AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I could faintly hear Harper and Arkyn’s voices, but they were little more than a buzz within my whirring mind. I blocked out the swirling ceiling by closing my eyes. I wanted to sleep, to float carefree among the land of dreams, away from my nightmares, weightless and free.
Like a feather floating on the breath of the wind. Up and up and up.
A strong, sturdy gust lifted me higher.
I knew it was him.
My windstorm, carrying me away.
Bits of red and black static danced in my vision long before I had a chance to open my eyes. I nestled down, my body overburdened with the heavy layers of too much rest. I could stay here in this place, stuck in between awake and asleep, for the rest of my life. But the thoughts of my conscience were beginning to swell—a tidal wave of responsibility. It shattered my peace and jarred me awake.
I swallowed. My throat felt like a bag of nails had been rammed down it. Repeatedly.
My room was dark, but I was not alone. Soren slept in the chair next to me, his mouth slightly gaped open, a tiny river of drool marring his chin.
Why was Soren sleeping in a chair beside my bed?
Better yet—why was I in bed?
I stretched into my memories, a closed chest in need of dusting.
The last thing I remembered . . .
My lips entangled with those of the king’s advisor.
My fingertips fell over my mouth. I’d thought of Von, pretended it was him . . . wanted it to be him.
Von and I were far from being a couple, far from being anything with a label, but I still felt betrayal clawing at my heart, its hold bewildering and strange. I had not just kissed the king’s advisor . . . I’d made out with him.
And after that? The events were out of my grasp.
“You’re awake!” Soren exclaimed, his nose crinkling as he emitted a lion-sized yawn.
“I guess so,” I said, my voice as present as my thoughts. I shook my head, my hands still riffling through foggy memories. “What happened?”
“You’ve been sleeping for the past forty-eight hours,” Soren said as he yawned again. His face appeared sallow, bags under his eyes making him look a shade older—just like Ezra did whenever she returned after a week of being away. As both possessed the Mind Curse, I was starting to wonder if that was part of it.
“Two days?” I stammered. What, for the love of Lady Light, had Ezra put in that tonic that it knocked me out for two days?
“Umm, Sage, I need to tell you something. I sort of . . . I had to . . .” Soren paused, hesitant.
“Had to what?” I asked.
“You wouldn’t stop screaming. We couldn’t wake you up. I just wanted to help you. So I . . .”
“Yes?” I shook my head, not quite sure where he was going with this.
“I crossed the unconscious barrier and silenced your mind so you could sleep. Peacefully,” he said, his hands clasped tightly together, his shoulders slumping.
A heavy weight landed in my stomach, like a boulder made of lead.
Suddenly, I could feel him, on the cusp, lingering in the depths—a shadow that would never leave. My private, intimate thoughts were no longer mine. The intrusive nature, the loss of consent—all of it hit me like a tidal wave.
Get out, I screamed at his silhouette.
I can’t. I’m so sorry. You were screaming. And crying.The blackened version of Soren turned towards me.
Reverse it.
