Page 130 of Rising Out of the Darkness
“And?”
“You’re in big trouble.” She snickered.
I gave her a playful shove, then rested my head back into my hands. “Yeah, I figured as much.”
“Want to tell me what that all was about? I know you know what happened between Will and Elena before she left. What makes you think she would open her heart to him again?”
I sighed deeply into my palms.
“So…that tells me that there’s something much deeper at play here.”
So much deeper.
Running my palm over my face, I tried to collect my thoughts. It was bad enough talking about it with Liam and Killian, now I’d have to relive it all over again with Clara.
“Your silence is not reassuring, Dec.”
Even though a playful smile spread across her face, her eyes told me a different story. There was worry hidden behind them, and I hated that I was the one who’d put it there. I despised that they all had to take care of me, pick me up when I broke apart. Especially when I was the one who was supposed to be protecting them.
“For starters, I had to deal with Drake’s daughter for a whole week,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Father has secured a marriage between the two of us.”
“Oh, Hells.” She winced. “How was good old Adara? How did she take the news?”
“She still has feelings for me, but honestly, I think she knows that I’ll never love her like she wants me to.”
“Well, at least she has more social awareness than her father,” Clara scoffed.
“She doesn’t seem too hurt. She’s resilient and has found affection elsewhere.”
Clara’s face scrunched, like she’d just eaten something sour. “Who would ever want to be wrapped up with her?”
“Will.”
Silence.
More silence.
Then finally a gasp. “Oh, Lena…”
Yeah.
“I know she’s over him, but gods…It’s going to make her feel…” She paused, fumbling her hands together. “It’s going to make her feel used…forgettable. This will hurt her, and that’s thelast thing she needs right now, Dec. She’s been carrying some burdens for a long time, and they’re heavy.”
My spine straightened as I gnawed on the inside of my cheek. Elena and I both shared the same struggle. I knew she knew the darkness behind my mind, but I kept waiting for her to share what fears made her scream in terror at night. The worries alone were a heavy burden to shoulder, but now it sounded like that wasn’t all my little Wildfire had been carrying around with her.
My jaw clenched tight. “That’s not the only problem…”
Silence.
“I talked to him, Clara,” I whispered. “I told him everything, except the part about us being mates because he didn’t let me finish.”
“And?”
“He said no,” I grunted. “Not just no, but a ‘never in his existence and even after that’ no.”
“Declan—”
“I mean, he’s right.”
