Page 36 of Rising Out of the Darkness
With my back against a boulder, I tried my best to rest my eyes, but as usual, unwanted thoughts invaded my mind, keeping me restless. Lost deep in thought, I hadn’t even noticed the body that had slid down next to me.
Not until a warm palm slid over my upper thigh, sending a million volts of electric tingles running through me. Noticing my shock, he slid his thumb back and forth in calming circles. It did quite the opposite—it sent even more shivers down my spine and a flush of heat to my center.
I winced as my cheeks burned. Every emotion seemed much more sensitive, almost heightened, since my Ascension. Declan pulled his hand back, his hand clenched against his thigh.
“I—I apologize,” he choked out. “I was just trying—I can imagine these two days were…well, a lot to take in.” He cleared his throat. “Your dynamis seems to react when you’re faced with extreme emotions. Controlling them is something we’re going to have to work on.”
“Ha!” I snorted. “That’s an understatement for sure. Gods only know the reason they would bless someone as unstable as me with an equally unstable dynamis.”
“Perhaps they’re getting bored in their old age? Maybe they needed a little excitement? A good laugh?”
My mouth gaped wide. A flicker of a smile twitched against Declan’s lips before it faded.
“Dearest Shadow Lord, did you by chance just try to make a jokeandsmile?”
“Perhaps. In my ripe old age, maybe I needed a little excitement myself.”
“How old?”
“A man never tells.”
Another snort escaped. “I think you have that saying a little backwards, but I’ll excuse it. You can’t help it if your memory is starting to falter now that you’re ancient.”
Leaning into him, I gave his shoulder a nudge and laughter passed between us for a moment. Then, silence. My hands fidgeted relentlessly on my lap.
“Thank you for helping today.” His eyes bore into mine, and there was a sincerity there that made me hold my focus. “This group of guards…” Declan cleared his throat and shifted his body so that his arms were resting on the tops of his knees. “They’ve become like family to me. They’ve done a lot for me.” He paused.“If anything ever happened to them or if I couldn’t protect them from harm, I would never be able to forgive myself.”
I nodded, his words striking a familiar chord in my own core values. I knew all too well the burden of never being able to find forgiveness for yourself.
A rush of emotions crashed like a tidal wave into me again. My body jarred against what felt like sadness and guilt. The emotions took on a life of their own; it was almost like they were trying to pull me under.
I used all my might to shove them out of me. As I did, a gust of wind flowed through my hair.
Stunned, my lips parted. Had that happened the last time?
“You felt something, didn’t you?”
“Huh?”
My body stilled under his intense scrutiny. Green eyes blazed at me, his jaw clenched. Then, he slammed them closed, exhaled, and then opened them slowly.
Declan was suddenly the portrait of calm. What was going on with this man? Perhaps I wasn’t the only unstable Elysian in the kingdom?
“Try again,” he commanded harshly, making me flinch.
“You really need to learn how to spea?—”
“Again!” he growled, and my eyes widened. “Try. Again.”
Flustered by his impatient tone, I huffed, turning my body to face Declan. “I don’t understand what you would like me to do…y-y-you…ass!” Trembling with rage, I realized the filter over my mouth had slipped, and to none other than His Royal Highness.Kill me now.
He leaned impossibly closer. His leg brushed against mine and I could feel his breaths against my temple. “Try to feel it.”
“Excuse me?” I scoffed. “Yeah, there’s no way that I’ll be doing tha?—”
His hand slapped over my mouth before I could continue. Declan’s nostrils flared as he ran his other hand through his thick wavy hair. He took another deep breath. When he spoke this time, he was a little more careful with his words. “I want you to try to read my emotions. I’m curious if you can feel them.”
“Oh,” I mumbled against his hand. “You could have just said that the first time.”
