Page 286 of Psycho Devils: Aran's Story 2

I felt nothing.

Blank.

Emptiness.

Purple eyes narrowed, and Xerxes scoffed like he disagreed.

“How about you?” I asked.

Xerxes watched me fight with my hair warily, then said, “It was between me and Ascher. I didn’t let Sadie choose. I decided.”

My eyebrows rose with surprise. “Really, but isn’t Sadie usually the one you protect?” Xerxes lay down until his stomach was flat on the grass, and I followed his lead as I yelled over the wind, “I’m sure Ascher could handle himself fine.”

Xerxes jerked his head to the side at my words.

His face pinched as he shouted, “He’s my mate. It doesn’t matter what he can or can’t handle. What matters is that I can suffer so he doesn’t have to.”

Sun god. That was romantic.

Thunder boomed, and the grass shook.

“Must be nice,” I whispered, then closed my eyes and started counting.

There was nothing to do but wait.

Two hours later, the wind and thunder stopped.

I blinked open frozen eyelids.

The lawn was covered in a layer of frost.

Visibility was slightly better. The sky was a light shade of gray, and the realm was no longer shrouded in complete darkness.

Xerxes sat up beside me.

I tried to join him but convulsed with chills. My limbs refused to cooperate, and I manually repositioned my legs beneath me.

Xerxes sighed out a cloud of frost.

My teeth chattered with so much force that my jaw ached.

I knew the signs from my time in the shifter realm.

Hypothermia was setting in.

My clothes were a light material that was stretchy for fighting. It offered no protection from the cold.

Rubbing my hands over my arms, I asked Xerxes, “D-D-Do you think-k-k the s-s-storm is over?”

He offered his hand and helped me up.

“I don’t know,” he said with a grimace.

The four other competitors were spread out across the field. Everyone was looking around warily as they stood up.

I dusted frost off my clothes.

BOOM. SHHHHK.

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