Chapter 19
Nate
The water’s dense and as it retreats, some of it sticks to my body like jelly that hasn’t yet fully set.
It ebbs and flows, climbing ever higher up my chest, and I know that soon it will reach my mouth, then pour in through my nose, choking me as I jerk my body, struggling for air.
It’s inevitable, but the fear of knowing this might be how I die remains unchanged.
The walls of the dungeon are sweating cold blood. The same blood my tormentor has poured out of my body over the past weeks to feed this horrible place. Now the cold stone is anticipating the arrival of its master.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
The echo of slow footsteps reverberates around me, announcing his arrival, and my heart gallops, because even with the sea water climbing my throat in an attempt to choke, no terror is greater than Lorsen Gloombane.
I wish I could die before he can reach me, but all of a sudden the glow of his green lantern illuminates the back of my head, casting a shadow on the wall.
It’s… barely there.
Pathetic.
The reason for my suffering.
And yet, no matter how much I endure, it won’t darken, as if there’s a spark inside my soul that needs to be extinguished for this horror to end.
“Nothing,” he rasps, voice low and dangerous as it echoes around me, sending tremors down my submerged body just as I gulp down a portion of the salty wave. It has a metallic aftertaste.
I want to say something, but my voice fails me when the shadow cast on the wall blurs, as if it’s about to disappear altogether.
Gloombane huffs. “Look at that pathetic thing. It barely bothers to exist. Perhaps it’s just embarrassed to be attached to a wretch like you.”
The water splashes in my face, agitating my eyes with salt. That’s why I’m sobbing, not due to this never-ending torture, and yet I wail out my apologies. I beg to be taken home as he approaches, step by careful step.
I can feel him looming above me now, and in the trembling glow of the swamplight, his shadow darkens mine.
“It’s so pale it can even hide behind mine.
” I freeze as claw-like fingers tighten around my neck, and then Gloombane is right in front of me, empty eye sockets shiny with fresh blood as he speaks, accentuating every word.
“Imagine being such a weak excuse for a human that even your own darkness won’t commit to you. ”
The blood-flavored wave floods my mouth, and nose, until my lungs are full of water, and I can’t, can’t, can’t breathe.
And still, somehow I’m screaming.
Despite the dull ache in my chest. Despite the painful stiffness in my muscles that has them constricting as I sit up in the bed, surrounded by absolute darkness.
A warm hand grabs mine, and I rip it out with another yelp, but then I hear a voice that doesn’t belong to Gloombane. It’s smooth, and warm, and its timbre feels like a velvet shawl wrapping around my neck.
“Nate? What is it?” Tristan.
It’s Tristan. He took me from the tower. He stood up to Gloombane for me.
For now, at least, I’m safe.
We’re at a tavern. Unicorn’s Rest was its name. I’m no longer in the dungeon.
“A d-dream. A bad one,” I whimper, rolling to my side. Now I regret pulling my hand away. And then hate myself a little for it. I’m such a mess.
Now my stomach aches the moment I close my eyes, because I’m sure I’ll end up right back in that dungeon if I fall asleep.
“I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?”
I don’t. It was excruciatingly real, only to devolve into madness, because Gloombane is dead. I—
“I killed him. But he was alive,” I whisper, scooting closer to the edge of the mattress, following the soft huff of Tristan’s breath. His hand is still there, and even though I’m ashamed of needing reassurance, I entwine our fingers. He instantly squeezes mine, steady as his sword.
“He’s dead and gone. And you did that, you have the proof of your bravery on your chest. Who knows how things would have gone if it wasn’t for you.”
He’s pandering to me. I wasn’t even strong enough to stand up, but for a brief moment, I do feel a bit better.
“This isn’t me. I’m scared of spiders and I still refuse to squish them. But I killed him. I killed another person, and deep down I’m glad he’s dead,” I whimper, pulling his hand to my chest and curling around its warmth. He smells so good. “I hate that he changed me like this.”
I can’t see in the thick darkness, but I sense it when the mattress dips under Tristan’s weight. I don’t want him here. Yet I’m not telling him that either, because my whole being longs for the safety of his arms.
“Don’t feel guilty. For what he did to you, he deserved that and worse.”
A sob breaks out of me, and when Tristan rolls into the bed, I dive straight against his chest, because if there’s anything that can keep me safe in this strange and dangerous world, it’s him.
And I hate it.
Because this wasn’t what I dreamed of when I imagined a fae prince whisking me away to another realm. That was all fancy balls, and walks in the moonlight, and passionate sex in a labyrinth. I was never meant to be this pathetic creature, who can’t feel safe without holding someone else’s hand.
This man has bound me to him against my will.
I shouldn’t seek comfort in his touch.
Tristan closes me in his arms, and I could melt into his warmth. There wasn’t a day in that god-forsaken tower that I wasn’t cold. And even though my skin is freezing, Tristan doesn’t flinch, pulling me closer. He’s muscular, but there’s a softness to him my bony body desperately needs.
“I’ll be here if you have another nightmare,” he whispers against the top of my head, and no matter how angry I am at him, this is exactly what I needed to hear.
I need him to be here and shield me from my nightmares—both real and those that are only in my head.
And once he holds me, it’s so easy to drift off.
I don’t remember having any more nightmares.