Page 25 of Rising Out of the Darkness
“Please? Her breathless plea hit my chest like a rock.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” She swallowed deeply, as if the next words she was about to say were painful. “I don’t trust myself right now.”
I grabbed the iron chains from my satchel and placed them around her wrists. She took a shaky breath, then turned around to face the horizon in front of us.
Leaving me alone to deal with the storm of emotions spiraling within me.
Chapter 10
Elena
Numb. That was the only way to describe the way I felt right now.
Yesterday, I was already drowning beneath my own failures. Now, I was the owner of a rare and powerful dynamis that I couldn’t control. All my fears of going through Ascension had been realized.
Dragging my palms over my face, I tried to wipe away the tension underneath. After Declan put the shackles back on, we rode in silence. My mind was overwhelmed not only with what had happened in the town, but also from the way he had acted towards me after. He’d been tender and caring, a jarring transformation from when we’d first met, and in contrast to all the comments about him from the town members. It left me bewildered as I struggled to process it all.
The sound of clomping hooves around both sides of us averted my attention away from my thoughts. Killian gave me a nod, then Liam’s lips curved into a grin. Parting my lips to speak to them, I was rudely interrupted by the ravenous beast that was my stomach. It growled so loudly, I was sure everyone in all Ehora felt its quake. I wished I could glamour myself entirely.
Buried within my hands, I mumbled, sheepishly, “Sorry.”
I felt a nudge against my arm, and I lowered my hands to find it was Killian. With a grin, he leaned back, grabbed a satchel from the side of his horse and tossed it into my lap. I made quick work of unwrapping it to reach the contents inside.
Before I knew it, I had not only eaten all of what was inside of Killian’s satchel but was devouring my way through Liam’s as well. Chuckles shook me out of my stupor. With slitted eyes and a piece of jerky hanging from the side of my mouth, I dared them to make fun of me. Both men put their hands up in the air, surrendering to my glare. I tossed the satchel back to Liam, who tossed it right back to me.
“You hold onto it, my lady. We both know better than to get between a woman and her food.”
“Yes, I quite prefer to keep both of my hands intact.” Killian wiggled his fingers. With a roll of my eyes, I reopened the satchel and continued to munch away.
“Thank you,” I mumbled through a mouthful of jerky, “and you can call me Elena. I think we can all agree that I don’t really suit the whole title ofLady.”
A snort peeled out of the brooding Lord of Shadows behind me. I allowed myself to enjoy this moment of levity and joined in the laughter. Given the unknown fate that awaited me in the capital, this might be the last time I got to do so.
Somewhere along the way my eyes had grown heavy and sleep pulled me under. I awoke to two hands lifting me back up from where I had fallen forward onto the horse’s nape to rest. I rubbed my drowsy eyes, allowing me to get a better look at my surroundings.
An endless array of stars sparkled in the inky darkness. Mammoth pine trees towered above us as far as the eye could see.
A warm fire cracked in the center of the makeshift camp. A few tents already flapped in the breeze, but some still needed to be erected.
With a sleepy sigh, I began to make my way towards the others to help.
“No.”
Pinching my lips together, I turned to the owner of the familiar voice. “You know,” I tapped the side of my cheek with my pointer finger. “I’m starting to feel like that’s your favorite word.”
His tone lowered to a deep rumble as he leaned in close. “Only around you.” He folded his arms across his chest.
Pinning him with my own glare, I copied his posture. “They need help setting up, and I won’t sit on my ass like a pampered princess watching everyone around me be useful.”
His eyes shifted to my shackles. “You can, and you will.” Pulling the key from his pocket, he grabbed my forearm, but I wiggled out of it and took a step back.
“I…no…I don’t trust myself.” I lowered my head, heavy with shame, as he stepped closer.
“Elena, you used a lot of your dynamis earlier, and you’re exhausted. You’ll be fine for the rest of the night.”
When he grabbed my wrist this time, I allowed him. With a turn of the key, my wrists were free once more. As I rubbed my wrists, I glanced up to see a devious smirk plastered across the prince’s face.
