I blink. And blink again. Kyor’s face stares at me, ashen with fear.
‘It was a dream, Rose.’ He runs his hands down the side of my cheek, and my eyes clench closed again. It’s all I can do not to scream. ‘It was a dream. Look at me. Look at me, Rose. I need you to see me. It was a dream, just a bad dream, but it’s over now. I promise you. It was just a dream.’
I want to believe him, but the adrenaline that surges through me is all too real. How could a dream cause that?
I’m shaking, trembling, and my breaths are coming in huge, gaping sobs.
‘Rose, please, love. You’re okay.’
In the only movement I can manage, I open my eyes and look down to his right shoulder. A stifled cry catches in my throat.
It’s gone.
The green veins have gone, and the rawness of the wound has returned.
Itwasa dream. Just a Godsdamn dream. A nightmare.
‘I thought …’ I hiccup. ‘I thought …’
‘It’s okay now.’ He doesn’t need me to explain as he pulls me into his chest. My skin is soaked. With sweat? With tears? Who knows.
‘It was so real,’ I whisper. ‘It was so … You were so—’ I mumble, struggling to find the words.
‘It’s okay,’ he repeats, his hand threading through my hair, smoothing the braid he somehow managed with his wounded arm. ‘I’ve got you. You’re okay. Everything’s okay.’ His murmuring continues as my sobs stutter and start. ‘Everything’s okay.’
‘We’re not, though, are we?’ I say, pulling away from him. ‘You nearly died.’
‘But I didn’t. I’m here.’
‘This time. This time.’
He plants a kiss upon my forehead, but I shake my head, trying to push the images of the nightmare away from me. A nightmare this time, but who knows when it will be more than that.
‘Thorn, we’ve made it through some pretty shit things before, right? You’re a warrior. A survivor. You dove into the water with a fucking kraken. No hesitation. TheMyrkrshould be afraid ofyou.’
My dry laugh cracks into the quiet. ‘Thank you,’ I murmur as the hysteria finally begins to fade. ‘Thank you for this.’
His hand brushes against my cheek, his thumb skimming my bottom lip as softly as a feather. A whimper I have no control over breaks loose into the air, and I see the flash in his eyes.
Not a distraction. That’s what we promised each other, and yet never have I wanted his distraction more. My heart aches as I try to quash the memory of us only hours before. Of his body on mine.
‘I thought I’d lost you,’ I whisper, running my fingers around the tender skin of his wound. If my touch hurts, he doesn’t show it.Not so much as a flinch.
‘Never,’ he whispers back, planting a kiss on the top of my head. ‘Inevitable, remember?’
Are we? In this moment, as the shards of light brighten over the contours of his body, I feel like we are. Like the Gods keep pushing us together.
And yet, I know better than most the twisted games the Gods play.
The slightest hint of his static cascades across my skin. It’s so faint it’s barely perceptible, and yet I know it’s him. Toying with me.
Slowly, he lies back down, taking me with him, but as my eyes hold his fast, I realise I’m so close to him that he’s squashed up against the wall.
‘I should give you some space,’ I whisper.
He chuckles sadly. ‘When have I ever wanted space from you, Thorn?’
His eyes are unblinking as his lips hover by mine. Butterflies swarm in my stomach as I wait for him to move. Wait for the kiss my body yearns for. And yet it doesn’t come. Does he think I regret what happened?
