Page 38 of Rotanev
Yet, my lips were already reciting the words back to him as if pulled from my very soul.
I immediately felt light-headed, the world swimming around me in shades of blue and black. “Dolos,” I whispered, clutching his hand.
His resulting chuckle held a note of cruelty that sent warning spikes down my spine. This didn’t feel right. No, worse, ithurt. Like stabbing needles through my insides as my soul seemed to detach from my body, leaving me weak and broken on the bed. Only, Dolos lifted me into his arms, his touch cold. So, so cold.
“You’re mine now, princess,” he whispered, the words harsh inside my thoughts. “For always.”
A jolt of terror rippled through my being, my soul understanding what my mind could not yet comprehend.Nero!
I shot upward, sweat soaking the sheets around me, eliciting a violent shiver. It’d all felt so real. Too real. As if I’d just dreamt of a memory from several lifetimes ago.
My eyes squeezed shut while I fought to regain control of my racing heart. If Nero woke up to me in this state, he’d worry, and I didn’t want to do that to him. He’d kept pestering me about why I needed the money for Corban, promising to help me. While I wanted to let him, my pride refused. Somehow I knew if he caught me in this state, he wouldn’t allow my deflections to suffice, and he’d demand explanations.
Which, of course, had nothing to do with my nightmare and everything to do with reality.
I only had one more day before the money was due. It was also, subsequently, my last day with Nero.
No wonder my mind had taken me on such a fucked-up trip. It was my stress roaring back with a vengeance after six days of ignoring all my troubles.
Well, I clearly could not ignore home anymore.
I scrubbed my hands over my face, wiping away the tears, and ran my fingers through my knotted hair.
Only then did I notice Nero sitting in the chair beside the bed, his arms on his knees, his intense focus on me.
He wore a pair of pajama pants and nothing else.
“I assume that’s the information you needed?” The deep voice came from the doorway. I grabbed the sheets and tugged them up over my breasts in response, my eyes wide.
“Yes,” Nero replied. “Thank you, Morpheus.”
“Let me know when you go after him.”
“I will.”
The suit-clad male left with a nod, leaving me gaping after him in a mixture of confusion and shock. “Who the heck was that?”
“A very old friend,” Nero said, his voice flat. “He dream-walks.”
“Hewhat?”
Nero picked up a glass and downed the contents, then stood. “We need to have a talk, little siren. About the man from your memory and what he’s done to you.”
“I… what?” Apparently, that was my new favorite word.
He sat beside me, his presence an automatic blanket of warmth that I craved despite the chaos rioting in my thoughts. “You studied mythology in college, yes?”
My brow puckered. How could he possibly know that?
“I reviewed your transcripts,” he replied, whether because he’d read the question from my eyes or I’d spoken it aloud, I didn’t know. “You took a mythology course just last year, which means you’ve learned all about the famous Poseidon.”
Okay, maybe I’m still dreaming because what the hell?I pinched my side and flinched.
“I prefer Nero, but humans love their tales. They’ve called me Poseidon, Neptune, and several other names throughout history.” He sighed, leaning back against the headboard. “And you, my darling Kailiani, are my lost betrothed.”
I pinched myself again for good measure. Other than sending a pang up my side, nothing else happened. “Okay. This is a dream, right?” Because no way did Nero Rotanev just tell me he was Poseidon.
He studied me intently. “Look inside yourself, Kailiani. You’ll see the truth of what I’m telling you. Just as you’ll realize that dream you just endured wasn’t a dream at all, but a memory of the day I lost you.”
