AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She shakes her head, frowning like it’s too painful to say.
“I’m not mad, Skylenna. I swear, I just want to understand.”
“The blood was everywhere,” she croaks.
Ruth takes a seat next to Warrose, stroking Skylenna’s sliced up feet.
“On my chest? Look, see? I’m fine now. They barely got me.”
“It was spilling on my lap. It covered my hands.” She holds her arms up to show me, fingers shaking at the effort. “It gushed over your chin as you tried to breathe.” Her small voice breaks, and hot tears leak over her swollen lids, streaming through the dried blood.
I suddenly wish I could reverse time, taking back my stupid fucking question. Taking back my faked death. Taking back her grief.
“Oh…” is all I can manage.
“And you stopped blinking. You stopped breathing.” Her cries turn hysterical. She chokes on snot and hiccups. “Oh, god, Dessin! I saw it happen again! I was there! You were—dying in my arms!”
Ruth reaches out to hold Skylenna’s hand, holding back her tears.
“Shhh, fuck, I’m so sorry. It’s my fault. It’s all my fault. I should have realized—”
“I begged you to come back, and—DaiSzek, he cried for you—and you were—so cold!”
The urge to cry with her builds like lava in my throat. Her entire body trembles in my lap, and I can feel the devastation fall from her in waves.
“I’m an idiot, baby. Look what I’ve done to you.” I panic, breathing erratically as I watch her drown. She’s like this because of me. I gave her irreversible scars. Wounds that can never be healed. That was the price we both paid.
And Kane’s guilt rising to the front is more than overwhelming, it’s cataclysmic.
“He’s safe,” Ruth says, grabbing Skylenna’s hand and plastering it to my bare chest. “You feel that? That’s Dessin’s heartbeat. He’s safe. He’s alive.”
I fail to stifle my shock as I watch Ruth.
“Say it, Skylenna. He’s safe with you.”
And just like that, Skylenna’s breathing slows, and she blinks away her tears with determination pinching her brow.
“He’s safe with me.”
Ruth smiles. “That’s right. You’re both safe.”
Skylenna leans her ear against my chest to listen to the steady rhythm. Sniffling, fighting to control her sobs.
I reach my hand out to grab Ruth’s thin fingers. I don’t think I’ve ever held her hand before, but it feels right. “Thank you,” I mouth.
I’m ashamed for snapping at her. Especially when her heart is this big. She didn’t need to come on this mission with us. She’s lived a sheltered life, never experiencing true terror like this prison presents. But she’s here. And she just made my girl feel better.
“You’re welcome,” Ruth whispers.
I rock Skylenna back and forth, savoring the way she clings to me. That even though she’s this powerful creature now, I’m still her rock. Nothing in the world is a better feeling than that.
“Dess? We’ll give you two some time alone. Ruth and I will get a shower and bring back some towels.”
I can hardly nod my head. It feels so damn good to hold her, to finally relax in this hell hole. But I’m grateful for the time alone. For the moments of peace with just the two of us.
“I’m sorry, Dessin. I fucked up,” Skylenna whimpers in my shoulder.
“No, you didn’t.” I kiss her hair several times. “Nothing matters now. It’s just you and me.”
