Page 66 of Darkness and Deceit
“You’re safe,” I whisper. “You made it back to me.”
Kai doesn’t answer, but his eyes stay locked on mine. Dull but aware. Like he’s still wading through the fog. Like he’s not sure if any of this is real.
“Do you want water?” I ask, already reaching for the glass beside the bed.
He doesn’t speak, only blinks once. I help him sit up slowly, careful not to brush his burned side. He hisses between his teeth, but he doesn’t let go of my hand.
When the cup touches his lips, he drinks in small sips—shaky, like he’s relearning how to move. I watch every swallow like it’s sacred. Itis.He’shere.
Once he finishes, I ease him back down against the pillows. He closes his eyes briefly. When he opens them again, they’ve cleared a little.
“I thought—” he starts, then breaks off, jaw tight.
“What?” I ask gently, brushing damp hair from his temple.
His voice is barely audible. “I thought I wouldn’t make it back to you.”
The words land like a gut punch. “You did,” I whisper. “You did.”
He turns his head just enough to look at me, something raw flickering in his eyes. “I didn’t want you to see me like this…”
I blink, startled. “Kai—I’ve already seen you like this. I’vebeenhere. Every hour. Every heartbeat.”
He swallows hard, throat bobbing like it hurts to admit. “I thought it’d make you look at me differently.”
I shift closer, pressing my forehead to his once more. “It does,” I whisper. “It makes me see you clearer. You think I only want the version of you that never breaks? That’s not real. This is. And I’m not going anywhere.”
“It’s different now. The flame—it didn’t just burn me. It did somethingelse.Twisted everything. I don’t even know what’s mine anymore.”
“You’re still in there, Kai. I can feel it. The bond’s not broken and you’re not alone.”
He exhales shakily, lashes fluttering closed for a beat. “He was one of them,” he says eventually. I don’t have to ask who he means. Vaughn told me what happened. “The one from the pit.”
I nod once. “I figured from what Vaughn mentioned.”
“I froze,” he says again, jaw tight. “I saw his face and everything just—collapsed. It was like being back there. I couldn’t move.”
“You lived,” I say softly, but firmly. “You fought your way back.”
“I didn’t want him to take me again,” he says, voice breaking. “Didn’t want you to ever see what I was in that place.”
My heart twists. “You don’t have to tell me,” I whisper. “Not now. Not if it hurts. You’re here. You’re safe.”
He shakes his head faintly. “No. Youshouldknow. You should know what he did, what I let happen, the things I did to?—”
I cut him off gently, cupping his cheek. “Stop. Please. There’s nothing you could say that would make me turn away.”
His eyes finally meet mine, wide and glassy. “I don’t feel like myself.”
“You don’t have to,” I say, wrapping my fingers around his again. “That’s what the bond is for. I’ll hold on until you find your way back.”
Kai closes his eyes again. His breathing evens out. It’s shallow, but less strained. The bond between us pulses once, low and real, like a heartbeat echoing mine and his.
Outside the room, I hear the distant murmur of a healer giving orders. Someone wheels a cart of bandages and elixirs past our door. The scent of healing salves clings to the air.
Simon and Vaughn left earlier—Simon dragging Vaughn toward the medics after I insisted. I haven’t seen them since. I know they’ll be back. I know they’re not far.
My gaze shifts back to Kai.
