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She could have sworn there were more . . .
Rion halted mere inches away and lifted her bloody hand. He pressed a kiss to the back of her knuckles, seeming unfazed by the red liquid that now stained his lips.
Fear griped her anew “What’s going on?” Rion only smiled and handed her another dagger before he turned her to face the waiting crowd. She could sense them. Smell them. But all she saw were more shadows.
A civilian stood before her, shackled with his head bowed, as if he’d already accepted his fate.
The shadows chanted at her in a language she didn’t understand, but somehow she knew what they wanted.
And she couldn’t. Not again. She—
“Arianna.” She turned to his voice, but the Rion she remembered had vanished. The male before her wore that wicked smirk she’d glimpsed when he slayed his enemies. He was looking at her now like—
“Arianna.”
The image shattered and Arianna bolted upright, her heart slamming against her ribcage. She sucked down air, her gaze shooting around the dark room, then she focused on the disheveled sheets, the drawn curtains, and the light layer of frost covering everything.
“Breathe,” his gentle voice coaxed, nothing at all like the slick nightmarish one she’d heard seconds ago. And his face, it didn’t carry that horrid smirk. His eyes were calm. Concerned. “You’re safe.”
She did as he commanded and her breath clouded between them. Rion’s body shivered then she saw the ice. Not like the dusting of frost coating the dresser and floor. This had thickened around his hand and arm, covering it enough that the skin held a bluish hue.
Her heart jolted again and she lunged, quickly heating the cold limb.
“It’s fine.” She ignored the words and plunged her magic through his body, searching for anything amiss. That cold remained, his temperature still lower than it’d been before her father’s ritual.
And Gods, she’d just—
Rion tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at him. “I’m fine,” he repeated.
Arianna breathed in his scent and the truth in his words. She couldn’t count how many times they’d both woken from nightmares in the last two weeks. Too many times. And though their magic flared and raged, neither had harmed the other.
She fell into his arms and Rion pulled her back down into the thick blankets, holding her close.
Arianna had hoped returning home would lessen her fear. She’d hoped for some freedom, and yet it’d made everything worse. Instead of feeling calm, all her emotions were rushing to the surface, clawing against her restraint like a rabid beast. She cried, lashed out, and loved more fiercely than she’d ever done in her entire life.
Ellie had told her those thing were normal, that it was simply her mind finally processing everything it’d been through, but she wished it would process it differently.
Arianna’s gaze traveled toward the morning light filtering through their window. She’d hoped to sleep a little later today and let her body rest but even after a night tangled in her mate’s arms, her nightmares wouldn’t subside.
She tilted her head and scooted closer, nuzzling his throat before nipping at the tender skin.
His grip tightened. “Never satisfied, are you?”
She ran her fingers over his muscled chest. “I think we could lie here for centuries and I’d still want to be here centuries more.” His heart sped as it always did whenever she touched him, but it wasn’t from fear anymore. Not fear of her, anyway.
Rion captured her lips in a greedy kiss, his body pressing against her own, then he stiffened. All desire vanished as panic took its place. His magic rose from the small piles he’d deposited around the room, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end when he emitted a low growl.
Arianna’s magic responded to his and she craned her neck to listen for the intruder. She’d learned just how keen his senses were. Far more delicate than her own.
Then she scented the female. Ellie. Arianna sighed in relief. Ellie didn’t normally bother them here, but maybe there was an emergency.
Arianna swung her legs from the bed and pulled on a thick robe before padding toward the door. Rion followed close behind and Arianna pulled the door open before her sister even had a chance to knock.
She could feel Rion’s anxiety radiating down the bond, especially with Eoghan’s scent so close. The male kept far enough away from the door, but he never left.
Ellie stood a few feet from the threshold as she always did when she visited the cabin. Arianna took the gesture with gratitude. She could handle females while they walked the halls and within the infirmary, but something about this place had her instincts screaming. It had become their sanctuary.
Her little sister clasped her hands behind her back. “I’m just here to make sure you don’t forget about our plans.” Plans. The blank look on Arianna’s face must have been answer enough. “We’re supposed to go to Elview Falls today."
