Page 169 of Rising Out of the Darkness
“We wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without your mother’s genius mind. She found all the ingredients and made the first elixir. Queen Lenora basically handed us the keys, we just opened the door.”
He nodded. “True, but you didn’t find the recipe, just the ingredients. You and Clara aren’t giving yourselves enough credit. What you accomplished is spectacular.” As his lips brushed the top of my head, my body melted into him.
Fallon called out to him from behind and Declan pulled away. I was all too aware of the cold his absence left behind.
I’d fallen so hard for him I didn’t think I’d ever reach the bottom.
“Love, you’re drooling again.” His lips twitched with amusement as we lay in bed.
I shoved him playfully in the shoulder. “You in those glasses, reading a book while bathed in the soft glow of candlelight, has you looking like a late evening snack. My apologies for being slightly ravenous.” His lips curled up into a sly grin.
I pulled the vial from the side table and placed it in his palm. His grin faltered.
“I’m sorry. After today, with Nayla’s sister…I was just excited to try this one.” I reached to take it back.
Fingers closed around the vial as he tenderly rubbed his thumb against my cheek. “I—I just hate watching the disappointment in your eyes every time it doesn’t work.”
“Declan, this”—I rubbed the reddened curse mark behind his neck— “will never get in the way of me loving you.”
He popped the cork off the vial then tilted the contents inside. His nose wrinkled in disgust from the taste as we waited for any effect.
I moved his head forward and ran my fingers over the mark that still lingered, but I couldn’t help the haze that began to cloud my eyes. He took off his glasses and set his book aside, then motioned for me to come lie across his chest. As I sniffled against his warmth, he used his dynamis to snuff out the candlelight.
“Are you scared?” he mumbled into my hair.
“I’m not afraid of you, Declan, I’m just worried he’s going to take you away from me.”
“I’ll never let that happen, I promise. Get some rest, love.”
With his shadows, he snuffed out the candlelight. I found his lips in the darkness and pressed a kiss on top of them, then allowed my exhausted body to fall asleep wrapped in the safety of his arms.
Chapter 70
Elena
Chills ran through my groggy body as I tried to burrow further underneath the sheets. Disoriented, I reached around, finding no sheets at all.
Panic splashed over me like water, and I was suddenly wide awake. The door was cracked open, letting in the night air from outside. All I had on was a thin nightgown, so the cold cut through me like a knife. Something wasn’t right.
“Declan?” I whispered into the dark room.
Silence.
I rose from the bed, grabbed my clothes from the ground and shoved them on. Where had he gone, and why had the door been left open? He would never do that. As I made my way over to the door, I heard a creak from behind me. Swiftly I turned, reaching down for the dagger that wasn’t there.
Fuck.
My body slammed against the stone wall of our room and the door was slammed shut. Every part of my body trembled with fear as I remained pinned against the wall. Two hands gripped tightly around my throat, as I tried to claw them off with my own. I couldn’t even move my legs, because the intruder had those pinned with his own as well.
Light. I needed to be able to see.
Diving deep into my dynamis, I summoned my it to my hands. Warmth fled from my fingertips until my palms became illuminated in light. All the air left my body when I realized the intruder glaring into my eyes was the Lord of Shadows himself.
“Hello, Elena.” A cold, otherworldly voice brushed against my face. The hands around my neck squeezed tighter, eliminating any chance of me screaming for help.
His skin was sickly pale and freezing to the touch. Emerald eyes were replaced with obsidian, empty of life or warmth. Only a void glared back at me.
Fucking Alastor Grimshaw.
