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She fakes an outraged expression. “You won’t save me some?”
Rather than answering her question, I say, “Come find us when you’re ready.”
Chapter 28
Cia
“Comefinduswhenyou’re ready.”
Kai’s words reverberate around the walls of my brain.
“Come find us when you’re ready.”
What if I don’t know when that is?
I don’t feel ready, far from it. Then again, I don’t feel much like myself—but I’m me regardless of whether I feel it or not.
Scoffing, I bury my head in the pillows. I’m Acacia motherfucking Kronos, and the blood of a dragon runs through my veins. Yet, I feel like mush, with nothing more than snot and tears running down my face in a steady stream.
I know I’m a far cry from the person I ought to be, the woman I was trained to become. That’s not me, and I’m scared I’ll never be able to reach that version of myself again. My confidence is shattered, my soul is shell-shocked. I can’t fathom the evil of my family… no, of myrelatives.No one acting like that gets to call themselves my family.
We don’t get to choose our relatives, but I’ve chosen my family.
Liam.
Gus.
Kai.
I love each of them fiercely, just as I know they do me. Right now, that feels like nothing more than words. It’s as though my body and mind have forgotten how to really feel anything but emptiness and grief.
The nothingness is a cruel undertow, constantly flirting with my mind, keeping me locked in a bar-less prison. One I don’t know how to escape.
“Come find us when you’re ready.”
I’m not ready.
Chapter 29
Gus
Myhandperchesonthe door handle as it’s done for the last ten minutes, if not longer. The soul-deep cries and sobs coming from the bathroom are devastatingly brutal, freezing me in place. I don’t know if joining Cia is the right thing to do.
It’s been two weeks since Kai came out of the bedroom, claiming she was ready to heal with us. What a load of fucking bullshit. Yes, she started joining us for meals, and has even been out in the garden a handful of times. But the woman walking this house isn’t Cia, it’s her fucking shadow. A hollow look-alike that mimics human emotions, but doesn’t feel them.
In other words, it’s a fraud.
Before I can talk myself out of what I came here for, I open the door and walk into the room that’s so heavy with steam that it’s hard to see much of anything. Cia hasn’t turned the ventilation on or opened the window. Instead, she’s sitting in the middle of the large bathtub, letting the water from the showerhead pelt down upon her. Judging by the steam, the water must be scalding.
Rushing towards her, I almost slip on the fucking rug as my eyes fall on the blood trailing down her arm. Kicking the fucking rug aside with a curse on my tongue, I wordlessly climb into the tub, where I immediately wrap my body around hers.
I was right, the water is uncomfortably hot, but that doesn’t matter when she clings to me instead of pushing me away. A clinking sound has me looking down, and my eyes widen. A pocket size knife now lies at the bottom of the tub. The blade is only slightly longer than the wound on her upper arm.
“What did you do?” I ask, horrified.
“I-I… Gus…” She isn’t making much sense, but I don’t care. Hugging her closer, I begin to rock her much smaller body.
Even though she’s completely naked, I don’t feel anything but the need to protect surge inside me. Okay, that’s a lie. Her delicious body pressed against mine is making me hard as rock. But I’ve known Cia my entire life, yet I’ve never seen her like this. She’s always faced everything head on, with her shoulders squared and her spine straight.
