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“Cora’s right,” Kye adds. “She will do anything to protect those she loves, and secluding herself to bear the torment alone is all she knows.”
Our breathing is hushed until Fynn jumps back, startling Cora with a gasp. “She—” His voice freezes.
We all watch Emma’s head slowly twist until her eyes stare directly at us, making us all tense and hold our breaths. We wait as statues, and her gaze never falters.
“Can she see us?” Cora asks.
“N-no,” Fynn stutters. “But no one has ever sensed my power like this, which is what I believe is happening. She can’t see us, but more so feel us.”
“What does that mean?” Kye rushes to ask.
“It means…” Fynn slides his eyes to Kye, then to me. “That she is fucking powerful.”
We all stare back at her, until her hand whips out, slamming her shadows in the space beside her that is aimed directly at Fynn’s power. In the span of a second, his small opening of gold-rimmed power falls away and the vicelike tendrils securing me to this chair extinguish.
We remain silent. Stunned.
I stand, stretching out the kinks knotted in my muscles.
“What now?” Cora cuts through the quiet tension.
I open my mouth to speak, but pause, my eyes still rooted to the spot where we watched her. How the hell am I supposed to answer a question I don’t have the answer to? All I know is that we will make sure she doesn’t fight whatever she’s hiding alone.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Emma
The sun is just beginning to wake, and I sit on the edge of my bed, fixated on the drop of blood on the floor that dried since last night. My teeth grind together, and I can’t stop the rush of blood aiming for my head or the increasing pace of my heart. Hunger ceased to exist the rest of the night and sleep never accompanied me. All I know is that it physically hurts to stay away from Draven, and to know of the betrayal Whiro asks of me. The weight of it presses on my chest as if there is a boulder on me. The pain of it feeling like a jagged blade repeatedly stabbing me as it tears me to shreds and flays me open.
If I was still completely succumbed to the darkness, I would feel nothing. Every part of me would be numb and none the wiser. But instead, I can feel this bond like it’s a living thing. Pulsing with life, consuming every molecule in my body to burn within my blood and reach for the one it’s tethered to.
Just how, not long after I returned from Draven’s, I felt a presence near me but couldn’t see. I can’t explain it, but somehow, I could sense a fizzling sort of energy beside me. Awareness had licked up my spine, causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand at attention. It felt like there were eyes on me, but not the cold and calculating kind like my father. It felt warm and curious. But instead of trying to understand something I couldn’t see, I chose to send my power in that direction in hopes it would dissolve that odd sensation. To my surprise, it did.
Waking today, my heart feels chained down in my chest. Slowly bleeding through a wound that was stitched with a dull needle and thread, gradually ripping at the seams. Often questioning how I’m going to survive this. I suppose it doesn’t matter; I will do what needs to be done to protect my mate. His family needs him, the world needs him. Hell, I need him, but if I can’t have my happily ever after, then I need to know he gets his. The people in Deyadrum are blind to how he places himself in death’s way for them every single day, protecting each court from as many Corrupted as he can.
He’s the villainous hero.
One who just gave his biggest secret away. One that will cause an uproar and for him to be hunted down. He will be feared instead of being accepted and given trust for his actions.
Blood pumps loudly in my ears and I push off the balcony rail with urgency, needing to find Aiden. I have to make sure he doesn’t tell the secret that must never be spoken. Ironic, though, that I keep trying to protect the same person I’m supposed to ruin.
Fuck Draven for being so careless and blindsided to get to me. Even if it makes my body heat at the thought. I’m trying so hard to mask this desperate pull to say fuck everything and leap into his arms, but he’s making it so damn difficult. Everything he says, and everything he doesn’t say because he shows me instead. He’s denting the shield I’m wielding, and I’m seconds away from dropping it to wave the white flag.
With the new day now greeting the palace, Aiden should be awake. Without hesitation, I hurry with quick steps, making my way to Aiden’s room and hoping that he will be in there still. I have to convince him to stay quiet.
Rays of sunlight splinter through the open windows, draping the corridors in a fiery hue. The shells embedded in the floor glisten like a million tiny specks of diamonds. Almost like a trick to the eyes, reflecting light to blind every one of the cruelties stained underneath. I double my steps while keeping my breathing composed. Before I know it, I’m rounding the corner to where dual white doors come into view. I tap my knuckles against the wood and wait, straining my hearing for any movement inside.
When I hear the padding of feet against the floor, I lift my chin up and square my shoulders. The door handle turns, and I swallow down every angry thought I want to shout at him. To choke him with my words and keep screaming every emotion that strangles me until his ears bleed. Instead, I lace my hands together in front of me and relax every muscle in my face.
The door shifts inward to reveal Aiden, whose sandy hair is styled over to the side with small waves curling near the ends and over his ears. He dons a cream tunic, untied at the center that opens to reveal his bare chest. Brown breeches conform to his legs, with his shirt partially tucked in the waistband.
When I bring my eyes back up to his, a smirk plays on his lips, and I decide to use that to my advantage.
“May I come in?”
His eyebrows raise while he lets his gaze drag down my body and back up, until his green eyes connect with mine. “That depends.”
“On what?” My eyes never waver from his stony gaze.
