Page 65 of The Hidden Falling
My breath hitches as I take in his face. The lightness of his green eyes seems to glow, and the gentle smile on his face seems soft in the light of the wisps. He looks unnatural, peaceful. More. His face is gentle as he looks at them, and his lips move as he murmurs words to it. It’s a quiet sound I’ve never heard from him before, and it causes my chest to warm. I bring my hand toward it, rubbing gently as that warmth spears over my body from the center of my chest. Runa rubs against me, experiencing the same thing that I am. A small smile graces my face as I watch him, unable to stop it. Right now, he’s not the Alpha of the Elites, he’s just a male content in watching as the wisps play around him. The small one hovering above his palm twirls around him before shooting into the sky to join the others above us, glowing softly against the dark.
As we stand there, watching them under the night sky, the only thought in my head is one I never thought I would have. One I’m not sure how I feel about and not entirely sure if it rings true. But as I look back over at Darius, the heat spreads a little stronger within my chest and tingles spread along my forearm, making me wonder.
I look down at the delicate swirls and writing there, following down to the symbol of the Gods at my wrist, feeling those tingles beneath my touch. I move my hand back up over my skin and run my fingers over the empty space in the middle, the space left bare for your Vihnarn. The place where the sensation is the strongest.
I breathe deep, taking in the scents surrounding me, and the scent that is just Darius as my eyes slowly move back to him. I watch the small smile slip from his face, his lightened eyes darken to a coldness that causes the heat in my chest to evaporate, the tingles abruptly stopping. The softness in him turns to anger as I drop my hand from my arm, my own smile vanishing as I remember who I’m standing with, remember that this isn’t just a male, but the male who will be taking me to people I never wanted to see again in my lifetime.
“Under the moonlight, the darkest of nights shine the brightest,” I whisper to myself.
“What?” he asks, his jaw tightening.
I don’t reply as I silently pray to the Gods, staring at the man who may just be my downfall.
I pray that whatever they have in store for me, I can overcome it and come back home to my family. I pray that I can keep them safe and forget all about the male with light green eyes and a gentle smile that makes my soul scream in a way I have never experienced before.
And as I look back down at my forearm, I know that it will be an experience that I will never have with another, and I know most of my prayers will not be answered.
Thirty Four
Rhea
Igrabsomeextrafurs for Darius, passing them to him as I move about the cave. It’s awkward, and the tension is high, but I haven’t got the energy to make the walk back home and be free from his presence. I could just make him stay outside, but I’m not an asshole like he would be. Eridian is safe, there are no signs of this man anywhere, and although the air still seems to be disturbed, there is no sense of anything wrong at the moment.
I ignore my cheeks heating as I bend, shuffling my furs around until I’m satisfied with them. I always make sure they are just right. I can still slightly smell Darius’ scent on them from the last time we were both here, and I’m not sure if I’m comforted by that or not. Mostly not after the weird moment we had outside and the tingling in my arm. I try not to think about what that could mean, though it’s not far from my mind.
He makes his temporary bed close to the entrance into the cave, taking a space against the dark rock wall. I move over to the tables I have here and rummage through a pack, taking out some dried meat and a water skin. I shuffle over to him and hand it over without a word after taking some for myself. We sit down and eat our bland meal in silence, him on his bed and me on mine, the cool night air flowing from the opening at the top.
Not a wisp is in sight as I grab some old wood off to the side before sitting more comfortably on my furs, pulling my blade out from my boot. The moonlight shining through gives me enough light to work. Darius watches me intently as I begin to carve, mindful of keeping the shavings on the ground rather than in my bed. I’m rounding the back of the carving when he speaks.
“Did you make all those as well?” I look over at him and see him nodding toward my many carvings in the crevasse of the rock wall. I nod and continue to scrape my blade against the wood, making indents the best I can. I hear him shuffle around before he gets up and walks toward my carvings, causing me to pause and watch him.
If he breaks them, I’ll break his neck.
“There’s a lot here,” he muses, and I grunt in response, never taking my eyes off of him.
He reaches a muscular arm up and takes one I did of Josh years ago, and I bristle at him touching my things without asking. “I thought Josh was your mate when I first saw you both.” He turns the carving over as he studies it. “You fucked him?”
I tilt my head at him, wondering why he’s asking all of a sudden. “Why does it matter?” I shrug and place the wood and my blade down. Getting up, I walk toward him, taking the carving out of his hand before gently putting it back in its place.
“Just answer the question, Rhea,” he says in a low, demanding tone, and I look at him. Why does he want to know this so badly when according to him I’ve spread my legs for anyone and everyone?
After a moment, I answer him truthfully. “I have been intimate with Josh,’ I pause, my eyes widening in surprise as he growls. “He was my first and only. Until you.” The words hang in the air between us, my eyes never leaving his as they flash to black, and then settle again.
He scoffs at me. “No way.” When I continue to stare at him and say nothing, he looks at me more closely. “Why be with me then, if he’s the only man that has ever touched you?”
I sigh, looking back at my work I’ve done over the years, letting it ground me for my answer. “I wanted to see if that was a way to get you to be… considerate of keeping Eridian out of your mouth when you take me to the Highers.” Also, because for some reason my body reacts to him in a way it hasn’t for anyone before. I don’t tell him that pesky bit of information though.
“You fucked me in the hope that I wouldn’t tell the Highers about Eridian, but not to try and convince me to leave you here?” He shakes his head a little and folds his arms. “It was more than that, and we both know it.”
I do. “You followed me here, you came to me.”
“I did.”
“Why,” I ask curiously.
“Because no one touches what’s mine.” He says it without any hesitation, without a hint of doubt that his words are not true.
Shaking my head at him, I look toward the wall. “I did want you at that moment,” I admit. “But I also did it for that reason.” I wave a hand at the carvings of my pack, mainly of Kade and Josh. He looks over them. “I know I’m going to be taken to the Highers either way, so I thought why not give in and also try and keep this place safe.” I cock my head at him. “Which obviously hasn’t worked. You’re right about one thing, I do manipulate when there is a good reason to, well… try to.” I laugh, but it’s hollow, and his brows pull down. I pick up a carving of Kade, looking over his face and running my finger over the smile I carved there.
