Page 49 of Twisted Thorns

Sitting up in terror, a scream catches in my throat and my heart races to escape an invisible predator. I thrash under the weight of the blanket, feeling trapped by a cage of sharp metal and twisted steel.

Instantly, Kieran is up as well, turning to me and grabbing my shoulders.

"Lina, what's wrong? What is it?"

I feel frozen. Stuck. A fish on dry land gasping for air that can never reach my lungs.

Worry snakes its way across Kieran's features, illuminated by the soft moonlight shining through his bedroom windows.

Nodding as I suck in lungfuls of air, I grab Kieran's hands, hoping he can understand what I am wordlessly trying to say.

Kieran's brow furrows. "Nightmare?"

I nod again.

Large hands gently move me, pulling my shaking limbs into a bundle of blankets and a firm embrace. The echo of steel embedded in my skin fades as the heat of Kieran’s body against mine grounds me in the present moment.

After a moment, Kieran tilts my chin up, so I'm looking into his dark, mahogany eyes.

"What gives you nightmares, Avalina?" His gaze is soft, but Kieran can't hide the bite of his words that are as sharp as knives.

Despite his gruff delivery, I know Kieran isn't angry at me. How can he be when his hands hold me like I am his last breath?

Inhaling his whisky and smoke scent to ground me, I let my mask fall and tell Kieran of the nightmares that have plagued me ever since I woke up in the hospital after the accident.

Words spill out of my mouth like petals falling in the rain as I describe the memories that wake me at night. Memories of groaning metal collapsing around me, crushing and slicing as I'm tossed carelessly among glass and thorns by the lake edge.

Kieran listens silently, but there's no mistaking the tension he holds in the taut lines of his body, so carefully caging mine.

"You've had these since the accident?"

"Yes. They aren't as bad now, though. I haven't had one in weeks. They used to happen every night, and I'd have to get up and take a shower and change my sheets because I would wake up drenched in sweat. The nightmares feel so real." I look up from my ramblings to see Kieran scowl and I frown. He catches it and places a soft kiss on my lips.

"I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at the person responsible for the accident. Responsible for hurting you. For still hurting you."

"Have you found anything out about who caused it?"

"No, but Cass is looking into it. If there is anything we missed before, any stone we left unturned, she'll discover it."

I snuggle in closer to Kieran, craving his heat, his flesh against mine. A reminder that I'm not alone and tumbling about in the wreckage that sliced open my soul. Kieran's arms wrap around me, pulling the covers back over my body.

"Go back to sleep, Lina. I'll keep watch," his voice rumbles with my ear pressed to his chest. I want to protest, to tell him I'm fine, that I don't need him protecting me from the shadows, but something makes me pause. This is Kieran, the one person who has never made me feel less than for my missing memories, who refuses to let me apologize when I realize he's talking about something I've forgotten. The realization that I'm utterly safe here with him settles over my bones and I let my eyelids close, knowing I won't have any more nightmares tonight.

Chapter 25

Kieran

I am stewing, wondering about the danger I am putting Avalina in by starting up our relationship again. My heart wants to sing from the rooftops, but my mind doesn’t trust this feeling, doesn't trust this hope.

Despite the desire to go legit, that doesn’t erase the danger that comes with being associated with me, with my family. A knock interrupts my torment. I straighten, smoothing my features into an impassive mask.

"Enter," I command, my voice betraying none of the war burning within me. There is work to be done. And I will do it, no matter how my traitorous heart railed against the confines of duty.

She will be protected, even from myself.

The door opens and Cassie enters, her lithe form gliding across the room to stand before my desk. As always, her gaze is direct and assessing.

"You wanted to see me?" she asks, though we both know why she is here. Cassandra is my second, privy to all my secrets. Including those I wished desperately to deny.

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