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And now here she was again. Looking from the shadows as someone else stood in the limelight, talking about her ideas.
It’s not like that, the calm, level-headed part of her said.
But she couldn’t listen to it. Her mind was whirling out of control, and she felt so small and alone.
Again.
The wounds she’d tried so hard to patch up had been ripped open, stitches and blood flying everywhere.
She was still a cog, only in someone else’s machine now.
She was distantly aware a bell rang in the distance and the bodies around her began moving. A shadow stood in front of her, looming.
“Darcy?” Nazyn’s gentle voice sounded like it was coming from a different dimension. “The event is about to begin.”
She didn’t answer. She couldn’t even look at him. She was still fighting to breathe, her entire body fueled by nothing but fear–and anger.
“Darcy?” Nazyn tried again. He placed his hand gently on her shoulder, and her traitorous body wanted to lean into his warm touch.No. “Are you okay?”
No, she fucking wasn’t.
This isn’t like before, that soothing voice pleaded in her mind.
Then why did it feel like she was breaking all over again?
Finally, she looked up, letting all her disappointment shine through her gaze. Nazyn frowned.
Good.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Doesn’t matter,” she said with a pained smile, even as her heart constricted. She shrugged off his hand as politely as possible. “You’re the boss, after all.”
10
NAZYN
Whathad he done?
As Nazyn and Darcy made their way through the rows of tables, he could feel the waves of sorrow wafting off her. He kept trying to catch her gaze, but she was expertly avoiding it; her shoes must have been fascinating, because she kept looking at them.
Since she was the only one in this roomnotlooking at Nazyn, they couldn’t exactly stop and talk in front of all these people.
He tried to, though, when they reached their own round table, piled high with some sort of contraption that had green cables and glowing flowers curled around each other. Come to think of it, there were far too many plants in this room, springing up at every corner, with a massive tree tucked next to the wall near the massive windows. Was this an interior room or a forest?
As soon as Darcy sat down, he leaned over, whispering, “What’s wrong?”
She turned, a torn look on her face. But before she could reply, Elias appeared next to Nazyn, with a speed at odds with his age.
“The crowd is waiting for us.” He chuckled good naturedly and fixed his glasses. “No dilly-dallying at the Forum, scientists love punctuality.”
Nazyn clenched his jaw. Duty called, but Darcy was clearly uncomfortable with something, and after the whole coat debacle, he’d promised himself he’d notice and–
“We’ll talk after,” she said, before turning toward the stage.
Nazyn shook his head, but the motion did nothing to order his thoughts. Good think Kiara had rehearsed the speech with him a few times before leaving, or he would’ve been in trouble.
Darcy said they would talk later, so they would. When the time came, he would devote his full attention to her.
