Page 117 of Mantle

“The memory… it wasn’t them cutting into me this time. I was… I was chained in a pod…”

I knew the exact fucking disgusting things he was talking about because I’d seen them when Corvin had taken me to one of the labs. It had been bad enough seeing them empty. The damage, the stains, just the suggestion of what had happened to those who’d been trapped within them. And now hearing about Nyx, the man I loved, a man who was so sweet-natured, so kind, and so strong, being forced into one of them… it was another level.

“I was naked and two of the scientists were there touching my body all over, drawing marks on me of where they would make incisions, pour chemicals into me… and I started crying. They… shoved a gag into my mouth so they didn’t have to hear it and told me I was just a thing… a science experiment… not a… not a person and the sooner I accepted that, the easier it would be. When they finally walked away and closed the pod, I sawhimthere. Ketheron. He was smiling at me while he was bound and in pieces from what they’d begun to do to him as well. He coughed and choked whenever he struggled to speak, but he still did it and kept telling me that Iwassomebody, that they werebad men,tohold on.”

Oh my God.“I’m so sorry.”

He turned around. “He kept trying to save me. I’m gonna do my damnedest to do the same for him. Thank you for protecting him from them all… he deserves it.”

“And you need it?”

“Yeah, I really think I do.” He smiled at me. “I’ll be okay, Halo. I can handle it.”

“You being able to handle anything has never been in doubt. But you suffering is what’s concerning.”

“I know. I’ve thought about it, and I want to see the Healer Kai recommended.”

“We’ll set it up ASAP.”

“Thank you.” He gestured at the shower. “I’m gonna wash that memory off me… can you… would it be okay if you stayed with me? Hearing your voice… I think it’ll help me to stay in this moment, rather than flashing back to that memory. I need to process it before risking a flash like that, you know?”

“I understand. Of course. I’ll be right here. If you want, we can talk about us witnessing Kelsana moving all her stuff out of her dorm room two days ago because she was forced to leave the Academy after that stunt during Professor Morrigan’sCombatand Power Suppressionclass. We could extend it to Rennick and the impact on her clique.”

“You hate gossip. You think it’s mean and lacking empathy.”

“But it interests you—and not formeanreasons. You’re curious about people. Or we could discuss the renovations to Solumira instead.”

He beamed out at me. “You’re incredible.”

“Me? You’re the one holding Ketheron in a dreamscape to protect him. You do realize that if that wasn’t the case, they would all be hunting him now? He’s only safe because of you. That’s how much power you have here. And not just power—power coming from a good place and being wielded well.”

“If we can act to save rather than destroy, that’s damned important. And I also know how personal this Ketheron situation is to you as well. Not just because he’s imprinted on you and you see who he really is, but because you were treated—and still are in some cases—as somebody to be feared because of what you are and the great power you hold, not who you are.”

Yeah, there was a lot of that involved with my stance on this.

I smiled out at him for getting that. I knew all my boys did, from various comments they’d made about it, but also from them coming to the Guardian Movement black site with me where Ketheron was being held and advocating for him right alongside me. Even Vorzyr who had taken some nasty hits going toe-to-toe with Ketheron. He saw what he likely wouldn’t have been able to several months ago when he’d just come fresh from the Dracoryn Realm—that there was so much more to it than just eliminating a threat.

And the fucking threats were Corvin and the Celestial Plane anyway.

Nyx stepped into the shower still wearing his leather pants—until a flicker of vibrant blue magic flashed, and the next second,those pants were hanging neatly from one of the empty towel rails.

Several moments went by where he didn’t say anything.

I’d wanted him to take the lead, to establish the boundaries, to talk about the lighthearted topics we’d mentioned in the way that felt best to him.

But the longer the silence went on, the more worried I became.

I couldn’t just rip the shower curtain aside to see what was happening for myself. That would be majorly violating, especially with the content of the memory he’d just recalled.

“I’m here, cutie pie, all right? You’re not alone. Not in any of it.”

I heard a sniffle, and then his choked voice sounded, “A parkour playground… like what the guys joked about…”

I swallowed down my upset at hearing the broken emotion in his voice, and forced out, “That’s what you’d like for your part of the renovations?”

“Yeah… it would… it would be cool.”

“Then you’ll have it. We’ll make it happen. We can start sketching out the exact design you want whenever you’re ready. I might actually be able to use my shadow weaving for that. I can make shapes so it stands to reason it could be used for more than that.”

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