Page 68 of The Fate of Eternity

“To cover for you.”

“Cover for us?”

“Oh, you won’t know. You were off on your adventure, which definitely makes sense now, but, uh… Vallie’s not dead. She never was.”

33

ADRIANNA

Visions flutter in my mind. Whispers of fated mates, whimsical magic, and white dragons dancing through my dreams. Every breath I take makes the visions weaker as my body wrenches me from the depths of unconsciousness. My muscles ache as I stretch out beneath soft sheets, a hum ghosting over my lips as I sigh, a hint of contentment nestling deep in my gut before I pry my eyes open.

Black curtains flutter in the wind, making my eyes crinkle with confusion. My contentment is halted as uncertainty rushes over me. Pressing my palms against the mattress, I shuffle back until I’m propped against the headboard, which gives me a better view of the unfamiliar room I find myself in.

The sheets spread beneath me and over me are as black as the curtains, which match the carpet, headboard, and every piece of furniture in the room.

Where the fuck am I?

A ripple of magic shivers down my spine at the thought and a split second later, the bedroom door bursts open. I lurch forward, hands patting at my ribcage to find none of my daggerswithin reach, but my burst of panic quells at the sight of Kryll in the open door frame.

His auburn hair is swept back off his face, finger trail marks running through the lengths as his wide eyes search mine.

“Did you feel that… whatever it was?” I rasp, wetting my dry lips as he nods. He steps into the room, clicking the door closed behind him as he approaches the bed.

“It’s like it was telling me to get in here now, making me aware you were awake,” he explains, and I take a deep breath. A reminder that the dreams that plagued my vision weren’t make believe, but reenactments of the last thing I remember before the world went dark.

It really needs to stop doing that. I’m supposed to be alert and ready to act at any given moment, but it’s as if my mind, body, and soul know that I’m safe in their arms.

“Is everyone okay?” I ask, hoping to distract myself from the magic that trembles through my veins.

Kryll sits beside me on the bed, his thick arms coiling around me in a warm embrace before he tucks a loose tendril of hair back off my face. “Everyone is fine. What about you?”

I shrug, which earns me a pointed look before I even speak. “Where are we?” My attempt at distracting from the topic seems to work when he shuffles to get comfortable on the bed.

“Beau’s,” he offers, making me frown.

“On campus?”

“We didn’t know where else to go and you were passed out,” he mutters, uncertainty flashing in his eyes, and I shake my head.

“No, you did the right thing. It just seems so…”

“Black?” he finishes, a hint of amusement in his words as I nod in agreement.

The tension eases a little from my limbs as my stare locks on his. “This feels weird,” I admit, earning a knowing smile from my dragon.

“I agree. It’s like we’re jacked up with all of this tension and emotion.” I nod, feeling the exact same thing in my veins too. “Brody said it’s because the magic worked. They made us fated mates.”

I nod, my breath parting my lips in a whoosh as I ask the one thing I’m still a little uncertain about in my tired state. “The puppet?—”

“They didn’t achieve that,” he interjects, and the remaining stress that was clinging to me eases.

“That’s a relief, at least,” I offer, wiggling my fingers when the tension doesn’t ease from the magic pulsing through my body.

He reaches for my hand, encapsulating it in his own as he runs his thumb over my skin. “Take a deep breath. Brody helped us figure out how to keep it at bay. For now, at least,” he explains, pressing his lips to my knuckles before he continues. “I’m sure it will be a thousand times easier for you with your fae mind, but it’s all about focusing on your feelings among the madness in here,” he states, tapping at his temple with his free hand. “The tingling and overwhelming sensation is because we feel everything. We’re all tethered to you, but we’re all affected by each other too. The bond between us now is simply strengthened by the magic.”

My eyes widen, surprise coating my thoughts. “That’s… a lot.”

“Yeah. I guess because it’s all new, we don’t know what it is we’re actually feeling. That’s probably why it’s so manic, but if you can take a deep breath, connect with your center, and focus on your own thoughts and feelings, it should allow you to separate the others. At least enough to put them behind a closeddoor so it’s not so overwhelming,” he adds, his smile turning to one of encouragement.

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