Page 28 of Hopeless Kingdom
And it is. I feel it shoving against my chest, clutching ahold of my heart with each passing second.
“You going to scoot over or are you as big of a bed hog as you are a pain in my ass?” His attention drags from the floor to look me right in the eye.
My lips part as I stare wide-eyed at him. I clamp my jaw shut. The mound of blankets shifts until they’re nearly falling off the bed as I scramble to make space for Darrio’s large frame.
I kneel there at the edge, my gaze trailing his every step; waiting for him to join me.
And to my surprise, the fae lies down. He lies down as if it’s the only place he wants to be.
Stiffly he crosses his legs; one ankle over the other, his hands folded over his taut abdomen. At his side, I lie flat on my back and the two of us stare up at the swirling textured ceiling.
It’s as if neither of us is sure how our bodies fit together, when they interlocked perfect just moments ago.
A beat passes, before the bed sinks and he curls his body around mine, his arm wrapping protectively across my stomach. His scarred skin skims over my smooth abdomen and he pulls my back tightly to his chest.
It takes a few seconds before his body actually relaxes against me. It’s like he isn’t used to holding someone but it feels good.
He feels good.
Not another word is spoken, but an insurmountable amount of emotions swirl around us both as we drift peacefully to sleep.
Chapter Nine
The Other Brother
Darkness meets my sight as the burning smell of ash floods my senses. The cool night air meets my lungs in waves.
Without disturbing the blankets, Daxdyn sits at the very edge of the mattress. His smoky eyes drift over my body and his brother’s arm lying over my abdomen. There’s no pull to his lips, just a straight line of blank emotions is all he gives me.
Once again, words fail me.
His long fingers push across the sheets until his fingers interlace with mine. The smooth pads of his fingertips toy with mine and he watches our hands intently.
“Are you okay, Dax?” I whisper so quietly it’s hard for even me to hear my words.
A sinking sadness drowns within my chest and I can’t explain the feeling. It’s a crushing feeling that seems to dart out from the depths of my existence.
But then I realize my existence isn’t its source at all.
It’s his feelings.
It’s Daxdyn’s.
“Are you okay?” I ask again in a louder tone.
His lips part as his attention sweeps over the darkness that secludes us. The pale light of the moon tries to shine past the heavy clouds, but only a diluted shade of color slips into the room. The light gives Daxdyn’s smooth skin a sickly hue that sinks into his strong bone structure, turning the sharp angles into sunken features.
“The iron traps our powers within us.” A hollow sound follows his voice, an echo, a shadow of his feelings. “My powers are emotions. And my emotions are empty without the feel of others.”
Nothing but the sound of his shallow breaths fills the silence as I think about what he’s saying.
“Come here,” I say, pulling at his hand until his head is lying on my hip. “Can you feel me?” His shaggy dark hair meets my fingers as I push his soft locks back from his face.
“A little. I feel your tension. Some emotions are stronger than others, but the iron mutes everything.” A deep breath shakes through him like he can’t find a single breath to fill his lungs. I place one of my palms over his heart while my other continues to run through his hair.
An hour passes like that; me trying to push away the terrible feeling that I can sense coming off of him in drowning waves. Then he turns on his side, his face burrowing into the curve between my hip and ribs. His warm, even breaths fan across my skin, next to Darrio’s big hand and I know he’s finally fallen asleep. My fingers squeeze his while my other hand stays tangled in his dark locks.
“I love how much you care. Even when you try to pretend you don’t,” Darrio says in a low whisper that fans over my neck. His voice startles me and comforts me all at once.
