Page 172 of Rising Out of the Darkness
“Love?”I reached out between our faint bond one more time. I’ve tried to find our connection in every moment that I could, but I felt nothing at all. I couldn’t feel my dynamis, but I could somehow still feel a faint tug of the bond. It gave me hope that even if I couldn’t talk to him, Declan might still be alive. “If I survive this…please know that this wasn’t your fault, and I will always love you, in this life and the next.”Tears slid down my face when I was met with silence once more.
Begrudgingly, I awaited the searing pain of Will’s fire that would no doubt begin soon enough. I had been here for so long that I could barely feel the frigid sea water as it rose and fell against my shins. A heavy sigh passed through my lips when a whisper brushed against my ear. “Elena …”
The unexpected feeling made my body jolt upward until I was face to face with Will. My lips drew into a thin line as I glowered at him.
“Don’t look at me like that.” A flicker of hurt flashed through his blue eyes before it fizzled out.
“How else should one look at the person who has been searing the flesh off my bones for gods only knows how long?” Each word scratched like rocks through my sore throat. After days of screams, I was surprised I had any voice left at all. He only grunted in response, folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the rock beside me. “Please, enlighten me on the correct way I should look upon the man who betrayed not only his entire kingdom, but his family and the woman he once claimed to love.”
Will huffed, running his palm through his thick blond waves. Not too long ago that simple action would have made my heart palpate. The only reaction it gave me now was nausea.
“Why do you always have to be so?—”
“Right?” I snapped.
“No. So?—”
“Honest?”
A snarl tore out of him. “So. Damn. Judgmental!” he seethed, his chest rising and falling.
“Is it really being judgmental when it’s true?”
My breath hitched as he suddenly invaded my space. His hot, rapid breaths brushed against my temple, and every muscle in my neck tried its best to tilt my head further away.
“You know nothing about my truth!” Will pulled away, releasing a deep breath. “Absolutely nothing.”
The harsh lines once present on his face softened, his shoulders fell as his back slumped against the harsh rock. The glisten of a tear caught my eye as it slipped down his cheek, wiped away as he ran a palm over his face. As I bit down on my bottom lip, a twinge of remorse prickled me.
“They took Isabella and my mother.” The air vanished from my lungs as he sighed deeply. “After everything that happened at the castle, I was told to abide by their rules or my insolence would be taken out on them both.”
“Will—I…I’m so sorry. Where are they now?” I asked tentatively.
The muscle in his jaw clenched. The silence between us became unbearable. “Isabella’s here.”
“Will—”
“My mother,” he interrupted, “she’s also here, but … she’s not entirely herself anymore.”
Hells.
“I was supposed to coax you into falling for me that night at the ball. When I didn’t come through as planned, Alastor turned her into one of those—horrible beasts.”
Guilt wrapped around my insides, squeezing so tightly I thought I might faint.
“This isn’t your fault.”
My eyes clouded with tears as I shifted my chin away to avoid his gaze. He pulled my chin back to face him and didn’t let go. “Lena, I can see the guilt and anxiety are reflected all over your face. It’s a look I’ve become very familiar with over the years.” A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips, but then slipped back into a frown. “There are several choices I could have made. So many chances to do the right thing, but I was a coward.”
“Will, in the end you were just trying to protect your family,” I whispered.
“No. Don’t be kind to me Lena, I don’t deserve it. Protecting my family would have meant doing anything I could to get to them, to save them. It would have meant fighting for the people I loved when they needed me the most.” His eyes shot across to meet mine as a chill rippled down my spine. The words sent me back to my speech that I’d given him that night of the ball. “The day you told me that, shame filled every pore of my body. I knew I had let you all down. That was my burden to bear for the rest of my life. Lena, I had choices, but I didn’t take them.”
My mouth opened wide; however, no words escaped. I just stood there as it opened and closed like a floundering fish.
“It’s time I start making the right choices. Time to start fighting to protect those I love,” he growled, and in the distance, I heard footsteps entering the cave. “Hang in there a little longer, Lena.” His voice was so low it was barely a whisper. “I’m going to help you both get out of here.”
I barely had time to wipe the shocked expression from my face before Alastor grabbed my hair and slammed my head against the hard rock. Over and over, my forehead cracked against the hard stone. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth and my eyes began to swell shut. His relentless attack lasted until I saw stars, my body slumping against the heavy chains.
