“We would have no way of finding each other if we did that,” Dormius argued.
He was right. As Naaz had said, we knewnothingof this world. With no way to navigate it, we could easily lose ourselves. And I didn’t have the time to risk that. Ineededto find her.
“We have to stick together,” I called out to them, feeling the weight of my sickness weighing me down to the floor.
“Can’t you just… track her or something?”
I turned to Kaiden with narrowed eyes, trying to understandwhyhe would think that I could do that. “Track her?”
“Well, you said you couldfeelher,” he argued, shrugging his shoulders. “Where is she, then?”
“That’s not how it works, Kaiden.” I dropped myself down into a seated position, resting my back against the tree.
“Then howdoesit work, Dez?” he pressed, raising his voice.
“Calm down.” Naaz placed a hand on his shoulder. “We need a plan.”
“And how exactly are we supposed to plan anything here?” Eris stepped up to them, but I couldn’t really see him anymore.
My eyes were blurring again. I tried to distract myself by staring at the ground, tuning out their voices.
While Eris, Naaz, and Kaiden argued, I heard a soft pair of footsteps approaching.
“Dez?” Cass asked, his voice easily recognizable. “Hey, are you alright?”
“No, Cass,” I snapped, bringing my hand to my chest where a tightness was beginning to grow, wrapping around my insides. “I’m not. I’m…”
For a moment, it felt as if something was crawling inside my pants, wrapping around my legs. My limbs were beginning to feel numb, and I couldn’t tell if I was imagining it.
“I just… need…” My eyes grew heavy, and my body slumped over, thankfully into Cass’s shoulder.
“Guys!” he yelled beside me, the sound of his voice like a sharp nail driving into my ears. “What— What is that?!”
When I finally had enough energy to turn my head, I saw the ground that I was sitting on had turned black. My breaths came in heavy pants, and I lifted my hands as I felt the sensation wrap around my fingers. That’s when I noticed small, misty, black vines wrapping around them.
“Shit!” Dormius yelled. “It’s on me!”
“Get it off!” Cain screamed.
But at that point, my vision had almost completely blurred. As the black vines spread across my body, I suddenly felt myself being yanked away. Darkness consumed my line of sight, and my head spun as I lost consciousness.
My heart pounded in my chest so hard that I could hear its pulse in my ears.
When I found the will to open my eyes again, something felt… wrong. My brain… My memory… Everything just seemed foggy. I had forgotten something, something Iknewwas important, but it remained lodged at the back of my tongue like a bad aftertaste.What was I doing?
I recognized my bedroom, the sconces on the wall burning bright against the dark night outside. Then, the sound of giggles echoed from the bathing room, and I pulled my brows together in confusion. Only a couple of seconds later, two—verynaked—bodies emerged from the doors.
Their giggles turned into laughter until their eyes landed on me, and the breath caught in their lungs. One of them stepped forward, and it took me a moment to realize who it was.
“My Lord,” she purred, her voice dripping in lustful venom as she stalked over with her hips swaying their sensual dance. “Did we wake you?”
Gwenyth stopped beside the bedpost, and the red-headed girl walked up behind her. She was a lot less confident in her strides, and a deep blush painted her cheeks as she stopped beside Gwen.
“I… No, I was just—” My words were once again frozen as I glanced at the door, like I expected someone else to walk in. “I don’t actually… know what I was doing,” I admitted.
Gwen cooed as she crawled onto the bed like a feline perching itself to attack. “Don’t worry, My Lord. We can tire you out again.”
The redhead giggled as Gwen reached a hand to her and invited the girl to join us on the bed. Without another look my way, she pulled the girl in, pressing their lips together. They both stood on their knees, hands roaming over each other’s waists, their hands reaching for their breasts with a gentle caress. For a moment, that nagging feeling started to fade as blood rushed down my chest, replaced with a deep, gnawing need.
