The world around me spins as my dream rushes to the forefront of my thoughts once again.
The shadowy figure scratched me.
“But it was a dream,” I mumble, trying to remind myself.
This can’t be real. Though there’s no amount of water that can get rid of it. The scratch is actually there, and it’s now aching dully from the harsh cleaning.
Jumping back to my feet, I pace the perimeter over and over again. My mind acting more like a broken record as I attempt to make sense of everything.
The more I try to picture the creature from my dream, the fewer details I can remember. Very similar to what happened when Grandma Julia and I were fighting. I swear an obscure shadow was standing behind her.
Shaking off the absurdity, there’s no way it’s the same thing.
“Nope, not possible,” I snap at myself. “But…” I pause my pacing and run my fingers through my hair for the millionth time. “Nope. No. Not possible.”
And we’re back to a broken record.
What’s happening to me?
Chapter 24
Adriel's POV
My eyes open and a smile instantly curls my face. This is how it has been for the past six days with Rami here. For the first time since being cursed, I truly look forward to being awakened.
Not bothering to wait for Ludo, I push upright and scoop him into my hands. He yawns broadly showing off his large incisors. He stretches out his back as I make large strides through my home and into my garden.
Today, though, Rami isn’t working in the garden. Snapping my head around, I look for him by the campsite he’s set up for himself. He’s not there either.
I open my mouth to call out for him; worry forms a knot in my chest and makes it hard to breathe. But before I utter a syllable, he rounds a corner near the edge of my territory.
His shirt is missing, leaving his slender torso exposed. My dick twitches in my breeches, desperate to know how his skin feels against mine.
His hair is a tangled mess as if he’s been running his fingers through it incessantly.
The black that only tainted the edges of his aura has infiltrated more, closer to his core strength, causing cracks to appear in it.
“No, no, no,” I mumble. “This can’t be happening.” Not twice in one lifetime.
This time, though, I won’t let them take him.
I rush to stop Rami’s spiral. I stand in his path to stop him. However, he’s buried too deep and therefore missed me entirely.
It’s worse than I thought.
I sling off my tunic and toss it gods know where. Ludo along with it. Hopefully, he’ll understand the desperation of the situation.
This time when I block his path, he has no choice but to either stop or run directly into me. When I finally see his eyes clouded over, I know for a fact that he’s not fully here with me. Bracing for impact, I spread out my arms.
“Mea robur.”My flesh ignites in a searing pain all over my chest when he collides against me. “Meum cor.”The agony threatens to force me to my knees as I wrap my arms around him. My vision fading around the edges. Gritting my teeth, I know I have to complete the spell.“Meus.”The pain buckles my knees, and gravity drags the two of us to the ground. His long lashes slowly flutter, and I know I’m so close. The last word is barely audible as the last of my strength is thrown into it. To protect my sweet Rami. “Amor.”
Chapter 25
Rami's POV
Electricity buzzes along my flesh, breaking me from the trance. Whatever that was in my dream managed to consume my thoughts until it was all I could think of.
But now that the darkness has receded, I feel safer and stronger than I ever have, despite the hum of power tickling uncomfortably along my entire body.
