Page 55 of Cage the Storm
His face half-shrouded in the dim, iridescent glow of a fire I don’t remember lighting. The heat licks at my skin; the room’s too small.
He steps forward, and suddenly the fire licks at the walls. Devouring the space, inching closer and closer until the heat is horrendous.
“I almost killed you.”
His voice is barely above a whisper, but it carries through the inferno, cutting through the flames.
I want to run.
But my feet won’t move.
The fire is all-consuming, and there’s no way out.
I open my mouth to scream, but the smoke thickens, choking the sound before it can escape. The fire roars, and just before it reaches me…
My body jerks upright.
Sweat clings to my skin, and the sheets are tangled around my legs. I shove them off before pressing my palms against the mattress, centering myself. It was just a nightmare, and the fire wasn’t real. I’m not burning alive, and Nico is not here.
My heart’s pounding. And, I can still feel the heat and smell the oppressive smoke lingering in the room. The eerie sound of Nico’s voice as it pierced through the flames.
I squeeze my eyes shut, inhaling deeply, but I can’t shake it.
Even though it was just a nightmare, the fear is very real.
Nico is out there somewhere, drowning in his demons, wrestling with the truth I forced into his hands. Now it’s the middle of the night, and he’s still not here. But I keep telling myself he’ll come back. That he’s not done with me yet.
Now I keep wondering, will he walk through that door as my husband or as my enemy?
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
NICOLAI
The cabin’squiet as I sit in the leather chair by the glass doors. Staring at the lake and watching how the moonlight fractures across the water. The reflection’s distorted with the gentle ripple of the waves. It’s constantly changing, and it feels fitting.
Leaning forward, I rest my elbows on my knees, pressing the heels of my hands against my eyes. I’m desperately trying to quiet the confusion in my mind. This cabin’s supposed to be a place of solitude, but tonight, it feels like nothing more than a cage. A place to hide from the truth instead of facing it head-on.
The whiskey hasn’t done a damn thing to settle me. It never does. I could drain the entire bottle, let it burn its way through my system, but the guilt would still be there. The memory would still haunt me. My hand wrapped around her throat, her desperate gasp, the way she clutched her stomach like she thought I’d take more from her than I already have.
My jaw clenches, fingers tightening around the glass until I have to force myself to let go. The thought refuses to fade since I walked away, since I left her standing there, caught between fight and flight.
Luna didn’t beg.
She barely struggled.
Then looked at me with quiet resignation, like she had already accepted her fate. Like she thought I was that kind of man.
I rake my fingers through my hair, trying to clear my head. I could stay here, locked away in my misery, drowning in a past that can’t be undone. Or I could face her. Face what comes next, whatever the hell that is.
The thought alone is enough to unsteady me.
Because after everything, after the rage, the betrayal, the truth, there’s only one thing I know for sure.
Luna’s carrying my child, and I need to decide what happens next.
The moment I accept the truth, I’m moving, walking away from the cabin without looking back. Solitude is forgotten because none of it matters anymore.
Thomas started the ball rolling. Not Luna. Not me. And she has every right to know.
