Total pages in book: 401
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 390373 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1952(@200wpm)___ 1561(@250wpm)___ 1301(@300wpm)
Yes, she was in pain, and it was far more profound than the physical, but I also tasted fear.
Pure, stark terror.
Dear, gods. I struggled to recall when—if ever—I had known her to be so afraid. The only time I could think of was when Kieran and I had been taken down by shadowshade—a flower found in the eastern hills of the Mountain of Nyktos that freezes those affected and turns them to stone.
She had been terrified for us then.
But now?
She appeared terrified of me.
The air was charged with currents of energy that made my skin prickle as she drew back, pressing herself against the wall like she sought to sink into it. Tensing, I saw her eyes widen with fear and…
Panic rose in her like a tidal wave about to break. “Don’t,” she rasped.
My soul withered. That word sounded broken. “Poppy,” I whispered hoarsely, loathing how I’d taunted her when she first woke up in an attempt to distract her from her desire to escape. “Please, do not be afraid of me. Please.”
Poppy flinched.
She fucking flinched, and all the hurt and anger I’d felt upon realizing she didn’t trust me in all the ways one needed was nothing compared to knowing I was the one causing her fear. I wanted to tear out my heart.
A sense of helplessness crept over me. I’d never felt so damn powerless in my life as I watched her angle her body sideways, keeping her knees pressed tightly to her chest but her head trained in my direction. There was distance between us—one that felt like miles, even though it was only a few feet.
Forcing my body to relax, I didn’t dare move forward or backward as her wary gaze remained fixed on me. Gods, shit felt really bleak in the minutes that followed. I needed to stop that line of thought.
So, I pushed down my frustration until I felt almost nothing and focused on the fact that she had at least spoken her first word since she’d placed herself against the wall. I took another breath. “You don’t remember this right now, but you can always talk to me. About anything,” I said softly, suppressing the part of me that wished that were true. “You can tell me what you’re thinking.”
She blinked, her lashes slow to lift after lowering.
“Even if all you’re thinking about is escaping. You can tell me that.” I eased myself down on my ass again. I was no longer half-leaning toward her, but I was closer. I would consider that progress. “If you’re thinking about how much I’m annoying you right now,” I said with a faint smile, “you can tell me that, just like you would anytime in the past when I frustrated you.”
Her chin tilted down, causing strands of hair to swing forward against her cheek. Unsurprisingly, she didn’t answer.
It truly was like she was in another world—one where my voice couldn’t reach her, and my presence was a threat rather than a comfort.
Gods. Despite the shit with the promise, I ached to hold her. To reassure her with a touch. Yet I knew that any attempt would only cause her more fear. So, I stayed rooted to the spot my ass had plopped down on, a silent guardian wrestling with the fear that I was losing her to a battle I didn’t have the knowledge to understand. An enemy I knew existed but couldn’t see.
The room was silent except for Poppy’s shallow breathing, a rhythm that seemed too frail and labored. Concern took hold as I let my senses stretch out toward her. What I picked up from her was a swirling mixture of fear, anxiety, and something flat. Emotionless. Empty. I concentrated on her. It was like peeling back the layers of an onion. The fear was hers, as was the anxiety and hunger, but what lurked underneath? That cold emptiness? That wasn’t her.
That was him.
Somehow, he’d bonded himself to her. Had gotten inside her—A wildfire of rage tore through me, igniting every cell in my body and stoking the essence in my blood. I was going to kill that fucker. True Primal of Death or not, he would die. He would fucking—
Poppy’s head lifted, her eyes wide again as energy charged the atmosphere. A faint glow of eather pulsed weakly behind her pupils as the splotches of brown and green in her irises began to bleed together.
Shit.
I needed to control myself better. Pulling my senses back, I cut them off as I checked my anger. It took damn near everything in me to calm my ass down.
When I could trust that my voice would be level, I spoke. “You felt that, huh? I’m not angry at you. Never at you.”
The churning in her eyes slowed and then stilled, leaving only the shadows and crimson visible. Our gazes locked, and there was nothing but a cold, vast emptiness in her stare.