Page 53 of The Dark Rising
He blows out a breath, his hand stills on my wrist. “You are an Heir, I’m an Heir. It’s in our blood, in our soul to make sure the other is alive.” My brows furrow and he stands, throwing the cloth into the water. It makes a splash and I wipe my face where it hit me. I glare at Darius as he turns and goes over to the sink. His back is tense, his muscles straining, and I see darker patches on his black t-shirt. They run down his back in lines, some thin and some a bit thicker, the latter more at the top. Why is he sweating?
“I’ll leave some clothes out on the bed for you, don’t be too long, I’ll be back later.” And then he’s gone, back out of the bathroom, and I look down at the cloth, more confused then ever.
And then I realized he didn’t mention anything about me seeing my pack.
Hello prisoner, my old friend.
Twenty
Rhea
Thedooropens,apause, then it shuts quietly. I huff and pull the furs closer to my skin, wanting to be covered from head to toe while I lie in the bed.His bed.
After having a bath, he disappeared and left the door locked. I shouted and banged to no avail, no one came. Now the moon is high, peeking through the balcony windows as I look out at the night sky from the bed. I tried to see if I could go down from the balcony, but there was nothing to hold on to, nothing I could get a grip on, and I would plummet and break all of my bones if I dropped.
I hear Darius come closer, then a pause. I stay still. I know he knows I’m awake, it’s not like I’m pretending to sleep. I just don’t want anything to do with him.
What am I even doing here?
Once again we are revolving around each other, unable to stay away. I vow at times I felt him after I escaped, watching, waiting. I thought it was a trick of the mind, maybe some unwanted thought that he was there. But as he stands there, watching me, it’s a feeling IknowI have felt before when I went out into the lands to gather supplies for Belldame.
But if he saw me, if this is not a tick of my mind, why didn’t he come for me then?
A rumbling sound comes from him and then he’s moving again, the bathroom door opening and closing. The usual routine. Though when he comes back he looks like he has already bathed, he does it again anyway.
I know he lets me hear him, Darius can move so quietly when he wants, so I wonder why he’s being loud on purpose.
With him in the bathroom, I throw off the furs and pad along the wood floor silently, making my way to the door. Reaching it, I try the handle again, nothing.
For fuck’s sake.
I can’t stay in here with him. We’re too close.
I rattle the handle again and growl, slumping forward and banging my head against it in frustration. The bathroom door suddenly opens, and I roll my head toward Darius, my eyes like fire as he stops and takes me in, a small smirk on his face.
“What are you doing, little wolf?” There is amusement in his tone.
“Let me out,” I bite back, kicking the door. I hide the wince when my bare foot takes the hit.
Darius tilts his head and I look over at him in his usual black t-shirt and loose pants. My power hums beneath the surface as Runa rolls on her back. Nope, I’m not staying here with him.
He ignores my words. “Come to bed.” He starts to walk toward the only bed in this room and I grab the nearest thing, a lantern on the dresser to my right. I pick it up and launch it at his head. It flies through the air, my aim true but he ducks out of the way, his eyes coming back to me. “You want to play?” My stomach flutters at his words, my thighs unconsciously clenching. “All you have to do is ask, you know that.” I’m already shaking my head.
“I am not staying in here with you, Darius. Open the door.”
“No.”
“Darius!” I shout, banging a hand on the door.
“No.”
My chest heaves as my anger rises. I didn’t agree to this, to be in here with him, wrapped around his scent constantly. Without thinking, I raise my hand and my power follows, pulsing in my palm. The glow of blue gently fills the room, and Darius’s nostrils flare at it, watching as it swirls around my fingers. He takes a step closer, a shimmer of black coating his skin like waves and I don’t think as I force my power out of my palm into a small ball, aiming it at him with a growl.
We have been here before, but I continue all the same.
A small, black circle appears on Darius’s hand, and he lifts it, catching my ball and engulfing it, sinking into the black. I blink as he continues to step closer and I shoot out another one, my hand shaking with the effort but his power swallows it every time. My eyes change and my markings appear as my desperation flows through me. I raise my other hand, blasting small balls out of both of them. One hits the wall, sinking into it slightly before disappearing in a burst of small, blue-misty particles. Another crashes into the chest of drawers, causing the wood to collapse where a hole has been made. They come out of my palms wildly, uncontrolled and with no coordination whatsoever. Darius, however, just keeps coming, stopping any of them from hurting him.
Then he’s reaching me, grasping my wrists in his palms and slamming me up against the door. I gasp, wriggling in his grip. With every breath I take, my chest touches his, and I flex my fingers. His magic trails out of his hands, coating my own and I feel its coolness against me, covering my own power. It feels like it’s almost reaching into my skin, and my own hovers below the surface as he forces it back into me.
