Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-Two
All five of us are hyper-alert for any signs of supernatural activity on the walk back to Hamilton Hall. Whistler scouts ahead with Tia while Griffin walks alongside us before cutting off when we reach campus, leaving Chase and me walking together in an Adric-charged silence.
“You felt it,” Chase says finally, his voice tight.
“Felt what?” But I know exactly what he means.
“The pull. When Adric appeared.” He stops walking, turning to face me under a lamppost. “I saw your face when you came out of the session, Cora. You were drawn to him.”
Shame burns in my chest, but I force myself to meet his eyes. “I know I shouldn’t have been. I know he’s dangerous.”
“It’s not about should or shouldn’t.” Chase’s voice is gentle but strained. “You need to understand that the more you use your abilities, the stronger the pull between you and Adric becomes. As well as his ability to locate you.”
“Oh.” I tell myself it’s a chill off the ocean that makes me shiver, but of course it’s not.
“Remember, the more connected he is to you, the more the entire universe is at risk, and every living being in this and every other realm.”
“But no pressure,” I say, trying for a smile, but not quite managing.
“I know you’re attracted to him.” His voice is low, barely a whisper, and he’s looking at the sidewalk, not me.
I don’t deny it. I don’t say anything at all.
“But you need to understand that what you felt… It’s part of the prophecy. The Imperial bloodline and the Nightmare King are connected by forces older than human civilization.”
Ice forms in my stomach. “You’re saying what I feel isn’t real?”
“I’m saying it’s wrapped up in prophecy and duty and very, very complicated.”
“That doesn’t make it fake,” I snap. “I’m attracted to you too. Is that fake?” I fight the urge to cringe. I’d bitten the words out in anger, and now, I’m really, really, really wishing that life had a rewind button.
I expect him to tease me. To say that clearly, I’ve got a thing for guys from the dreamscape. Instead, he takes my hands and tugs me to a stop. “Then stay with me. Let me protect you. Let me make sure you stay far, far away from him.”
“I know what you’ve told me about him,” I say softly. “I’m not an idiot. He’s charismatic, sure, but it’s not like I’m going to go running into his arms.”
“Are you sure?” The words come out harsh and curt.
I yank my hand free. “What the hell is wrong with you tonight?”
“Dammit, Cora, don’t you get it? I saw you.”
“Saw me what?”
“Your face. I saw the same expression every Bride has worn. The same certainty that he was somehow meant for you.”
“Oh.” I draw a breath and shake my head. “No—I, I think maybe you were seeing what you expected. I haven’t—I’m not—falling for him.”
I say the words with as much force as I can manage, hoping that way, they’ll turn out to be true.
“Maybe,” he says grudgingly, after we’ve stood there for several awkward seconds.
“Oh, hell,” he says, and starts walking again.
I wrap my arms around myself, feeling cold despite the warm night, and try to keep up with his long strides.
“Tell me about him. Not the prophecy, not the Nightmare King stuff. Who is he really?”
Chase is quiet for a long moment. Finally, he comes to a stop and looks at me, but I think what he’s seeing is the past. “He’s charming, intelligent, genuinely caring when he wants to be. Everything about him is designed to draw you in.”
“Designed?”
“Not consciously. It’s just who he is—who we were before the split. The Guardian was meant to be loved, trusted, followed. When Adric ripped us apart, I got more of the duty and protection instincts. He got a larger helping of charisma and the hunger for connection.”
“I think you have charisma,” I say softly.
A hint of a smile touches his lips. “Maybe,” he says. “But not as much as Adric. You’ve met him, Cora. You know.”
He’s right. I do know. I’ve seen it. Hell, I’ve felt it.
“All of which makes him incredibly persuasive when he wants something,” Chase continues.
“And he wants me.”
“He does. But I can hardly blame him.” His eyes dip down before rising again to meet mine. “I want you too.”
“Oh.” My entire body seems to light from the inside, and I expect a kiss. Or at least his hand to take mine.
Instead, he keeps talking. “Mostly, Adric wants what you represent. The power to reunite the realms under his rule.” Chase steps closer, and have to fight the urge to slide my arm around him.
