Page 21 of Darkness Rising
He shifts from his sitting position. He crawls until he’s close enough to touch. Hesitantly, he wraps his arm around me. His chest lines up against my back as he settles in behind me. My palm pushes down his corded arm over my stomach.
Nollix’s gaze is held on the Warlock behind me. His eyes narrow dangerously. As he shoves off from the ground, giving me the span of his back as he walks away, my lashes flutter. Cameron’s warming magic lulls me to sleep.
It numbs me just like I wanted.
***
I slept for so long my joints ache. It’s quiet for the first time in what feels like days. Not even death has the balls to disrupt us now. I sit with my back against a tree, watching over the other four as they sleep. Nollix turns abruptly. His dreams always seem to get the best of him. Or nightmares, I should say.
I once tried to wake him when I first became a part of the Wild Hunt. He almost murdered me in his sleep. I haven’t touched him since.
Cameron sleeps a few feet away from me. The magic he expelled must have worn on him more than he lets on. Jeriko rests soundly across the fire from me as if he isn’t afraid I might kill him in his sleep.
My stomach sinks as I remember how quickly he took her soul. The vicious exhilaration he held when devouring her life is all I can think about.
She was afraid. I could tell. She was terrified and I couldn’t even comfort her.
It’s his job. I know it is. I hope she’s in an afterlife now just like she should be. Safe; away from my father for the first time in decades.
I try hard to let that thought ease my conscience, but still my throat feels tight. My eyes threaten to fill with moisture before I shove the thoughts away.
I blanket the emotions with a sense of numbness.
“Scoot over.” I startle from the sound of Link’s quiet voice.
The pale moonlight reflects against his eyes, making the lavender appear darker tonight. He looks tired, but I know he’ll never admit it. He’s spent so many nights sitting at my side, attempting to force a friendship while I fought to avoid one.
You’d think I’d have worn him out by now.
I shift on the damp grass until there’s room for both of us against the wide tree trunk. The bark bites into my back when I settle against it.
This is how I normally fall asleep. Watching the men in my life and thinking about what I can’t change.
Link’s lips part for a moment, his words poised against his tongue before he finally speaks.
“When I first came here, on the very first day, my parents died.” His brows crease. His words are quiet and filled with tense emotion. I can’t help but wonder if this is the first time he’s talked about it.
“I watched them die. I was a mess. They died right in front of me. And then I consumed their souls. I couldn’t stop myself from carnally wanting to devour their existence.”
He couldn’t stop the demanding magic of the Wild Hunt from taking control.
Sorrow lines his handsome face. He looks older in this moment.
Wiser.
He’s just as broken as I am.
He does handle it a little better than I do, though.
“When you first showed up here, to be a member of the Wild Hunt, I thought the King had lost his fucking mind.” A smile pushes at his features. “I thought he’d sent us this quiet, weak woman as a punishment for something we’d done.”
My eyes narrow slightly on him.
“I didn’t realize it was your way of coping. I didn’t realize there was this power hidden away within you that I’d never be able to tame. I don’t want you to sink back into that coping, Vi.” His words are gentle and drift all through me with warmth.
His words circle my mind once more. He actually thought he could tame me?
Sure, even I’ve tried to quiet the dark energy within me, but I can only push it down so much.
