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I don’t get an answer, though. Instead, I watch Emma toss him in the metallic water as Vincent stays calm, staring at her. When he falls beneath the surface, a white light glows around his body, slowly getting brighter until it gives a final flare and dies away.
My eyes are locked on where Vincent was just moments ago. Heart racing to see if he will resurface, but nothing happens as the water evens out and the ripples fade away. Only Whiro and Emma remain, both just as transfixed on the spot as I am. Except, Whiro seems gleeful in his dark gaze and Emma… She looks lost, making me wonder what transpired before she threw him in. Because her brows dip just a hair, and a small glimpse of questioning thoughts shine through that brief look.
My eyes rake back to Whiro, but this time, his gaze is targeted at me.
I jerk upright with a gasp as if I was holding my breath for too long. My eyes wildly scan my surroundings to find I’m in my room. The sun is fading from the sky as the shadows of night start to cover the lands. Panic still seizes me once my pulse settles, only to realize it’s not my own.
Emma.
I don’t fucking think when I tear out of bed and force my wings free.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Draven
Her balcony doors are exactly how I left them. So, I slide my shadows underneath the small seam on the floor to sense for anyone else in the room to prevent another slipup. Her whimpers carry through the pitch black when I nudge her door open and slip inside. No fire crackling. No lanterns lit. Nothing.
I dissolve my wings but keep my dragon half present. The sight I get from this half of me is sharper, allowing me to see more clearly in the dark. I spot her sleeping, petite body thrashing in the bed. Her blankets get twisted between her legs as she shakes her head back and forth, muttering under her breath.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” her broken whispers plead.
Tears stream down her cheeks as wavy strands of her hair get caught in them. Her fingers clutch her sheets, pulling them as she starts to sob. “F–forgive me.”
She may be whimpering on the outside, but her pain, her guilt is screaming through the bond, clawing to get free. Seeing her like this impales my heart with a million needles. Her eyes are squeezed shut, panting out more frantic pleas.
I don’t fucking hesitate, I scoop her body up into my arms as the mattress dips beneath my weight, cradling her tightly to me. “Little demon,” I say against her hair, then start peppering kisses over her tear-stricken face. She starts to stir but is still gripped by her nightmare. “Emma.” I wipe away the wetness on her cheeks with the pads of my thumbs. “Wake up. You’re safe.”
I rock back and forth, sliding my hand into her hair and pressing her head closer to the strong drum pounding in my chest. Breathing her in. Her cries start to bleed away, and her heartbeat begins to slow. When I hear her inhale a shaky breath, I look down to find stormy eyes staring back.
She blinks. Her eyes scan her room before meeting mine again. She pushes off me to sit up, and I step away for a moment. Allowing her to collect herself, I place fresh wood in the fireplace and spark a new flame.
“Why are you here?” Her scratchy voice flashes back to what I witnessed in her dream. To how her voice sounded just as raspy when blood-curdling screams tore through her throat.
I keep my back to her, stoking the log in the fire as I answer, “For you.”
The sheets rustle, followed by a sigh. “Draven, I told you that it’s not safe for you to be here. Did Fynn find a way to reach Gehendra? Is that why you are here? To tell me?”
My molars gnash together. This girl. This infuriatingly sexy little demon just doesn’t fucking get it. The beast in me wants to slam her down on the mattress to set her straight, to claim her in the way she needs to be claimed.
I take a long drag of air, stepping away from the crackling fire to face her.
She has the sheets pulled up to her chest, with her knees bent as she sits against the headboard, tracking me.
“Fynn succeeded.” I stalk towards her to stand at the side of her bed. “But that’s not why I’m fucking here, and you know it.” It comes out on a growl because I’m barely able to hold my beast back.
Her eyes widen a fraction as she jerks her head away to face the fire. “Clearly, I don’t,” she snaps.
I lower myself on the bed to kneel in front of her, grabbing her chin between my finger and thumb to force her to look at me. Her eyes are still slightly pink and puffy from crying in her sleep, and she’s trying so hard to hide it.
“Stop hiding.” Her eyes flutter with a watery sheen. “I saw what you were dreaming.”
She sucks in a gasp and tries to shake her head, but I tighten my grip. Her lips tremble until she bites her bottom one to stop it. “H–how?” she asks on a whisper. “Was it like before?”
I slowly shake my head because this was different. I didn’t have to touch her to be sucked into what she was dreaming about. This time, she reeled me in from a much farther distance, and I want to believe it's because she’s free from the necklace that was holding her back before.
“I was in my own bed this time, and you reached through the bond to pull me in without even knowing. I don’t know how, but I do know you are fucking powerful. So, it doesn’t surprise me in the least.”
Her eyes bounce back and forth between mine before she slams them shut. “Then you know…” I wait with bated breath for her to finish that sentence, and when she does, it fucking destroys me. “That I am a monster.”
