Black.
Black.
Black.
The color sinks into my soul like the sun on my skin.
Castle Noir …
I breathe big, clear,beautifulbreaths as I look at my arms, stretching them out. Tipping them both ways.
No boils.
The scars on my palms are gone, and my hands fly to my neck—blissfully smooth.
No bite wounds …
How—
Deep rumbling sounds come to me, and my gaze bolts around the ungarnished walls.
A familiar window looks out onto a stormy night sky, and my pulse churns, stare halting on the easel that boasts an unfinished sketch I’ve seen before—resting hands that seem so at ease. Blinking back prickling emotions, I look to the fireplace glowing with a scattering of pulsing embers casting the room in a warm, red glow. I suck a gasp, heart stilling at the monstrous mound of black fur, huge paws, and wide, unblinking eyes nesting before it.
Looking at me.
I’m pelted with a vision of Rhordyn’s flesh splitting, sprouting an inky pelt that was soon splashed in blood. Echoes of his pained lament impale me, tears puddling my lower lids.
Dripping down my cheeks.
Another smooth rolling sound vibrates through my chest, his placid gaze fixed.
His ears prick forward as I sit up so I can get a better look.
Scraps of material litter the floor surrounding him—as though he took control so fast Rhordyn had no time to remove his pants. Those big, glossy eyes trace me as I wiggle toward the side of the bed and set my feet on the cold stone floor, heart pounding.
Another deep rumble fills the room. Fills my chest—like he’s pouring the sound straight through my ribs; almost a purr that sprouts me full of a strong sense of …
Safety.
I remember the funny dream I had that feels like a nuzzling truth, getting comfortable amidst the ashy gloom. A dream where a blood-lusting beast was part of me, sewn into my seams. It was crunching through bones. Pitted with this raw, archaic belief that the blood I drew equated the love I had for …someone.
I remember the crippling sense of inadequacy as I watched that someone fall.
Me.
The dreams … They’re like trinkets of truth passed to me. Trinkets I tuck away to examine later.
I edge forward in slow, cautious steps, Rhordyn’s shirt swimming around me, brushing against my thighs. The beast stays bound around himself, the tip of his long, fluffy tail flicking side to side.
Rusty firelight warms my prickling skin as I draw close enough that his deep, rumbling breaths dapple my bare legs, fluttering the shirt’s hem. Stilling, I lower to my knees, peering straight into those fathomless globes.
“You—”
My voice chimes like a honey-sewn song, and my hand slaps upon my throat.
Why do I sound so strange? Where has my rasp gone?
Did that heal too?
