Page 64 of The Other Side of the Mirror

You need to get farther away, I thought with all the determination I could muster.

The pounding in my head was getting worse. I knew Aviel’s guards would catch me if I passed out now and drag me back to him. Just as I knew I wouldn’t get lucky a third time.

I ran. The thought of that monster keeping me was enough to keep my exhaustion at bay as I crashed through the brush. Not worrying about stealth, only trying to get as much distance from that cursed castle as possible.

There was a glimmer of bright, ethereal blue. I fixated on it, following the strangely fluttering glow like it was a beacon leading the way. Branches and brambles tore at my hair, my face, my cloak. My bare feet had to be in bloody ribbons. They were too cold, too numb to feel it now, but I knew I would be in trouble soon if I didn’t wrap them in something.

I stopped in a clearing, intent on tearing my cloak to bind them, when I doubled over, darkness creeping into the edges of my vision. When I looked down, the cuts on my feet had left a trail of blood.

My eyes blurred with exhausted, furious tears.

Keep going. Keep going.I chanted hazily to myself in my mind. Or did I say it out loud?

Feeling Bash’s response tickle on my palm, I glanced down just as two large hands grabbed me. I couldn’t stop my scream from bubbling up, muffled as one of the hands quickly clamped over my mouth.

Rivan’s deep voice rumbled in my ear. “It’s me, darling. It’s okay.” I realized too late he had been saying my name before he reached me. But I couldn’t help my flinch at his choice of pet name. “Bash sensed…he saw your messages.”

Bash and Yael were running toward us from the other side of the clearing.

He came for me.

The pain of my injuries, the sedative still in my system, and the shock of the attack seemed to meld together now that I was finally safe. My heartbeat roared in my ears, the sky above spun, and the last thing I felt was Rivan catch me before I hit the ground.

Chapter28

Eva

My head pounded so loudly, I felt like my skull might split in two. I tried to swallow, but Ichoked on my own saliva when I realized there were two strong arms wrapped around me.

I wasn’t free. I hadn’t escaped. I was still trapped?—

And I would die before I let him touch me again.

My eyes flew open, and I threw myself against the arms caging me. But it was Bash’s arms holding me up: one under my knees, the other behind my back. His wide eyes swirled violently, his chest rapidly rising and falling as he held me firmly in his embrace.

Time seemed to stand still as we looked at each other, and I was enveloped with the utterly perfect feeling of coming home. It knocked the air from my lungs.

“Freckles,” I whispered weakly. “You came back for me.”

For a moment, he was so still he didn’t appear to be breathing. Then he was shaking so hard I could feel it in my bones.

In an indignant whisper, Bash asked, “Did you think for even a second that I wouldn’t?”

I let out a shuddering breath, and a small, whimpering sound came with it. He wrapped me even more tightly in his arms, his head burying in my hair like he was breathing me in. I clung to him as he stood there, holding me like I was weightless, his words barely registering.

“I’ve never been so scared in my life,” he said brokenly. “If I knew he would hurt you…” He squeezed his eyes shut like he was in pain. “I failed you, Eva. I should have never left you there in the first place.”

I realized belatedly that our friends were standing behind me, looking on with varying degrees of anger and sadness. We were in what looked to be the large open entry of a mountain cabin—having obviously just arrived when I awoke based on the boots, cloaks, and weapons they all still wore. Thick, rustic wooden beams adorned the ceiling, and the smell of cedar permeated the air, though the house had obviously been built long ago. The space was huge yet cozy, lit by sconces and firelight. Frost coated the large windows by the doorway.

I was safe. I was free. I was?—

Aviel’s treachery slammed into me, and an unexpected sob escaped my throat. My heart felt fractured, a deep, dull pain that hadn’t waned in the least. I couldn’t stop shaking, as though I would come apart, the memory of my terror still too fresh as I tried to push it down.

Bash sat us on a nearby leather bench, placing me on his lap. His hands moved to cup my face, his thumb brushing my tears from my cheeks.

“You’re safe now,” Bash said in a choked voice. “I’ve got you.”

I buried my tear-streaked face into the warmth of his chest, tucking myself under his chin. He held me like he might never let me go, one hand stroking my back as sobs wracked my battered body.

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