can't name. I lay her gently in the bed, careful with her head on the pillow. Pull the covers up. Tuck them around her shoulders. My hand lingers on the blanket near her face.
I sink onto the edge of the bed. Just for a moment.
She looks so small. So fragile.
The woman who devoured nightmares like she was born to it. The woman who grew claws and laughed while our magic destroyed rooms. I took that from her. To save her.
I reach out, my hand hovering over her cheek. I want to touch her. To feel something. Anything. But I don't deserve to.
I pull back and force myself to stand.
I walk to the door. My hand is on the handle when I hear it—so quiet I almost missed it.
“Eryx.”
I turn.
She blinks her eyes open, sees me through a sleepy haze.
For one heartbeat I think, maybe—
Then she flips over and faces the wall. I think she’s done. I turn to go when I hear it—
“I’ll never forgive you.”
The words steal my breath. I stand there, hand still on the door, waiting.
Hoping she'll take it back. Say she didn't mean it.
But she doesn't move. Doesn't speak again. Just lies there, facing the wall, with an ocean of empty space between us.
I close the door quietly and walk away from the woman I love.
The woman who will never forgive me.