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He caressed my cheek. “I believe so.”
My heart beat frantically in my chest. “How do you know you’ve found her?”
“It’s a powerful feeling that can’t be explained in words, a connection as natural as breathing.” He tilted his head. “Surely you understand such an emotion, or am I wrong to assume such a thing?”
The emotions I’d long given up trying to suppress washed over me—beautiful, powerful warmth that filled my entire being. I ached to share this feeling with him but was still afraid. It felt too impossible to believe that I could still have him after all I’d done. Yet despite my mistakes and how much I’d hurt him, I still ached for his Pair to be me. Was a future together still within reach?
Darius squeezed my hand before continuing our ascent up the mountain. I stumbled after him. “If you think you’ve found her, why aren’t you two together?”
He smiled wistfully. “Just because I’ve found the other half of my heart doesn’t mean she’s ready for our union. I can’t rush her, especially if she doesn’t feel what I do quite yet.”
But I do, I thought desperately...unless it wasn’t me he referred to. A sharp pain pierced my heart at the possibility.
“I don’t want to hurt her in any way,” Darius continued. “Although I’m afraid I’m too late in that regard.” His expression twisted, as if the thought of his Pair’s pain was truly torturous. “She’s in a lot of pain, something I’m desperate to help her heal from.” He turned his coveted attention away from me back to the trail curving up the mountain. “We’re almost there, Eden. I truly think you’ll love this.”
“How do you know?” I whispered.
He offered me one of his crooked grins. “Just a hunch. I have those about you quite often.” And he squeezed my hand again.
Moments later, the path reached the summit and flattened. I gasped in wonder at the beautiful sight that greeted us as we stepped through the silvery mist. Countless stars surrounded us, a vast ocean of glistening light stretching as far as I could see, seeming so vast and deep that I felt as if I could tumble into the sky and bathe myself in starlight.
I released a sigh of awe. “Oh, Darius.”
Although I didn’t sever my gaze from the wonder before me, I sensed his ecstatic grin. “Enchanting, isn’t it? I knew you’d love it.”
“I do. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.”
“I have.” His reverent tone compelled me to meet his gaze, soft as he stared not at the beauty around us, but at me. I smiled shyly in return.
Darius settled on the grass and pulled me down beside him, wrapping his arm around me to nestle me close. I stared out against the surrounding night, full of velvety blackness yet with so many stars lighting it up it didn’t seem dark at all. Their silvery light danced across us and made me feel aglow. For several minutes we sat in the reverent silence as we gazed at the sea of stars.
In all my time since coming to the Nightmare Realm, I’d never felt as peaceful as I did now. Until this moment I’d believed it was a place devoid of color, but now I realized that my colorless existence had merely been a mirror reflecting the lack of happiness within me. Sitting beside Darius made me feel full of vibrancy and life, as if after all this time I was finally able to breathe again.
“There are so many stars,” I murmured.
“They’re always there no matter how dark the night.”
I smiled at such a beautiful thought. “Do you believe there are still stars inside me?”
“I have no doubt.”
I cradled his words close as I nestled deeper into his arms, relishing the comfort and security that came from his embrace. I continued staring at the surrounding sky and gasped as one of the stars shining in the ocean of light shot across the sky in blazing color.
Darius nuzzled his nose against my neck. “Make a wish, Eden.”
I closed my eyes. I wished for so many things, all of which felt impossible to grant—I wished to find myself, to somehow atone for all my mistakes and grow from them, to overcome my stubborn pride, to belong somewhere, to return to the Dream Realm and weave for Maci again, to rekindle my friendship with Angel and Iris, to finally receive Mother’s approval...but most of all I wished for this moment to last forever, for in Darius’s arms I felt that I was finally home.
I didn’t realize I was smiling until I felt Darius trace it with his fingertip, as if trying to memorize it. “Did you make one?” he murmured.
“I made several. Did you wish for anything?”
“I did, and like all my wishes, it’s about you. There’s nothing more I need than for you to be alright. Please, Eden.”
I longed to believe him. “But how can anything ever be alright ever again?”
“It will,” he promised. “It may not seem so right now, but I’m confident that with time, you’ll heal and emerge not only stronger but with a greater understanding of yourself.”
I sighed wearily. “What is there to understand? How much of a Nightmare I am?”
