Page 64 of Ecliptic

“That kid is too sweet for his own good,” I said, dropping to the ground and offering my hand to the majestic white wolf. Her tail went wild as she closed the distance between us and licked my hand.

Tears welled in my eyes as I threw my arms around her thick mane and buried my nose in her fur. Not being able to touch people for so long had been isolating, but I hadn’t realized just how deeply it affected me until I embraced Sabra.

Rowen joined me on the ground, and together, we lavished Sabra with love and attention. Her mouth curved into a panting smile, and her paw batted at us for more.

Eventually, we stood, and I wiped a tear from my eye. Rowen stepped closer, wrapping his arm around my shoulders as he kissed my temple.

Maddock had been eerily quiet as his sharp eyes traced over our flushed skin, disheveled hair, and unkempt clothes. “You can touch her now,” he said to Rowen, and a part of me wished we’d tidied up a bit better. Our all-nighter was plain as day, and I felt a flash of regret for taunting it so obviously in Madds’ face. “What happened? The bond has been going haywire.”

“I can touch my soul flame. Is that so shocking?” Rowen asked.

“I—No. It’s just . . .” his eyes darted all over my body. “Did you have to be so rough with her?” he asked, his brows furrowing. “Her mouth is swollen, and her arms and chest are covered in marks. And that’s just what I can see.”

My jaw dropped as I struggled to keep my composure. “Don’t presume to think that I didn’t want or ask for it.”

“He’s a big man. And who knows what you’reasking him to do?”

“That is none of your business,” I seethed, stepping up to his chest.

Maddock matched my affront, his eyes burning. “It is my business,” he shot back, but Rowen quickly put a halting hand on his chest.

“Watch it, Madds,” Rowen warned in a low growl.

Maddock eyed us both, his chest heaving. “I can feeleverythingbetween you two,” he continued. “Why do you think I’m still here? Because I want to be? No. It’s because I have to be. It’s agonizing, the bond keeping me trapped. I’ve tried to leave, but I can’t. If I go too far, it starts to feel like I’m in the crevice again. Anguish and loneliness swallowing me up. If I knew how to give you back your Light and bond, I would.”

“That would be nice,” I said, my voice laced with bitterness, and I realized Rowen was acting as a barrier between us. “But this is all your fault, you know. We didn’t ask for this.”

Maddock’s face twisted in pain. “And you think I did? You think I wanted to be an intruder to your bond? To feel the strength of your love and emotions and know that it’s not meant for me?”

“Enough. You two,” Rowen said calmly. Too calmly. “Madds, just give us an update on the village.”

“There was a violent earthquake,” he replied, his eyes bruised from lack of sleep. “It took everything in me not to find you two, but I gave my word that I wouldn’t interrupt. Even though no one was sure what happened or if Erovos escaped.”

The high I’d been riding came crashing down. It had been nice to forget, to be pleasured beyond the point of comprehension. Rowen had taken my mind and body to a place where I’d been able to forget. But now, reality slammed back into me like a battering ram. Erovos and his army of astral demons were growing, and it wouldn’t be long until they escaped.

“He is still trapped,” I said, my tongue drying in my mouth. “But we need to gather the Summit first thing in the morning.”

“I’ll leave you to it, then,” Maddock said, his tone cold and detached, his eyes sorrowful as he retreated from us. “You know where to find me.”

Before I could stop him, the air rippled with a gentle pulse. Then, piece by piece and layer by layer, Madds started to fade. It was as if he broke himself down into fragments of light, his body becoming translucent until he vanished altogether.

For a moment, the world felt emptier, less complete, but I knew he was reforming in his jail cell, building himself back up until he was whole again.

Watching him astral travel was incredible. Even though I had the same ability, experiencing it and witnessing it were two entirely different things.

As I watched Madds disappear, a pit formed in my stomach. For the first time, the thought of him willingly returning to his cell bothered me.

I shot a glance at Rowen, and he sighed. “You used to do that to me all the time. Not fun, is it?”

“I thought you said I vanished in an instant?”

“Sometimes you would, but other times you would slowly fade away, depending on how much of yourself you brought to me. Why do you think that is?”

Suddenly, another piece of my strange ability fell into place. “Growing up, and when I first began appearing to you, I had no control over how much I traveled,” I said, my voice filling with confidence as I finally had the words to articulate my experiences. “Some nights, layers of my being were on Luneth while my physical body remained on Earth. I would sleepwalk and sleep-run, my body moving through the night as my mind wandered into a different realm. I’d been breaking myself downinto layers of light to walk between worlds. It’s no wonder why I was always so disoriented.”

“I remember you telling me you thought you were going mad. You were convinced I wasn’t real,” Rowen said, his eyebrow cocking up mischievously. My eyes danced across the strong planes of his face, lingering on the hollow contours at his temples and cheeks and the enticing curve of his lower lip. It was no wonder I believed I had conjured this man. He was perfect for me in every way, as if I’d crafted him myself.

Reflexively, I lifted my hand to his face and ran my fingernails through the rough texture of his scruff.

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