Page 15 of Oracle
Seth practically purred as he swooped down to scoop me into his arms, jostling me until I was turned towards his chest, my head lying flat on it. He didn’t wait for Jameson’s answer as he began walking with me down the tunnel.
Glancing back at the man who’d just said he wasn’t worthy of taking this step, my eyes pleaded with him to come, but I didn’t think he would.
CHAPTERSIX
KIRA
As the tunnels twisted and turned, I shifted my head to look forward at where Seth was taking us. Jameson hadn’t followed, much to my disappointment, but maybe this was for the best for us.
He’d made his wishes clear, and who was I to push him or judge him if he felt like this was the route he needed to take? My own selfish desire to live these two weeks to the fullest didn’t mean I could force any of my men to be on the same timeline as me.
Rationally, I knew that my increased aggression moving forward would likely shock them a bit, and I honestly hadn’t even thought about whether they would rebuff it or not. Until now.
I still think he would have come with the smallest amount of encouragement at the end.
I still think he can make his own decisions.
Seth’s smooth voice cut in, “How’re you really doing, Kitten?”
How was I doing?
How was I doing with the thought of essentially having my physical body die for me to transcend to live with our goddess for the rest of my somewhat immortal, but not immortal, life?
How was I doing with keeping secrets from the people I cared deeply for?
How was Ireallydoing…
I was falling apart at the seams trying to figure out how to juggle everything, while simultaneously reminding myself I didn’t have the luxury of time to actually figure that out.
I had shifters to save and cocks to fuck.
That was possibly going to be my new motto as a reminder of my priorities for the next two weeks.
His question was multifaceted. Beneath the playful and sensual exterior of Seth, he was very in tune with who I was as a person. I wasn’t surprised that he had picked up on there being something lingering beneath the surface—not that I’d done the best job at obscuring that.
“Obviously, this was a lot to wake up to, ya know,” I answered, testing the waters, while not really giving him much to go on. I wanted to see where he thought I was mentally, or what he assumed I was struggling with.
Rounding one final corner that made me, not for the first time, wonder how the hell anyone remembered the layout here. As he deposited me onto the dirt-packed ground softly, he flipped the sign on the outside that currently read “available,” to the other side that said, “in use.”
I liked the sound of that.
A hot shower really did sound so nice right now. My muscles felt stiff after being still like a wood plank for a week while entangled in tree limbs and healing from a stab wound.
I followed Seth into the bathing room silently, realizing he hadn’t pressed me any further, despite my vague response. The room darkened as we passed the rough stone countertops and sinks, getting farther into the bathing chamber, my eyes catching on how dull I looked in the mirror for a moment.
My white hair was matted and speckled with dirt and branches. A bird could truly build a glorious nest within this disaster. But even worse, was how dead I looked in my eyes. My face looked somewhat gaunt as I stopped for a second to truly take myself in.
The usually vibrant features I’d known myself to have were shadowed, much like my soul right now. I…I wasn’t me in any way, shape, or form right now. It was disturbing to see it reflected back at me so clearly.
“You see why I ask now?”
Seth’s soft question jerked my eyes to his. His tone was gentle but also underlying concern bled through. He had stopped walking and had turned around to stare at me. The pointed look clear on his face. He wasn’t giving up on his search for the truth of what was plaguing me.
Turning around once more, he left me in peace for a second and I heard water begin to flow as he turned a shower on somewhere in the near distance. Leaning against the counter with my hands pressed against the flat sink top, I let my head fall back as I took in centering, deep breaths.
I told you this was too much to carry alone. And I don’t count. You are a shell of the woman you were prior to visiting Selene.
There was no denying the truth of her words, but it still didn’t change how I felt on the subject. I wasn’t going to keep arguing with Lux about it, though.
