“He kept calling meserafyn.” My mouth works awkwardly around the foreign word. “What does that mean?”
Instead of answering, Nyx and Rhune share a look I can’t understand.Stupid demon telepathy.“Want to clue me in on what you guys are thinking?”
“It’s probably nothing…” Nyx blinks, his smile returning in a flash. “I’ll talk to Cin about it later once he’s lucid again. See what he meant by it.”
“Okay…”
The demons fall into silence once more, and based on the intense expressions they’re wearing, I’d bet they’re having another heated telepathic conversation.
While they’re distracted, I take the opportunity to get up and look around Nyx’s room. Neither of them make a fuss when I slide out of the furs and make my way over to Nyx’s wall of trinkets, so I’m guessing it’s fine to do a little snooping.
Hundreds of artifacts line the shelves—human andother—a vast collection that any museum would itch to get their hands on. My eyes are drawn to a particular glittering object at the far back of the lowest shelf. It looks to be a rough chunk of glittering rock, but it calls to my soul in a way I can’t explain.
I lean in closer to inspect the treasure, gasping when I realize it looks identical to the walls of that pit I saw in my vision. It even has those tiny fissures of glowing blue light—the ones that make it look like marble.
I don’t realize I’m reaching for it until it’s too late.
As soon as my fingertips brush the object, a frozen chill shoots down the length of my spine, and black spots crowd my vision until there is nothing but a cold, dark emptiness.
In the distance, I can make out a faint blue, pulsing light. And at the center of it is the tree from my vision.
The sight rips the air from my lungs, leaving me gasping for breath on my knees. With all the strength I can muster, I rip my hand away from the stone, and I go careening back from the wall.
My ass connects with the hard ground, sending pain shooting up my tailbone and bringing tears to my eyes. For a moment, I sit there gasping around nothing, unable to think or breathe past the pain and shock.
When I come down, I notice that Rhune and Nyx are crowded around me, their beautiful eyes shining with so much fear. But… it’s almost like they’re afraid ofme…
“What’s wrong?” My voice comes out raspy, as if I’ve been screaming. “Why do you look like something horrible has happened?”
“Your eyes…” Nyx shakes his head, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly. “They’re… they’re…”
“Is there something wrong with them?” Worry settles like a stone in my gut as I imagine all the worst possible scenarios. The demons look at each other suspiciously, and I lose my mind. “Someone tell me what the fuck is happeningright now.”
“You should see for yourself,” Nyx whispers. He retrieves a human mirror from his wall of trinkets, returning to me with twice as much worry in his gaze.
Fuck. This is not good.
Unable to bear the suspense, I grab the mirror from Nyx’s hand and hold it up to my face. Astonishingly, there is now a dark red ring around my pupil, spreading into the brown. It’s weird, but that’s not what concerns me.
My eyes are bleeding.
13
Nyx
Willow chokes on a scream,and the mirror slips from her slender fingers, crashing to the ground and sending shards of glass flying across the floor.
“I… I’m so sorry.” She reaches for one of the shards, but Rhune intercepts her—bringing her hand to his heart instead.
“Don’t worry about that.” Rhune works hard to keep his voice level. “We will clean it later.”
Through the bond, I can tell he’s seconds away from losing his mind. His heart rate is erratic, and his blood pressure is through the roof. He won’t let any of his fear show, though. He won’t allow himself to worry Willow any more than she already is.
“Does anything hurt?” I ask calmly. “Your eyes? Your face? Anything under the surface?” On the inside, I’m ready to leap out of my skin.If something is wrong with her… I do not know how I will survive…
Willow shakes her head. “Nothing hurts. I didn’t even realize…” She reaches up toward her face—no doubt to touch the blood—but Rhune grabs that hand, too, bringing it to where her other one rests.
“We will clean you, too,” I say. “But we have to make sure you’re okay, first.”
