AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yes, I do.”
But the more I walk beside Caelan through the black stain of existence, the more I start to doubt myself. It makes my stomach churn, every doubt and anxiety irrationally flaring up a thousand-fold.My fault.It’s my fault Elias is mad. It must be.
It feels like it could bring me to my knees, seep into every crack and tear my mind apart. There’s a cold sweat beginning to bead on my forehead.
Caelan reaches up and grazes his knuckles against my cheek. “You’re pale as hell. We should get outta here. Elias is right, it ain’t any good for you.”
I grit my teeth. “I’m not leaving without him!”
I pull away from Caelan, and that’s the worst thing I could have done. I’ve barely taken one step away, and yet somehow, he’s vanished entirely into the darkness. My heart jumps to my throat, barely holding back a terrified sob. My sense of direction is already completely thrown off. I turn desperately, stumble, and run—
Straight into Elias.
Elias is there, and I immediately fall, trembling, into his arms. The world shifts around us, and we’re back home in the master bedroom.
“What are you doing,” he says, voice dripping poison and near cracking with the effort of not shouting.
I sink to my knees.Shit. He’s mad.Even though we’re not in the abyss anymore, the room seems like it’s darkening and closing in around me, wood shrieking beneath the weight of his power. His shadows are all around him, seeping from him like a living entity, a writhing, roiling mess, more violent than I’ve ever seen them before. They flare out like a thunderstorm, a black cloud almost as terrifying as the abyss itself.
“E-Elias …” He could break me with a single look. Yet still, I stand and face him. “Caelan said you were upset. I wanted to see if you were all right.”
“Stupid,” he accuses, harsh enough to make me wince.
“I love you, and I didn’t want you to be alone,” I desperately try to explain.
Elias’ expression morphs, and for a moment I see fear beneath his barely controlled rage. “Do you have any idea how badly you could have been hurt?” he roars. He turns on Caelan, who I didn’t even realize was there. He must have followed us back out to reality. Elias snarls. “Howdareyou take that sort of risk with her.”
“Chill the hell out,” Caelan spits back. “If you weren’t sulking in there in the first place, she wouldn’t’ve gone after you.”
“Please. If I did something wrong,tell me.”
Elias’ lips turn up into a sneer, eyebrows furrowing with the effort of trying to calm his temper, shove it all down again, and go back to pretending everything is fine. Caelan’s right, he’s going to snap soon. Anything I say risks making it worse.
“Caelan told me… about you wanting me to move in.” God, I’m risking making it so much worse. “Is that what…”
“I won’t let you go,” Elias says, and it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
Slowly, he steps toward me, and instinct makes me back away until I end up hitting the wall.Afraid. Oh, God. I’m afraid of him.
“Yes,” he acknowledges bitterly. “We were going to offer, but do you think I ever had good intentions? I would keep you here. Slowly cut you off from everything. You’d finish your degree. Quit your job. And then you’d stay. I’dmakeyou stay. No one else can ever have you!”
He slams his hands into the wall on either side of me, and I gasp. It’s the same intensity as when he gets possessive of me in bed, but worse. So much worse.
“If I had my way, I’d keep you all to myself forever.”
“I’m trying to be better for you.”
That was what he’d said before. And now it’s clear his jealousy and possessiveness run far, far deeper than he’d let on.
“Fuck’s sake, you’re scaring her!”
“Stay out of this, Caelan.”
Elias cups my face, and I tremble at his touch, heart pounding. His eyes are pure black. “This is what I am, dear. A monster. I will sink my claws in, and I won’t let go until you break. You need. To. Run.”
“No,” I insist.
Anguish flashes across his face. “Don’t you get it?” Elias snarls. “Anyone else, I wouldn’t care. I would claim them and use them until they had nothing left to give. That’s what Ido. But you…” He pauses, and for a moment, he leans in and presses his forehead against mine. His voice comes out strained. “I don’t want that for you.”
