‘What’s going on?’ I asked, concerned, and used my thumb to wipe away the blood.
Her mouth remained firmly shut, but signs of strain appeared. Sweat beaded on her pale brows, a vein pulsed on her forehead, and her teeth clenched like she was in pain. I realised with no small amount of horror that she physically could not answer my question. Something was preventing her from talking, and it was hurting her in the process.
Panic seized me, my chest tightening with fear. What was happening? Was she dying?
After all this time, all the doubts and fears that she was nothing more than a figment of my imagination, I had finally found her. I couldn’t fathom spending another moment of my life without her in it. I didn’t care if she had secrets, because it was clear shecouldn’ttell me, not that she didn’t want to. She was trying, even though doing so was putting her at risk. No secret was worth that.
‘Stop,’ I demanded. ‘It’s okay. I can’t stand to see you in pain, my soul flame. Don’t tell me if it causes you harm.’
She slumped against my chest, but the bleeding stopped, and her expression relaxed.
‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered, her voice weak.
‘Don’t be,’ I said, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, inhaling her scent in the process. I couldn’t get enough of it. Of her.
‘Does this happen a lot?’ I asked, but I wasn’t surprised when I got no response. ‘I see.’
I could only assume this curse she mentioned prevented her from talking about something, but whatever it was, we would get through it together. I was hers, just as much as she was mine, and I would find a way to free her from its clutches.
With that in mind, I had a new perspective on the situation. I had waited years for her, had been content to love her, remain loyal to her, even if only in my dreams, but now that I had her in my arms, I knew that would no longer suffice.
Perhaps the wish I had given her could help, but that was a longer conversation. I didn’t know how much she knew about Daemons, let alone Djinn, but I didn’t know what this curse was, or how it would interact with my magic. If she used her wish before this curse situation was dealt with, there was no saying what could happen. My magic could be twisted and corrupted by it, for all I knew. But then there was the possibility that the curse only activated upon her knowledge as a defensive response. The pain hadn’t started until I’d asked the question. She had the knowledge, but couldn’t share it. If that was the case, telling her about the wishes could prove dangerous. Yet, not telling her could create an equal risk.
There was only one thing to do. Until I had more information, it would be safer if she didn’t know.
I knew a lot was riding on this decision, but I didn’t know what other action to take. All I could do was pray I was doing the right thing. For her.
I stepped closer and took it as a good sign that she didn’t move away and pressed a tender kiss to the top of her head. ‘Come on. We should find our way back to the others. Oz will be worried about you.’
The mention of her kin snapped her out of whatever it was that glued her lips shut, and she tilted her head in curiosity. ‘Yeah, about that. How do you know him?’ she asked.
I smiled down at her and squeezed her closer, enjoying the feel of her naked body moulded against mine. The physical contact was a relief after years of believing she was a figment of my imagination. Here she was, fully tangible and very real, and I wanted to take full advantage of that.
‘I tried to help him and your friends stop you from stepping through the portal.’
She blinked at me in surprise. ‘You did?’
I chuckled and tapped her head. ‘You weren’t exactly present. I don’t blame you for not remembering.’
‘Right,’ she mumbled, all of a sudden taking a particular interest in her feet. Very cute feet with five tiny pink toes.
I wasn’t sure where this sudden timidity was coming from, but I wasn’t having it.
‘Look at me, my soul flame,’ I commanded, and held back the urge to preen when she immediately obeyed, her expression unmasked. ‘There is no shame in what has happened. If you haven’t noticed, we all got sucked in the same way.’
She flushed that brilliant shade of pink, bordering on red this time, as she smiled sheepishly. ‘Right. It’s not that…’
‘Oh,’ I murmured, confused. ‘What is it, then?’
She shrugged, clearly uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was taking. ‘It’s just… isn’t it a little weird that you met me in person before I met you? It must have been so weird to see me so checked out, magically hypnotised or otherwise. I don’t know, it’s stupid.’
Understanding dawned, and I held her a little tighter, pleased with her feelings even if I fully intended to reverse them because they meant she wanted to impress me just as much as I did her. Also, now probably wasn’t the time to tell her about the dreams.
‘You’re self-conscious.’
She scoffed and backhanded my stomach, though I hardly felt the blow. ‘Can you blame me? All I can imagine is me walkingaround like a zombie with drool dripping from my chin or something. That’s hardly attractive.’
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. She was so adorable.
