Page 31 of Rising Out of the Darkness
Fingers curled around my wrist and gently lifted it away from the scorching heat below. The sensation spurred the dynamis within me, and my palm transformed into a glowing torch between us.
Our eyes widened. No burst of white flame fled from my fingertips. Instead, a soft golden glow radiated from within my palm, just like when Declan had removed my shackles for the very first time. Perhaps there was a sliver of hope that my dynamis wasn’t completely unhinged.
“Well, that could have been useful earlier,” I snorted.
Amusement flickered within the prince’s eyes as he released my palm and I shimmied beneath the bedroll that had been illuminated. The glow dimmed, flying out of my grasp just like my emotions had done for years.
As I pulled the rough fabric over my shoulders, an intrusive thought clawed into my mind and sunk its teeth into it.
If I couldn’t even control something as simple as the thoughts and emotions that swirled within my mind, how would I ever learn to control something as strong as my dynamis?
“Elena, for gods’ sake, go to sleep.” The prince groaned beside me.
For the past hour I’d done nothing but toss and turn. Sleeping on the hard ground wasn’t exactly comfortable. Neither was the overwhelming sense of dread that plagued my thoughts.
“I’m sorry, I just—I mean—I feel…” A frustrated huff ripped through me. “I’m just uncomfortable.”In more ways than one.“Sorry for keeping you awake.”
A shuffling sound rose on the other side of me, right as soft fabric slid underneath my head. Declan had lifted and lowered my head back onto his cloak.
Confusion was written all over my face, and I was thankful for the darkness that hid it. The Lord of Shadows had done nothing but give me whiplash since this morning. One moment he was yelling at me, the next he was brushing away my fears with sweet words and gentle touches. Still lying on my side facing away from him, I whispered, “Thank you. That really does feel a lot better.”
I felt a small tug at the end of my braid that I had redone somewhere amid my sleep deprivation. The leather strap holding the ends slid into his palm before he tossed it aside.
“What are you?—?”
“Shhh.” He curled his fingers through the locks of my hair.
“I—”
“For once, just will you be quiet, woman?” A deep sigh fled his lips. “Just let me help you.”
A thousand thoughts flooded my brain about what my hair had to do with my sleep, but exhaustion outweighed my fight. Rolling my lips between my teeth, I ceded to his request.
Once he untangled my braid, his skillful hands combed from the top of my scalp all the way down to the tips of the wavy strands. Stroke after stroke cleared my mind as he worked. The soothing movements almost meditative. Occasionally, he tucked a few strands behind my ear as he went by. Each movement was detailed and precise, almost routine, like something that he had done several times before.
I was no stranger to this feeling either. Memories flashed through my mind of a time when my mother would do the same.Closing my eyes, I swore I could almost feel her delicate fingers comb through my hair as she would hum to help lull my worries away. A deep ache pulsed inside my heart as a tear rolled down the side of my cheek. Discreetly, I ran my fingers over my wet cheeks and wiped away the evidence before the prince could notice.
After some time, the tightness that had taken over my muscles loosened. Every part of my body was deliciously relaxed. With each tender brush of his fingers, my eyelids grew heavier.
A small, satisfied moan slipped through my lips, causing the prince’s palms to still within my hair. Declan’s deep chuckle rumbled over me, and my cheeks heated.
“Oh, gods. So sorry! I just—it just feels really, uh …nice.” Every word I muttered was gibberish, only furthering the redness that spread across my face. Silent curses ran rampant inside my mind as I squeezed my eyelids closed, wishing I could fade into the darkness.
I heard a little more rustling behind me. The blanket I had not realized I had tossed aside was now placed back over my shoulders. Declan leaned in and whispered so softly that I could barely hear his words.
“No more apologies. Just close your eyes and get out of your head, Lena.”
Even after only one day, this man read me like a book. Everything about that left me unsettled.
“Sleep,” he whispered, as he continued combing through my hair.
Exhaustion tugged at my eyelids, and I finally allowed myself to fall into it.
Declan
Wind rustled against the canvas of the tent, and I forced myself to peel my eyes open. The hazy, clementine light of dawn trickled through an open sliver of the tent flaps. It caressed the long legs that were now spread over mine and illuminated the boundless waves of auburn hair that cascaded over me. Elena’s body rose and fell peacefully. Her breaths brushed against my bare chest. My fingers itched to reach out and glide through her hair like they had done last night, but I forced the urge down. It had been such a long time since someone else had been this close to me, mostly due to self-imposed reasons.
Cool morning air gusted through the tent, and the delicate body next to me shivered. Careful not to wake her, I slid the blanket back over her shoulders. She nuzzled her head deeper into me with a little hum, and I groaned inwardly in frustration.
