Page 25 of Bound By Roses

“Abby…”

I whip around but see nothing in the swirling blackness, though I’m sure it came from behind me.

“Abby…”

No, that definitely came from behind me and it was much closer.

“Where are you?” I ask, surprised words could escape through the vapour filling my mouth.

“Right here.”

I scream, bringing my hands up to my ears. The voice sounded as if it was spoken by someone directly beside me, but once again, there’s nothing. Just me in this void.

Void.

I know it’s he who taunts me. He sounds older now, no longer producing the soft voice of a child, though it hasn’t yet broken into manhood.

His laughter echoes through the nothingness, both loud and soft at once. Sometimes it sounds near, other times it’s much further away. But there’s one thing I know for certain…

“I’ll see you soon.”

I launch out of bed just as I do every morning, throat raw and gasping for air. There’s no point in telling myself it was just a nightmare because I’ve been doing that for weeks now and it hasn’t helped a bit.

Three weeks, to be exact.

It’s still dark in the small room Quinn and I have been staying in at the very top of the only tower still standing among Marein’s ruins. Even with the massive hole in the wall, it’s in relatively good shape. That hole is why I’d chosen this spot. When Quinn asked, I told him I simply enjoyed the view, but the truth is, I feel better knowing I can monitor the shadows that now consume Lunae. They seem bigger now. Wider. As if the disease has already begun to spread across the land.

Void’s words play in my mind again.I’ll see you soon.Those are always the words that wake me up. The threat that wakes me up.

I can’t say how long has passed, but the sky has lightened a fraction and with that light, my breathing has slowed. The small buckets of water and blue-green algae Quinn collected and placed around the tower help, but not nearly as much as the sun. At least, that’s how I feel most mornings.

Today is different.

It will be dawn soon and then… I don’t even want to think about it.

Quinn is still asleep, though he appears restless. I’m tempted to wake him from whatever dreams are plaguing him, but he hasn’t been sleeping well as it is. Neither of us have been ourselves since that fateful night on the beach. War, broken bonds, and the impending threat of Lunalissa’s Chosen have all taken their toll. Quinn led me to believe he carried buckets of algae all the way up here to lighten the shadows that now terrify me, but I can’t shake the feeling that he’s just as fearful of something lingering in the dark.

We’ll be okay, but it’s going to take some time. All my life I’ve never been afraid of the dark and now even closing my eyes can bring my heart rate up. Even with all this power given to me by Terranous, I feel weak.

We’ve made some improvements to Marein’s islands. Moving rich soil from the edge of the forest to the cleared out area I’d found on the island next to ours wasn’t easy, but I’m thankful for the distraction. That, and my daily lessons with Teagan, are all that have been getting me through these last weeks. I’ve been able to grow a bit of food, too. It’s not much and hasn’t made a dent in the shortage the sirens are experiencing, but once things are settled here, Quinn plans to hunt for game in the forest.

He could have been hunting already, but so far, he hasn’t strayed far from Marein. Or me. I won’t complain about his nearness. The new bond that’s formed between us is only just beginning to ease up on our unrelenting ‘need to fuck,’ for lack of a better term. It’s the time I feel myself, if I’m being honest. The only time I’m not terrified that any moment Lunae will attack.

I yawn and snuggle back into bed beside Quinn. My nearness seems to ease some of the tension in his body, so I let my hand brush soft circles over his tanned skin. All the time he’s spent shirtless in the sun helping me prepare the garden has turned his skin nearly as golden as most of the other sirens. If it weren’t forhis lack of webbed fingers and a stunning array of fins, I might say he looks like he belongs here.

He’s spent a bit of time in the underwater city, though he never leaves me for long. I haven’t been able to bring myself to climb down the massive spiral staircase, but today I don’t have a choice.

While Quinn was in meetings with Merrick and Rhett planning for this very morning, I’ve distracted myself by spending as many afternoons as possible with Teagan—much to Petra’s dismay. Petra has moved to one of the ruined homes on the adjacent island to be closer to her mate, but Teagan is still unable to leave the water.

Quinn stirs beside me and rubs an eye as he sits upright. He looks as exhausted as I feel. “How long have you been awake?” he asks, sleep still filling his voice.

“Not long,” I lie. It must be nearing an hour now, as the sky has shifted from an ominous red to a haze of pinks and yellows. I’ve heard that a red sky in the morning means a storm is coming, and given the significance of today, I might just have to agree.

The healers have decided that it’s time we wake Jade. According to what Quinn has relayed to me about his meetings with them and Merrick, Jade’s body has healed enough to handle the process. Despite the apparent healing, he’s warned me multiple times that there’s been some changes to Jade’s body. He’d wanted to elaborate, but I didn’t want to know. Merrick actually paid me a visit one day, and all but begged me to go down there with him so that the shock of seeing Jade in that condition wouldn’t hit me as hard today, but I couldn’t do it.

I’ve never known myself to be a coward, but apparently I am.

Jade is alive because of me, but just what kind of life will he have? He’s unconscious and there’s no telling what state he’ll be in when we wake him. And that’sifhe wakes.

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