Page 73 of Of Nightmares & Fire
“Are we ready then?” Mavros asks, and then he notices my attention casting behind him. Cole grabs my hand. “Don’t worry, princess, he’s here.” Mavros says with a smirk, but the look coupled with his notorious wink is different than it used to be—more curious than flirtatious.
“I’m not looking for Kyros. I’m just ready to go.” The words feel wrong. Bitter on my tongue.
A lie.
Cole squeezes my hand. She knows it, and the look Mavros pins me with says he does too, but neither argues. Mavros offers us both his arms, and we take them. He guides us along the long hall; candle sconces light the corridor in a soft gold glow, and with eachflickering dance toward the stairs, my heart rate increases. I pull my arm out of Mavros’ and stop where I stand. He and Cole both look at me over their shoulders.
“Princess?” Mavros quirks a brow.
“I—I just need a second. You guys go ahead; I’m right behind you.” I swallow. I can feel him.I can feel him?Sweat beads on my forehead, but to my relief Mavros nods. Cole says nothing, but I can see the question in her eyes. “I’m okay.Promise.” I nod, whispering to Cole. She gives me a flat-lipped smile before letting Mavros guide her to the staircase, and they descend toward the dining room.
Like a snake coiling around my spine, the hissing call echoes around me. I stiffen. My breaths come as a broken influx of air and an exhale of warm mist.
“SSssseennnkaaaaa….”
“No--” The word barely escapes my throat. A half word, half croak of fear. Squeezing my eyes shut, I press my back against the cool wall. Tilting my head back, I pray to the divine that this is not real. I am fully awake. There is no way that my nightmare has come to life, but I hear that hissing call. Something touches my collarbone, and my eyes snap open. I stifle a scream with my hand covering my mouth. Tears well at the border of my lashes, and the eerie stare of the creature in front of me penetrates through everything.
His long dark claws reach for me in the space between our bodies. The other hand, with sharp, blade-like bones, pins me to the wall. I’m trembling as a tear slides down my cheek. The longpoint of his finger trails my collarbone slowly, almost sensually, but in its wake a trail of blood paints my skin in beads of crimson. That fire—the lasso of heat that usually wraps around my center—fills my chest, and I take a deep, steadying breath. Bringing my hand to a fist at my side, I grind my teeth and let my lip curl before I hiss back.
“What do you want from me? Who are you?” I demand through my teeth, and he angles his bone-covered face; his menacing, unchanging stare turns, tilting like a predator. Anger rises in me, drowning out the fear as the fire burns behind my ribs. “Leave. Me. Alone.” I stand taller, and it brings me closer to his face.
“Senkaaaa,” his form dissolves like mist, his one word blown away in an unnatural wind.
“Fuck.” I curse in a whisper, bending at the hip, and I hold my stomach as I try to steady my spinning head. Filling my lungs and grinding my teeth, I stand tall, wipe my eyes, and try to reassure myself that I am ok. This will not break me. I am free of my tyrant father. I am working on a better future for myself and my people.This isn’t real.But just as the thought comes into my mind, I feel a tickle on my chest just above the swell of my breast. Several drops of blood trickle down my skin. My chin quivers, anger causing tears to once again rise. I shake my head, wiping away the crimson stain and then using my dress to hide the evidence. I’m grateful for the dark colored fabric at this moment. I will figure this out too.
Kyros seems to know more than he is letting on. I need to talk to him about everything. I’m done hiding in the dark. Done hiding from my nightmares. I spin on my heel, strength renewed throughanger of unanswered questions, and I stomp to the stairs, lifting the skirt of my dress. I get halfway down the stairs before I feel an entirely new presence slam into me.
My eyes snap up and lock with his. He’s wearing all black. The collared jacket is much sharper than anything I have seen him in before. His hair is neat and pulled back away from his face, but the unruly waves that usually fall free have already begun to do so. The look he pins me with is so similar to that first night in the tavern, but then, where his face was hard and the shadows lined with questions… Now, his features soften as they take me in.
Kyros doesn’t let himself lose control often, but there, in the split second he sees me descending the stairs that he’s just starting to climb, he falters. Words linger at his lips as they part, but his eyes drop from mine. They trail my body, and my steps seem to slow to a crawl under his gaze. Such warring emotions stir in me.
The coiling fear the nightmare caused only a moment ago, even while I was wide awake, ceases to exist. Anger of once again being controlled by other people is gone too. Replaced by the rush of fluttering wings and searing heat. Kyros’ eyes scale my body like I am the only thing in this world he wishes to conquer. I’ve always fought through everything. Even silently battling my own will, but with Kyros? He is the only person I have ever felt like I wanted to break for.
His eyes still, the air around us seems to shiver, and shadows peek from the collar, writhing at his throat. I follow his gaze with my own and look down at my chest, where blood continues to bead from the scratch inflicted by claws. The chain of my necklacebrushes over the mottled skin, letting the crimson drip down its length in a slow roll. I look up just as he reaches me. One hand holds my arm, opening me up to him, while the other presses firmly into my low back. He holds me still. The muscle in his jaw feathering, he finally finds my eyes again.
“Shula?” He says, his voice low and nearly animalistic. “Why are you bleeding?” I can feel my pulse hammering in my throat, and his eyes fall again to the scratch. I would usually lie. Tell him or anyone else who asked what was wrong that it was nothing, but how can I demand answers from him and keep things in turn?
“It was a nightmare. It just happened for the first time while I was wide awake.” My voice shakes, and I swallow. “He said something… It's not the first time I have heard him call out this word… or a name? I’m not sure. I don’t know what it means.”
“What was it?” He asks, cupping my jaw with the hand that was on my arm. The other one fully wrapped around me now and pulls our bodies flush.
“Senka?” I say with my eyes flicking between his. Trying to read any emotion from this word. His brows drop. Shadows crawl over his face as he presses his lips together. “Do you know what it means?”
“It’s a language that is not widely spoken. It means shadowed. The question I have is what it means by that. I spoke with the others, and we think it's best that you are not left alone for sleep anymore… and in light of recent events…” He wipes a trickle of blood away from my collarbone before looking back into my eyes. “I think you shouldn’t be alone at all right now. At least until we figure out what he wants.”What he wants?The question is on the tip of my tongue, and I am about to ask, but Kyros leans down, and my breath seizes.
“You’re not going to be hurt again. I won’t allow it.” He says, his voice is low, and his breath brushes over my lips.
“You’ve said that before.” My thoughts slip past my lips. He narrows his eyes.
“You’re right. I failed to see a threat that I should have.” He brushes back a loose strand of hair that has fallen in my eyes, and the muscle in his jaw flexes. “I won’t fail a second time.” He growls through his teeth. My heart rate spikes, his eyes drop to my lips, and mine fall to his. The heat in his gaze brings the kindling in my chest to rise to an inferno, and when his lips finally capture mine, I feel like I am going to combust. My hand lifts to his chest. His pounding heart matches my own.
Even though the kiss was chaste and the moment fleeting, I can’t help but linger in the warmth of it. As he lifts his head and looks over my face, a ton of unsaid words cross between us. Colette’s words crash into me. ‘Happiness looks good on you,’and at this moment I want nothing more than to allow myself even a glimpse of happiness, undiluted and real.
“Can we do something?” I ask. Kyros has not backed away; his arm still holds me close.
“Of course.” He answers immediately. “What do you have in mind?”
“For tonight and tomorrow, until the sun rises on the day we leave… let's forget. Forget who we are, the responsibilities we carry, and who or what we are up against. Let's just be—happy.” The corner of his lip curls up in a lopsided smile.
