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I walked to the bed and looked down at her as she slept. She was lying on her side, the blanket clutched under her chin. Her pale hair splayed out behind her, her rosy lips parted ever so slightly.
She was perfect.
I climbed into the bed, laying against her back. She murmured softly, stilling as I pulled her into my chest. I kissed her soft golden hair, over and over, breathing in her delicate scent.
She wasmine.
And even though I knew it was dangerous, even though I knew I shouldn’t, I closed my eyes, and allowed sleep to take me. Because all I fucking wanted was to sleep peacefully with her in my arms. Right then, it was the most precious gift I could have ever received.
Because I knew, within myself, that there was no way in Nav it would ever last.
Chapter23
Elara
The sun was beating down on me, sweat and blood blurring my vision as I ran. I was getting closer, ever closer to the boy, the tiny boy who was crying for his mother. A lion roared behind me. Theron was laughing.
I’d almost reached the boy, I was almost there. Then the spiked iron door snapped shut on him, reducing his fragile frame to nothing but blood. I screamed.
My hands flew out and hit something hard, and I screamed again. “No!” I cried. “No, no!” I writhed in the grasp of whatever was holding me, and my back flashed with pain as the gashes pulled and stung from the movement.
“Elara, it’s me.” Rook’s voice rumbled in my ear, vibrating through his chest as he held me close. “My love, I’m here. I’m here.”
The panic doubled me over, and I collapsed in his arms, sobbing. “I couldn’t save him,” I cried, “I couldn’t help him.”
“It’s over,” Rook said, his hand cradling the back of my head. “You’re safe, it’s over. It’s over.”
I was still naked from when Rook had deposited me in the bed before he left. My skin was slick with sweat, and I couldn’t stop trembling. Rook clutched me to him, his fingers tracing slow circles over the back of my neck.
“I’m here, princess,” he murmured. “I’m here. It was just a dream.”
My fingers curled around his shirt, gripping on to him. “I thought you weren’t here. I th-thought I was alone.”
He kissed my forehead. “You’re never alone. I promise you. I came back as soon as I could.” He rocked me in his arms, taking one deep breath after another, as though coaxing my body to do the same. It worked, because finally his warmth seeped into my quivering bones, and my breathing became even.
My hand splayed across his chest, across the exposed patch of smooth skin. I looked up at him, and he smiled.
“Better?”
I nodded. “Much.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him, feeling a small thrill as his lips opened for my tongue.
“I could kiss you for all eternity,” he said when we parted. He stroked the hair out of my face, and his eyes flickered down over my naked body. “Especially when you’re like this.”
“That would be fine by me.” I nuzzled into him and sighed. “Where did you go? What did Theron want?” He tensed, and I looked back up at him. “Rook?”
He inhaled heavily, and took my hand in his. “I don’t know if you want to know this.”
“Did something happen?” I could hear the panic in my own voice.
“No, no, it was…” He stroked my cheek with the back of his fingers, his eyes avoiding mine. “Your father, he requested an audience with me.”
“My father?” I shook my head. “What did he want with you?”
“My love, I need to tell you something. And I need you to know I never would have done what I said I was going to do. But…” He trailed off, and seemed to steel himself. “Your father seems to think this matter would change how you feel about me.”
“He knows?”
“No, it’s…” He trailed off again, and made almost a grunt of frustration. “Hesuspects, and that’s probably bad enough.”
