Page 38 of Tethered to the World
When Annora opened the door to the patio, all the guys jolted to their feet. She made her way over to an empty spot on one of the five benches circling the pit. It was late afternoon, the sky cloudy, the air brisk. The warmth of the flames was welcoming.
She’d never been around a large fire, and couldn’t help but be fascinated as the flames consumed the logs, feeling awed by the power, respecting and admiring the destructive force.
“What happened today?” Camden sat on the bench next to hers, but directed his question to Logan.
“Ellora was at the mall.”
Silence reigned for a moment.
“Annora objected to her bloody form of affection. One minute they were there, the next they were both gone.” Logan lit a cigarette with shaky fingers, then inhaled deeply, only relaxing slightly after he blew out a puff of smoke. “They disappeared for fifteen fucking minutes. I thought she was gone. By the time I spotted them again, it was too late. Ellora had managed to get a direct hit. I’m not sure how she’s even alive, but Annora just calmly stood there and fucking smiled.”
He gave a choked laugh, but there was no humor in the shattered sound. When the others looked at her like she was crazy, she just shrugged her good shoulder. “She was pissing me off. I warned her to keep her hands off Logan, and she didn’t. I warned her to stay away from me, and she didn’t.” Annora met Logan’s gaze directly. “I warned her what will happen if she comes after you again. This time, she will listen. She’s released you from your vows.”
“What?” Logan gave a strangled yelp, and the cigarette that had been casually dangling between his fingertips hit the ground, the small, glowing tip shattering into sparks on impact.
Annora turned away from him and watched the flames again. “I know what it’s like to be trapped. To never have a future. Never have a life of your own. Now you’re free to make your own choices…whatever they may be.”
“Fuck me.” The words were choked. Then he leaned forward until his head was between his knees, sucking in deep gulps of air, as if he couldn’t find enough oxygen. “Fuck me.” He gripped his hair with both hands, then seemed to freeze as he stared at the ground.
Annora glanced at him in concern, then looked at the others.
Camden pursed his lips as he stared at his friend, then raised a brow at her, as if asking for help.
She gave a nod.
Whatever he needed, she would give it freely if it was in her power.
“Annora, you need to go inside and rest in preparation for tonight. Logan will help you to your room while the rest of us go over the plans.”
Logan cleared his throat twice before he nodded and stood. He didn’t look at anyone else as he came to a stop next to her. As she rose to her feet, her heart lurched when she noticed his red-rimmed eyes. They were silent as they entered the house, and she couldn’t get over the feeling that she’d fucked something up.
At the top of the stairs, he shoved his hands in his back pockets, and she saw he still wore his bloodstained shirt. “I’m sorry if I stepped out of line, but I can’t stand to see others being tortured.”
She tugged at the hem of his shirt where it had become untucked. “Go shower and put on some fresh clothes…” When he didn’t look at her or protest, she playfully pushed him. “Then come back here and fix my door.”
He nodded robotically and disappeared down the stairs. She slumped down on the bed, suddenly exhausted. She knew she needed to go into the afterworld to heal faster, but she was afraid of what awaited her.
She stretched out along the bed, and the three ferrets immediately jumped up to join her, snagging the blanket at the bottom of the bed to pull it over her. Then they curled around her, offering what comfort they could. Scraping together what little courage she had left, she allowed the darkness to rise to the surface—not enough to pull her in the afterworld, but just enough for it to fill her.
Her skin tingled, as if someone was trying into stitch her flesh together with a butter knife, and she welcomed the pain like an old friend. What was really fucked up was that she almost craved it—the pain had kept her alive for so long, she didn’t feel whole without it.
The pain was almost pleasurable as it gradually faded, and she reluctantly released the darkness. The toxins in her system, along with the partial healing, took a lot out of her since she refused to enter the afterworld, and she allowed sleep to claim her. It was only when the bed dipped that she startled awake. The scent of winter eased the panic lodged in her throat, and she twisted to see Logan sitting by her bed with a laptop across his knees.
“What are you doing?”
“Watching over you.” He didn’t even glance up from his work. “Go back to sleep. You’re safe.”
Annora hesitated for a second when his pale blue eyes finally lifted. “Unless you want to talk.”
It was a threat.
Annora grunted, then flipped her hair out of her face as she turned to stare up at the ceiling. “Might as well get it over with.”
He didn’t waste a second, his face shutting down as he turned toward her. “What the fuck were you thinking!?! A fire kitsune can destroy anything with their flames when they get mad. She could’ve killed you. And for what? You—”
“Did you know I went seven years without once setting foot outside my dingy little hole in the ground? Without even being able to look outside a window? When I finally managed to escape, I was almost too scared of the outside world to leave.” She crossed her legs at her ankle, hating the way her guts churned with the memories. “I know what a blade feels like against my flesh, how deep it can cut before I lose feeling, how a whip can shred muscle, what fists can do to my body. I know how long it takes my hair to grow back after it’s been burned off, not to mention my eyebrows. I know how fire can melt my flesh, how long it takes for my bones to knit back together. That it can take over a month for my vision to return after a blowtorch has seared my eyeballs. I know how many days I can go without sleep, how little food my body needs before it shuts down, and that a person can be desperate enough to drink out of a backed-up toilet.”
The pressure in her chest threatened to crush her as she struggled with the memories, and she forced herself to focus on her breathing. “I also know I wanted to kill the bitch. I watched her soul literally being sucked from her body, and I enjoyed it. You might think you’re broken, but you’re not. You still have your soul. And if I have any say in the matter, you’ll keep it.”
