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Yes, that sound actually exists. It’s coming through my ear, into my head. I can hear it, understand it. Is that possible? I don’t know. What does it all mean? There’s light. It penetrates my closed lids. What if I open them? Will I see
something? Will it hurt just as much as the darkness? No, I couldn’t endure that again. What kind of strange dream is this? I want to wake up, right now. Stop hoping for life. Because that will never happen. It will just make me relive my torment. And I’ve made my peace with it. I’m dead. Dead! Dead!
“We have to do something. We can’t let him get away with this. You can see what he’s done to Tess. If you don’t do something, I will.”
That voice. I know it. My heart lurches painfully. It can’t be real. I imagined it. But what’s this that I’m feeling? Fingertips tirelessly caressing my skin. Soothing, warming. They convey safety. They call to me. Images pop into my mind. Ayden holding me. His laugh and those fathomless green eyes. His warmth, his solace, his love.
I wish I could reach out and touch him. But none of this is real. Just another method of torture imposed on me in my personal hell.
I open my eyes a crack, and light floods in. It feels good, not painful. A hand wanders into my field of view. Is it mine? It reaches its destination and cautiously touches the fingertips that are caressing me. I can feel them! Can’t I? There’s warm, smooth, firm skin there. I can even smell him. But … but that’s …
“Tess?” Ayden says quietly, and his face comes into view. I see it through my half-open eyelids. It’s as beautiful as I remember it. He can’t be real. This just can’t …
He tenderly touches my cheeks and looks at me with those phenomenally beautiful eyes. He looks at me with a piercing gaze. It awakens something in me, brings the dead part of me back to life. I try to open my lips, but it’s so hard.
“You’re safe now,” he says. “I’m so happy I found you.” He leans his forehead against mine and kisses me. It’s a very gentle touch – tender and full of promise. My feelings slowly return. My memories. My sense of self.
I don’t know how many hours have passed. Ayden held me in his arms and kept saying soothing words to me. I finally calmed down and … slept.
When I woke up again, Ayden was still there. I vaguely remember the presence of another person. But I’m not sure who it was or when that happened. What time is it? I lift my head and discover that I’m in a hospital room. Probably the hunters’ infirmary. The light from a streetlamp shines through the window. I can see the moon shining in the sky. No darkness anymore. No blackness.
I look at Ayden, who’s fallen asleep. The sight of him touches my soul so deeply that it shakes my foundations. And that bursts open what remains of my prison. I’m not dead. I’m alive. And I’m so endlessly thankful for that.
I reach out and touch his soft hair, his warm skin; I breathe in his scent. I’m safe.
He opens his eyes, straightens up, and smiles when he sees me.
“What …” My voice sounds strange, as if I’ve just been resurrected from a deep grave. “What happened? How can I be here again?”
“Mr. Cunningham found you,” Ayden explains as his fingers glide through my hair. He looks as if he can’t believe that he almost lost me.
My forehead creases. “How is that possible? Where was I anyway?” A face pierces my memory like a dagger. “Alfredo,” I mutter. “He attacked us. Frida. Yoru.” I sit up in fright, but Ayden holds me back.
“It’s okay. Yoru’s here.” He nods at the floor beside the bed, and sure enough, I see a black nose reaching up toward me. Relief floods through me. He’s unharmed. I cuddle my key spirit, who nestles up to me. I sense his fear, his concern, and his unbridled happiness at our reunion.
“It’s thanks to him that we found you,” says Ayden.
I look at my spirit with gratitude. “How … how did it happen?”
“After you disappeared, I searched everywhere for you. I quickly realized that Alfredo must have been involved in your disappearance. I went to him …”
I can imagine how that conversation went.
“He took immense pleasure in seeing how scared I was for you. He said I’d never see you again and that the pain would slowly consume us both. And that was his plan all along. He wanted us to personally experience what he went through. He said that the worst part was not knowing.” Ayden’s eyes are stormy with rage, fear, and desperation. “I had no idea where you could be, but I searched everywhere. And eventually, I realized I couldn’t do it alone. I went to Mr. Cunningham. He likes you, and he’s no fan of the Fabricis, so I hoped he would help me, and he immediately agreed. We went to the Odyss. It took a long time, but eventually, Snow heard a noise. Yoru had been throwing himself repeatedly against the door in the memory bubble room. That’s how we found him.”
“Did you … did you see Frida?” I ask, afraid of the answer.
He nods slowly. “She’s dead. I’m so sorry.”
So she didn’t make it. Tears well up in my eyes as I’m swamped by memories of her. We’d only just found each other, and although we never knew each other previously and could barely communicate, we had a connection. Frida gave her life for me, and I’ll never see her again.
“After we found Yoru, he led me and Mr. Cunningham to this room. He must have taken note of which door Alfredo summoned,” Ayden continues. His face darkens. “Mr. Cunningham recognized the door. And he instantly knew that Alfredo had followed through with his threat.”
Oh yes, he certainly did. Alfredo went all out. There’s nothing worse he could have done to me.
“Mr. Cunningham opened the door. It was completely dark inside. He shone a flashlight into the room, and there you were, lying on the ground. At first, I thought you were dead.”
So that was the dazzling light I saw.
