Page 43 of Rising Out of the Darkness
Hearing his name sent a jolt to my spine I hadn’t expected, and my body deflated into the chair.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have?—”
“No, it’s alright,” I interrupted. “If I were you, I would have been curious too, especially after the way we parted.”
An ache blossomed in my head, and the walls of the tavern began to wobble a bit. Either that, or the wine was starting to affect me.
“We were friends. He was my only friend, to be honest. I always wanted more between us, but he never looked at me that way, until…” I sighed as the memory of that day assaulted me. “The day of our Ascension, he kissed me and told me he’d been interested in me for a long time.”
Declan’s jaw clenched and his fist curled into a ball on the table.
“It’s okay though, because he’ll never look at me again that way again,” I scoffed, and Declan’s brows furrowed.
“Why?”
“Because h-he…” My lip began to quiver, and my eyes glossed over with unshed tears. Declan released his fist and rubbed his open palm against my arm. “He blames me for everything that happened, and apparently I’ve been a burden to him since the day we met.”
Declan stopped rubbing my arm and instead gripped it, forcing my eyes to meet his. “You don’t believe that, right?” He snarled.
“I’m not really sure what I believe anymore,” I whispered, averting my gaze. His palm left my arm but found my fingers and laced them between his.
“Elena, you need to listen to me. You did absolutely nothing wrong that day. None of those events were anyone’s fault, especially yours. Do you understand?”
A shrug was all I could offer in response.
“I need you to say it.” His eyes locked on mine in a silent demand.
“Say what?” I whispered as a tear rolled down my cheek.
“‘It’s not my fault.’” He brushed away the tear with his finger. I shook my head, but he gripped my chin. “Say it, and then we can finally go to bed.”
“I c-can’t.”
“You can.”
We stared at each other for a few moments. His gaze never faltered from mine until I caved under the intensity of his stare.
“It’s not my fault,” I whispered.
“Good, now let’s go to our room.”
“Ourroom?”
Declan stood, pushed in his chair, painstakingly slow, then rounded the table and extended his hand towards me. He wiggled his fingertips until I placed my palm inside of his and he pulled me up.
We were just a few inches apart when I mustered the courage to grab his chin and pull it down to meet my glare. “It better have two beds, Declan.”
His face transformed into a mischievous smirk.
Hells.
Chapter 16
Declan
Elena swayed back and forth all the way up the stairs. I chuckled inwardly every time she slipped and a curse flew from her lips.
“Dammit!” Her shoulder hit the edge of the wall, and her face flushed crimson. When we finally reached the top floor, she got on her knees and kissed the wooden floor beneath them. “Bless the gods. I’ve finally ascended!”
