Chapter 28 #3
The room was empty. I sank deeper into the bed, unwanted thoughts rising to the forefront of my mind.
How spectacularly I’d failed in front of everyone.
How Zachariah would use this for his own gain.
I flung an arm over my eyes, the bandage tickling the skin on my face.
The list of things I didn’t want to think about was getting longer by the day.
And it was getting harder and harder to keep those thoughts at bay.
The shaking started then. Whether it was a delayed reaction to the energy outlay and adrenaline, or a response to the fear that I was suppressing, I didn’t know. Tears streamed down my face. I rolled over, burying my face in the pillow, lest anyone hear me.
Between the shaking and exhaustion, I had nothing left. I closed my eyes and let sleep pull me under.
The next morning, I hurt. And not just regular hurt. I was sore in places I didn’t know I had. Every muscle screamed in protest when I tried to shift positions. I’d pushed my body to the limits a time or two in the past, but nothing like this.
I tentatively flexed my fingers and immediately regretted it. Even that small movement sent lightning bolts of pain shooting up my arms. My channels were raw, aching and throbbing like open wounds.
Griff was asleep in a chair beside me. Ever the protector, he wouldn’t even leave me alone in the healing wing, even when he had been ordered away to his own rest. A warmth flooded through me, knowing that he must have snuck in here as soon as he had a few hours of sleep and had stayed the rest of the night.
I must have made some noise because his eyes popped open. “Good morning,” he said, his deep voice still gravelly with sleep. His sandy waves were tousled in the most adorable manner.
“Hi.” My voice came out as a squeak, which made his eyes crinkle.
“How are you feeling?”
I attempted to stretch and stopped as every wound burned and pulled. “Not great,” I admitted.
His eyes narrowed in concern as I attempted to push myself into a sitting position. “I’m not sure if I should tell you this but Andrei said as soon as you can stand, you’re allowed to leave.”
I immediately tried it and would have fallen on my face if he hadn’t caught me. Lightning streaked up my legs, the pins and needles overwhelming as I clung to Griff.
“I knew I shouldn’t have told you,” he muttered.
And that’s how Andrei found us—me clinging to Griff like a barnacle while he held me steady.
He gave me a look as Griff helped me sit. “Ah, Griffin, you beat me here,” Andrei said mildly, as if he didn’t know Griff had spent the night. “How is our patient this morning?”
“Tired and sore,” I admitted.
He sat down next to me, running his hand over my body as though he was scanning it.
“I’m not surprised. Draining yourself to dregs severely affects anyone, especially someone as new to their power as you.
” He fixed me with a sharp look that every healer must have perfected for unruly patients.
“No training. No using your power. You must rest. And eat. That will help you replenish what you’ve lost.” He looked over at Griff.
“I trust you can keep her out of trouble?”
“I don’t know that anyone can, but I’ll try.”
I scowled at both of them.
Eventually, Griff got me back to my rooms, leaving me with plenty of food, strict orders to nap, and promises to return soon.
I thought I’d appreciate the quiet but I just found it deafening, filled with all the things I didn’t want to currently address.
It was all interconnected. The prophecy.
The Veil. The faction. Hufen attacks. I had some of the pieces of the puzzle, but which way they went, where they slotted in, hell even which side was up, remained a mystery.
I hauled myself up and checked the hallway. The coast was clear.
Sticking to the shadows, I shook my head at the irony of sneaking through my own castle. Praying Finn wasn’t inside, I slipped through the doors to the library. Whichever god covered luck was clearly looking out for me today, as I reached the stacks without being noticed.
I found my way to the shrine where the prophecy was stored.
As I passed through the wards, I again felt that familiar welcoming and greeted it back.
Maybe I was crazy for thinking the wards were sentient, but I’d always felt like they knew what I was saying or feeling.
The shimmering light emanating from the book itself flared as I opened it with my mind.
Reading it through again, I got that same odd feeling that it was wrong or missing key pieces of information. This wasn’t the whole story. Big chunks had been cut out—chunks that would make all the difference.
“There’s more isn’t there?” I murmured out loud.
I didn’t expect anything to happen, but the light flared brightly. When it faded, I was no longer alone. A woman, roughly my age, her dark curly hair pulled back off her face, stared at me with bright-blue eyes. An expression of irritation crossed her face as she impatiently tapped her foot.
“Hurry up, kiddo.” Her voice echoed in my mind.
There was a loud clang behind me and I jumped, looking over my shoulder. It was just the bells. Calming my breathing, I looked back, but she had disappeared.
Violet. My aunt.
Everything pointed back to her. I knew someone had to have the answers, but it figured that the person who did was dead.