Page 16 of Devastation
At the foot of the bed, Thanny sits and stares at me. I look over at him and ask, "What? Do I have something on my face?" while running my hands over it to make sure I hadn't somehow become deformed when my soul merged back.
The solemn look on his face causes alarm bells to blare in my head even though I feel no abnormalities on my face. My eyes widen and I yell, "What happened to my face, Thanny?!"
A crack in his stony façade appears as he struggles to hide a smile, biting his lower lip harshly.
"You mother-fuuuuuu—" I'm cut off just as I'm about to berate him for that scare, when Ash's voice calls out.
"Lana?"
Instantly, all my thoughts of Thanny fade, and I jump from the bed and run to Ash. His real body, whole once more with his soul intact. Flinging myself at him, I jump to wrap around him like a Koala. To hold him and feel him, knowing that he's free of Anshar's grip, is a moment I'll never forget.
It's true what they say about not knowing what you have until it's gone, and boy does this situation put into perspective that I'll go to the ends of the world to make sure my family is safe.
Ash's grip on me tightens to a point just shy of pain, but I allow it knowing he's just trying to hold me tightly enough to convince himself this isn't a dream. That we're really all together again.
A lock of his long hair tickles my nose, and I scrunch it up, trying to halt the sneeze that's oncoming. When that fails, I start to inhale quick, rapid breaths, in preparation to let it out. Ash starts to pull back when he senses my struggle and I flail, trying to keep his face away from the eminent onslaught from my nasal cavity.
Turning my head to the side, I see the others staring at me oddly, and at the last minute, I decide the only safe place is down. Finally allowing the burning tingles to take over my sinuses, I sneeze down in succession three times.
Part of it has to get on Ash's arm from this angle, and I hear him chuckle.
"You could have sneezed on my face. It would have been good payback for when I sneezed on you in your bed," he ends with a good natured smirk.
My mouth pops open, "Dammit! That would have been the perfect payback. You're lucky I'm a changed woman, with some manners now."
Slowly he allows me to slip down to the floor before leaning down to rest his forehead against mine. Closing my eyes, I soak in the moment before I feel his forehead lift and his lips lightly touching my own.
It's Ash. Not Anshar.
I press my own lips back to his softly before pulling away and facing my other mates. "I told you I'd get him back!"
"We never doubted you, Little One," Hale responds before quickly stifling a yawn seconds later, spurring my body to yawn as well, as if I hadn't just been unconscious for days before going to get Ash.
I want to read more of the journal Gaia left behind for me though, before I turn in. It's important for me to have a firm understanding of what is expected of me so we can formulate the best plan of attack tomorrow.
Zedd is still oddly quiet, standing just off to the side of the group and staring intently at the wall behind us. The twins also pick up on his unusual behavior, moving to flank him and jostling him lightly. "Can you whip us up some of those chocolate chip cookies from Beth's recipe? We'll provide entertainment in exchange."
To that—in a rare show of sarcasm—Zedd replies, "When are you not providing entertainment?"
Luke throws his hand in the air and exclaims, "Exactly! We are famished from constantly performing," while Leo guides Zedd out of the room.
Peeking up at Ash, I see him nibbling on his lower lip before he announces, "If you don't mind, I'm going to explore this place and clear my mind a bit. I'm not tired after being out for who knows how long, but I'll make sure I'm back by morning."
The idea of him going off on his own makes my heart drop into my stomach, and I realize that I'm afraid he is somehow going to leave us. When I open my mouth to voice this concern, Hale coughs loudly and quite dramatically, clearly cutting me off.
I glare at him, and he smiles in return before answering Ash. "Definitely take a look around at our new home. Gaia left this to Lana, and the land somehow knows we are her mates. It will keep you safe."
Without a word, Ash nods in response and drops a kiss to the top of my head before heading out the door.
Narrowing my eyes at Hale, I point my finger at his chest, "Why would you think that's a good idea? He clearly doesn't feel comfortable being back with us yet!"
As Hale closes the few feet between us, my anger deflates until I’m left with fear, "What if he leaves us?"
He envelops me in his large embrace, tucking my head under his chin and resting his on top of it. "He won't, Lana. A huge lesson we learned while we were with Serenity and her mates is that we have to have trust within our family. If he is struggling, we need to trust that he will come to us and tell us so we can work through it..." he trails off and goes rigid before finishing, "...together."
That wasodd.
He inhales deeply, moving my head slightly with the motion, before exhaling loudly. "Lana, we have to talk about something that happened to me while I was in the witch realm."
