AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s all right,Krasnyy,” Matthias cooed at me. He rose from his chair and tucked himself into the small space beside me, drawing me gently into his chest. I winced at the pain the movement provoked, but I didn’t push him away. The warmth of his chest and the steady beat of his heart soothed the ache that seared through my belabored body. “I’m here, my love.”
My love.
That wasn’t the first time he’d said those words to me.
My love.
Those two little words made me cry harder, clinging to the man I loved with all my heart. Who had cracked it too many times to count. Who had nearly broken it when he’d come back to life after making me believe he was dead.
“It hurts,” I cried, clinging to him. The long, measured breath he took told me he knew I wasn’t talking about my physical pain.
“I know,” he whispered into my hair as he gently rocked his body back and forth to soothe me. “I’m so sorry, Red. So sorry.”
He held me as I wept for the pain and suffering I’d endured. Not just in that cell at the hands of a sadist, but also during the months he’d been gone. I wept for the life I could have had with my mother and father if the world hadn’t been so fucked up.
I wept until my eyes were heavy with sleep and hiccups turned to yawns.
“Sleep,” Matthias’s deep voice susurrated in my ear as he ran his hand through my hair. “The doctor will be here soon to check in on you. I won’t leave your side. I promise.”
I wanted to argue. To tell him that he’d already left me, but I didn’t. Instead, I gave over to my body’s demand and closed my eyes, praying that my monster would keep the nightmares at bay.
* * *
An entire week.
I drifted through feverish dreams for an entire week. Images of monsters and knights danced through my mind, the darkness refusing to let me go. I could hear my mother’s shattering screams. Kellan’s twisted laugh as he plunged yet another needle through my skin, his hands wandering, caressing, pinching. Marianne’s cold eyes watched me like a hawk, her face morphing into my mother’s, and then back again.
Over and over again, this played, and each time, I could hear his soothing voice drifting through the fog. He whispered words of comfort and love. His gentle hand wiping at my brow, lips caressing my forehead so lightly I was unsure if it was happening at all.
Hushed tones filled the space around me as my nightmares shifted and faded into oblivion. Gone, yet not completely forgotten. They’d always linger.
Just like the pain.
Pine and leather mixed with the familiar scent of orange and cloves.
Safety. I was safe.
The early tendrils of the morning sun highlighted the man sitting next to me, his hand buried in my hair, thumb rubbing soothing circles along my scalp. My monster.
“We need to tell her.” That was Matthias. His voice was tense, fraught with frustration, but the hand on me was nothing but gentle.
“She’s been through enough already,” my father hissed in a low tone. “Telling her without having all the facts could damage her further.”
“She isn’t a piece of china,” Matthias snarled. “And I made a promise that there would be no more secrets. Ava deserves the truth, even if it only brings more questions than answers.”
My father sighed heavily and paced in front of the bed. He ran a hand roughly through his unkempt hair. He looked as if he hadn’t slept in days.
“I don’t understand how this is possible,” my father choked. “Her body should be there.”
“It could have been dug up before they got there,” Matthias pointed out. Who were they talking about?
Father shook his head. “Sully said the ground was undisturbed, and Mark circled through the footage. No one has disturbed Katherine’s grave.”
My gasp gave me away. The two men turned, their faces etched with concern as they stared down at me. I took in the two most important men in my life. My monster and my knight. Two people who had both cracked me and built me back up. Who had come for me in my darkest moments, when everything seemed lost.
Matthias was right.
No more secrets. Between any of us. We couldn’t let our allies live in the shadows. Or ourselves.
