Page 43 of Nyx
Everyone keeps their distance from him, and part of me wants to shun him, too. It wants to loathe him for hishand in Nyx’s torture at Ljómur. But while others see him as standoffish and uncaring, he shoulders a heaviness that never goes away. His impassive mask is just a way to hide how much he hurts.
He’s a man marked by his decisions and haunted by the wrong ones.
On that level, I understand him.
“Physically, he seems fine. Dehydrated. If he hasn’t eaten, he’s going to be weak. But he’s stronger than you think, Reyes. It shouldn’t hurt him to be outside in the weather.”
“Why is he asleep, then?”
Xeni’s face is still relaxed, but a hint of regret flashes across his face before he clears his throat. “If I had to guess? Everything he’s dealing with right now is psychological.” He nods at my fidgeting hand. “You were marked before you left?”
“We… touched. Mine didn’t come up until later in the night. I was sleeping in the van and saw it when I woke up.”
He hums absentmindedly as he stares down at Nyx. “He would’ve known as soon as you touched.”
My brows furrow as I think back to that moment. So many emotions were competing for attention. Could I have isolated some sensation that told me he was my mate? Did I miss something vital? Did it snap into place between us and tell me he was mine?
He was already mine.
“This has happened to him before, right?” I ask, and Xeni shifts uncomfortably as he glances at Nyx, but then nods. Jealousy like nothing I’ve ever felt flares in my stomachas I imagine someone else with their hands on what’s mine. “Tell me what you know.”
Xeni sighs as he shoulders his bag. “This isn’t my story to share, Reyes. When he wakes up—”
“Willhe wake up?”
Xeni’s flaring annoyance fades as he tracks the desperation in my eyes. “I don’t see any reason he won’t. Just… be here. And be patient. He’ll need you.” He hesitates in the doorway, gripping the frame like he wants to say something else, but in the end only gives me another sad smile before disappearing outside.
The house is silent, with only the drip of the rain off the leaves to distract me from my thoughts. I sink onto the floor beside the bed, more exhausted than I’ve ever been while desperate to stay awake.
Nyx
Lifeflashesinaseries of disconnected snapshots. Moments in time dance between dreams and reality, and I’m so lost in them I can’t tell if I’m awake or asleep. Reyes touching my hand, and the impossible realization as it shocked my body. Bright light pouring into the deep, fractured spaces within me, weaving and working, seeking to mend them. Trying to fix what’s never been fixable.
He doesn’t know.
He doesn’t know.
Mechanical words leaving my mouth, telling him to go and that I’ll be fine when I’m not fine.I’m not fine. All I want to do is scream and shout andbegfor him to stay. But he doesn’t stay. He leaves.
The back of his head walking into the forest.
One last glance over his shoulder.
Alone.
Always alone.
Empty.
Fractured memories of when destiny mocked me once before. A decades-old broken promise of a life I was never allowed to live. Shattered potential and cruel twists andwhat have I done to deserve this?
The Fates have spent their lives mocking mine, and I won’t survive it again.
Thick bark grinds against my back as I slide to the ground, and tears rush down my cheeks. Boomerang howls at my side, calling to the others, but I don’t want them.
I wanthim,and he’s gone.
It hurts too much for my body to bear, and I stop fighting to hold the pain inside when it only wants to escape. My tears are a river, and my sobs violent, broken storms that rip from my chest into the night. I have no memory of the sun setting, but it doesn’t matter. Power churns in my stomach, and the plants reach for me, draining my energy as I feed them my anguish.
