Page 27 of The Immortal's One
“Darcie?” Thane asks, his expression twisting in concern. “What’s wrong?”
I release a quiet scoff and drop my hand. I open my eyes, meeting his gaze, but the words that spill from my mouth are thick with sarcasm. “What’s wrong?” The words are bitter on my tongue. “Let’s see… I was attacked. Beaten. I thought I was going to die in the back of some creep’s van.”
I hold up one hand, counting off the horrors as if they’re all just items in some cruel, twisted checklist.
“Then I wake up here, surrounded by strangers, and instead of giving me answers, you talk about me like I’m not even here. You keep asking if I’m ‘her,’ but no one bothers to tell me who ‘she’ is. So how about someone finally do that, and I’ll tell you if that’s who I am?”
The last words tear from my throat in a shout, the edge of my patience shattering. The room goes unnervingly still, heavy with the weight of everything unsaid. My gaze darts between the three men, but none of them offer a single word of response.
Seconds stretch on endlessly, frustration boils my blood.
Finally, Thane murmurs, “I’m sorry, Darcie. We should have been more considerate of your state. Once you’re well, we will explain everything.”
“Like hell, we will.” Des’s body language pulses withanger as he strides away from the bookshelf, stomping toward the center of the room where the rest of us are.
“I’ve said everything that needs to be said.” He doesn't even look at me as he continues, his voice low and final, “She is notThe One. Telling her anything about us would be a mistake. We should return her to her life as if none of this ever happened.”
“What if you’re wrong?” the man in the chair challenges, unfazed by the fire in Des’s glare. “We need unity. We have the potential to become the most powerful?—”
“Enough!” Des shouts, spinning to face me, his expression set in stone. “I’ll handle this myself.”
I lean back into the chair, my heart racing, a spike of alarm lancing through me as Des approaches. A brief, almost imperceptible flash of remorse crosses his face, but it’s gone as quickly as it appeared.
He halts just inches from me, his presence overwhelming. I stare up at him, my breath catching in my throat.
“Des,” Thane’s almost pleading at this point. “Are you sure about this?”
“Yes.” His hand moves toward me. “It’s for the best.”
A desperate scream claws at my throat, but I press my lips together, squeezing my eyes shut, the pain from my rib intensifying with every erratic beat of my heart. But when Des’s fingers brush against the skin just above my ear, it’s like a switch flips.
My heart's frantic beat begins to slow, and a strange, calming sensation sinks in, almost hypnotic.
I draw in a breath, opening my eyes, only to find Des’s eyes are closed now. The world around us is suspended, distant. A gentle hum radiates from where his skin touches mine, a soft, almost imperceptible vibration at first. But then itintensifies, growing steady and soothing, a strange, electric energy that courses through me.
Fear, that tight knot in my chest, starts to unravel, replaced by something I can't name.
Open your eyes, I silently beg him, though I don’t know why.Look at me.
“What if you’re wrong?” the voice of the woman with the ebony hair cuts through the daze. My mind snaps back to the present. “What if this only creates more problems for us?”
Des doesn’t answer, but the skin around his eyes tightens.
No one questions him again.
The strange hum, the buzzing energy, spreads through me like liquid sunshine, washing away the last traces of anxiety and leaving behind something warm and weightless, almost peaceful.
My eyelids flutter, a wave of drowsiness rushing over me, too powerful to fight.
I’m vaguely aware of my body tipping forward. Strong arms catch me, drawing me against a firm chest.
A jolt of heat rushes through me, and with it, a flood of emotions—desire, longing, grief—cascades through me, overwhelming in its intensity.
Memories, fears, and worries all slip away, fading into nothing as if they had never existed at all.
9
“Darcie? Got a minute?”