My hand actually moves — halfway there before I catch myself and let it fall.
Chase sees it. His eyes follow the retreat of my fingers, and my cheeks burn as the air between us tightens.
He clears his throat. “But the way he made you feel tonight? That wasn’t fake.
That’s who he really is underneath all the Nightmare King bullshit.
” He laughs, the sound short and hard. “And there’s the proof of how damn charming he can be.
I don’t want to lose you, but I’m talking him up to you like a goddamn idiot. ”
I take his hand. “Not an idiot,” I say softly. “Just honest. And I appreciate that more than you know.” I shrug. “Besides. He’s you’re brother. Hell, he’s you. Deep down, you love him.”
“I did once. Not anymore,” he adds, his tone making the words a lie.
For a moment, we’re both quiet. Then I say, very softly, “I’m not falling for him.
I promise. But I am attracted to him. And if you’re saying what I feel isn’t because of the prophecy, then, well, thank you.
Because the idea of my emotions being ruled by some billion-year-old mystical edict really bugs me. ”
He moves closer, his free hand coming up to touch my cheek. “What I’m saying is that your feelings are complicated.” His voice drops. “It’s always been personal for me. This time it’s more so. This time, the damn prophecy may steal even more from me. It may steal you.”
I don’t know what to say because I truly don’t know what I felt when I looked into Adric’s silver eyes. Was it just recognition, attraction, the pull of power calling to power?
Finally, I decide on the truth. “When I was in there tonight—when I felt that pull toward Adric—it scared me. Not because it wasn’t real, but because it was. At least it felt like it.” I step closer to him, then sigh when his arms slide around my waist. “But it also made me realize something.”
“What’s that?”
“That what I feel for you is just as real. Maybe even more so. It’s different too.
It’s not prophecy or destiny or cosmic forces pushing us together.
” I take a shaky breath, feeling heat rise in my cheeks.
“And I think…I think maybe you feel something real for me too? That it’s not just about my being the Bride? ”
Relief floods his features. “You already know that’s true.”
I nod. “I don’t want what happened tonight to mess this up. Whatever this mystical connection to Adric is, it doesn’t change how I feel about you.”
He lifts his hands to cup my face. “Don’t you know that I’m completely gone on you? And not because of the prophecy or your lineage or any of that.”
“Then why?” I tremble a bit, my voice barely a whisper.
He brushes his thumb across my cheek, and I melt into his touch. “Because of who you are,” he whispers. “Not what you are. Brave and stubborn and a little goofy.”
He slips a finger under my chin to tilt my face up to meet his, then brushes a fingertip over my lips. “You’re resourceful and kind and refuse to let anyone make your choices for you. I’ve fallen for that woman—for you.”
My heart does something complicated in my chest, and I move closer, then slide my arms around him as I look up into his eyes. “Fallen for?”
“Yeah.” His voice is rough with honesty. “Fallen hard. Completely. Hopelessly.”
The weight of that settles over me. He’s had years to fall—years of watching me fight in the Nightmare Realm, years of knowing who I was before I had any idea who he was. I’ve had days. And yet somehow, days feel like enough.
“Me too,” I admit. “And I don’t want some mystical connection to the Nightmare King to mess this up.”
“We won’t let it.” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, the contact making me shiver. “This is real. It’s ours.”
When he kisses me, it tastes like promise and relief and something that defies destiny. It’s fierce and desperate, a declaration that what we feel matters more than cosmic forces. That fate has no power over love or choices.
When we break apart, we’re both breathing hard, my heart pounding with such intensity I’m surprised he can’t hear it.
“This is complicated,” I whisper.
“You are the master of understatements,” he says. “But it’s also so damn simple.”
As we walk the rest of the way to my dorm, his hand warm in mine, I can feel something settling between us. Something quiet and grounded in the certainty that whatever supernatural forces might be pulling at us, what we feel for each other is real, not pre-destined bullshit.
But even as my heart steadies with that simple truth, Adric’s silver eyes haunt my memory.
The pull I’ve always felt toward him hasn’t disappeared.
Not even the tiniest bit. And now all I can do is hope that whatever Chase and I are building will be strong enough to withstand what’s still yet to come.