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He pressed his forehead against mine, his voice the only thing I could hear as he called out to me. That, too, was fading, and I heard him cry out my name loudly in the distance darkness.
* * *
The sounds of twigs and brush, bending and snapping, reached my ears, and the smell of stone and burning candles faded into damp earth and trees. My eyes popped open, and I gasped for air. Panic shot through me, I was being carried. Where was I?
“Cassie! Cassie, you’re ok! Easy!” Hands held me as I fought, and they struggled to ease me to the ground.
I recoiled, but Damien planted his hands on my shoulders firmly, settling his face before me. His crystalline eyes locked with mine, and I knew he was there with me. It was real, not a dream.
“They don’t have you anymore. You’re safe with us.”
“Damien?” My voice shook as I dangled on the edge of a mental breakdown. My reality was a blur, and I couldn’t discern where I was or what was happening.
“Where—” I frantically looked around for the babe the attendants had taken from the room, tears now rolling down my cheeks, my voice shaken. “Where’s Emilia?”
Damien froze at the name the moment it left my lips. Shock and sorrow filled his expression, and he faltered.
“Mea luna...” He paused, his eyes searching for strength as he began to waver. His hands moved to mine, holding them as he leaned into me. He didn’t respond, couldn’t respond, for some reason.
My mind was struggling to come to terms with reality, of where I was. Tears soaked my cheeks, and I realized I wasn’t in the stone room anymore. I looked down at myself. I was in a sweater and jeans instead of robes. I was no longer in the bed where I’d lain bleeding out, in agony. Dying.
Had Marcus succeeded in driving me insane? What was real and what wasn’t? The reality of the dream I’d seen was beginning to fade, but the hurt burned into me in a way I couldn’t comprehend.
“What’s happening to me, Damien?”
Barrett and Cole were nowhere to be seen, and I assumed Barrett had gone ahead of us to secure Cole. It was only Vincent and Zephyr now, but they stood back, giving us space. Vincent’s eyes lowered, unable to meet mine, but Zephyr watched me, the hurt in his eyes sinking into me.
“I’ll explain, I promise, but I want to make sure you’re okay first.” Damien’s words dripped with the same depth of pain I was still reeling from.
My hand slid down to my flat stomach where I’d carried a child just moments ago. To feel it that way was a painful reminder that I would never be able to bear a child myself, never get to have a family of my own.
Damien reached his hand behind my head as he pressed his lips to my forehead and brought my face to his shoulder. “I was so scared I wouldn’t find you in time.”
The effects of the vision were beginning to ease. Yet it still remained, like a deep wound I might never heal from. I pulled back, taking a deep breath and I rubbing the tears from my face.
“I know you're hurt, Cas. How bad is it?” He looked me over, seeking confirmation that I was truly all right.
I smiled weakly. “I… I don’t think anything is broken. Marcus fixed my nose—” His eyes flashed, and my words cut short, wishing I hadn't mentioned it.
He was covered in sweat, dirt, and blood. I noticed the rip in his shirt, a diagonal cut that revealed a gash down his chest. Marcus must have pulled a knife on him at some point during their fight.
“I should have fucking slit his throat when I had the chance,” he said through clenched teeth, pressing his balled fist to his face as he fought to contain the anger that radiated off him.
“How long did they have me for? What day is it?” I asked, guiding the conversation away from Marcus. Guilt replaced the worry, as his eyes left mine. My heart crumbled at the sight of it. I hated seeing him this way, hated being the cause of his grief.
He finally spoke. “We’ve been looking for you for five days now.”
Five days? Had it only been that long? It had felt like weeks. “Are my parents, okay?” I asked.
“They’re ok; they’ve been searching for you as well. We formed a search party. The guys and I scoured the woods, while the cops and your parents searched the city. Naturally, we could move a lot faster behind coverage. The last thing we wanted was for your parents or the police to find you. Gods forbid what could have happened.”
My stomach flipped at the thought of it. It would have been a blood bath. Who knew how far Marcus would’ve gone? How many people would he have slaughtered? It was clear that he held no remorse, no morality, not with the things he did to me, the way he killed Melissa. It was clear that taking human life was no different to him than swatting away a fly.
The fact that the police were involved processed in my mind. It would put Damien and the others in a difficult position if the police were able to gain any information. “I promise, I won’t tell the cops anything. I’ll tell them I couldn’t see who took me.”
A look of pure endearment came to life in his eyes as he stared down at me. “I was never worried about that. I didn’t doubt for a moment that our secret was safe with you,mea luna.” He nodded over his shoulder to the others. “Come on, let’s get you home.”
My hand involuntarily clutched his arm tightly, and I didn’t move. “No.” My voice was weak, almost as if I’d whispered.
