Page 48 of Crossing Between
"You're still in pain," Varon observed, his tone making it clear he thought I should stay longer.
"Nothing I can't handle," I straightened up, meeting his gaze. "Besides, I'll heal faster in a familiar environment."
"You mean my house," his expression unreadable.
I took a deep breath. "Actually, I want to go home. My home."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees as Varon's face hardened. "That's not happening."
"Varon..."
"The Essencefeaster is still out there," he cut me off, his voice low and intense. "It's targeting you specifically now. Your apartment isn't secure."
"I understand that, but-!"
"No buts," he stepped closer, his presence filling the small room. "You're coming back to my house where I can protect you."
I felt a flash of irritation. "I'm not a child, Varon. I get to have a say in this."
"Not when your safety is concerned," his tone was final, brooking no argument.
The frustration that had been building exploded. "This is exactly why I need to go home! I've been following everyone else's lead for weeks now. I need some control over my own life."
Varon's jaw tightened. "Control won't matter if you're dead."
"I can't live in fear forever," I crossed my arms to mirror his stance. "My magic is returning. I can feel it. And I have responsibilities. Ruth, my brother..."
"They can visit."
"That's not the point!" I threw up my hands in exasperation. "The point is that I need space to breathe, to process everything that's happened. I need my own things around me, my own bed."
Something shifted in Varon's expression at the mention of beds, a flicker of heat in his eyes that reminded me of our night together. But he quicklymasked it.
"It's too dangerous," he insisted.
I took a deep breath, trying a different approach. "Look, I appreciate everything you've done for me. I do. But I need to go home, even if just for a little while. I'll be more focused, more centered if I can reconnect with my normal life."
Varon remained silent, his expression stoic but his eyes calculating. I could almost see him weighing options, assessing the risks.
"What if someone stays with me?" I suggested. "You, Kenji, Elias? I don't care. But at my place, not yours."
His eyes narrowed slightly. "You're not going to back down on this, are you?"
I lifted my chin. "No."
A heavy sigh escaped him. "Fine. But one of us will be with you at all times. No exceptions. And at the first sign of trouble, we're leaving immediately."
Relief washed over me. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet," he warned. "If anything happens to you because of this decision..."
"It won't," I hugged him, even as uncertainty gnawed at my insides. "I'll be careful."
Kenji volunteered to take the first watch and drove me home. The ride was mostly silent, both of us lost in our thoughts. When we pulled up to my building, a wave of nostalgia hit me. It had only been a few days, but it felt like months since I'd been home.
Inside, everything was exactly as I'd left it. Slightly messy, colorful, and wonderfully familiar. I sank onto my couch, suddenly overwhelmed by exhaustion and emotion. The weight of everything. The Essencefeaster, my new powers, the relationships forming between me and these three incredible men, it all came crashing down allat once.
I put my head in my hands, breathing deeply, trying to center myself.
