“Aus, please. I’ll be okay for a few hours. They’ll be leaving me alone anyway.”
“How do you know?”
“They…”
I really didn’t want to get into it. I knew if I told him anything he’d storm in without thinking and I couldn’t live with myself if he died trying to get me out.
“Please, I need you to trust me. You won’t be any good at saving me if you get yourself killed. Take at least a few hours to come up with a plan and get some backup. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay.” He nodded once. “Whatever you say.”
“Thank you.”
I was relieved he didn’t fight me more. I’d left a few things out that I was looking forward to revealing later—a bit dramatically if everything went as planned.
“Can I…” he hesitated. “Can I kiss you?”
“Yes. It took you long enough to ask.”
I smiled—for the first time weeks, I had a genuine smile I couldn’t hold back. He chuckled lightly, his lips landing on mine a second later. So soft, a feather of a touch.
Not enough.
I moved my hands, threading my fingers through his hair. His hands went to my waist and he picked me up so I didn’t hurt my neck looking up at him. I clung to him, kissing him slow, nothing but love and relief behind it.
I knew we were running out of time. That we would be ripped from this moment in our minds and I would wake up in that cell. But for a minute, I let myself get lost in it, in him. Because it was almost over. He was coming. He would get me out.
And I would reduce this mountain to fucking rubble with my husband by my side.
I wokeup to Niko hovering over me.Did it work? Did you talk to him?
What?The word was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t force it out. Fuck, I needed to spend the day trying to remember how to talk.
Austin? Did it work? Did you get through?
I tilted my head. How did Niko know?
He read the confusion on my face.Sorry, I’ll start at the beginning.
He went on to explain all about another witch, an older witch who wanted to help me. He told me what Fuck Nut’s evil plan was and how the witch was involved. He even managed to explain the bridge in my mind—soulmates were definitely real.
I nodded, letting him know it did work. In fact, it was still working because the bridge was clear and I could talk to Austin right this second. I didn’t. I didn’t want to distract him from planning. I imagined he was probably already scouting the mountain for weak points. I wondered who he told. Were he and Eva back on speaking terms? I hadn’t asked any questions in our dream space because it hadn’t seemed important then, but now I was curious.
The questions kept me busy most of the day. I tried asking them out loud, tried getting my voice to work, but we weren’t there yet. So I moved on to planning my revenge. They were all here. I could end all of this tonight. I wondered if that was the reason the witch decided to reinstate our connection last night. Did she know about the meeting? About my powers?
The day seemed to drag on and on.
They left me alone, coming by twice with food but never entering the cell. It was weird to actually have a day to myself. Well, a day with just me and Niko—who was excitedly floating around the cell, chatting away.
I had to put myself back in nonreactive mode before my third meal came. It was hard because Niko was so fucking happy. I knew he missed the other shadows; I was sure he missed his moody and brooding master too (not as much as I did, but a bit), even if he insisted I was his favourite.
I finished dinner, threw the tray through the slot in the door like usual, and began pacing the cell. It was April now. Sunset was usually around 7. Dinner came at 5:30 every night—Niko always made sure I knew what day and what time it was so I didn’t lose track of it while I was trapped in darkness. If it wasn’t for this little shadow, I probably would have lost my mind weeks ago.
But 7 p.m. was coming in fast and I still hadn’t been able to muster a word. I was getting more and more frustrated. I silenced myself so that they wouldn’t win and now I couldn’t get myself to make a sound so they were still fucking winning.
Niko paced with me.It’s okay, you’ll get it. It’s been a few weeks. It’s going to take more than a few hours.
Yes, rationally I knew that, but I was still upset with myself that it wasn’t coming back to me faster. Granted, I had a ton going through my mind right now, but why were a few words so fucking hard to get out?
