Page 87 of The Dark Rising
“What are they doing?” I ask him. I’ve never seen this before.
“They’re molding together, becoming stronger,” he murmurs. “Our powers are an extension of ourselves, they want to get to know each other and seem to like what they find.”
I watch as they seem to dance around each other, like two snakes slithering against one another. An unbidden smile spreads across my face as a tendril from both of our powers reach out and intertwine another strand. Darius looks over at me, and my gaze lifts to him. The heat in his light greens takes my breath for a second and my smile drops. I lick my lips, and his eyes drop to my mouth before roaming over my face. No doubt looking over my markings.
“Laeliah,” he murmurs softly, and I look away from him as my cheeks heat.
He makes me feel beautiful when he calls me that, makes me feel wanted. I’ve never been wanted in this way… But the way it rolls off his tongue and the way he looks at me, I realize he wants me regardless of the damage to my skin. Of me killing some of his Elites, of keeping secrets and lying. Of what his father and others have done to me.
He makes me feel wanted for just being… me.
I ignore his intense stare on the side of my face as I don’t know what to do with all the thoughts and feelings emerging inside of me. If I let him have me, all of me, I’ll drown and never surface again. The connection we have will flare to life more vibrant and strong, and I’ll be unable to stop myself from stepping deeper into the pool of our souls, never being able to recover, never being able to take back the piece of me that I’ll give him.
And that petrifies me.
I once told him he was the most dangerous of all to me, and that still stands. So why do I want to walk headfirst into the abyss and sink? Why do I want to be swallowed by the waves and crash into the rocks? Just to see what it could feel like, for just a moment, to be someone’s other part?
Could I forgive him for what he did to me?
Our power crackles on the floor, bringing me out of my thoughts, and the next thing I know, Darius is grabbing me, hauling me back. I grip his forearms as his arms wrap around my waist as we watch our powers come back into our bodies, separating themselves. The markings glow upon the floor where they once were, pulsing. The cabin shakes and I look around frantically, wondering what the fuck is going on until the floor where the markings were just...disappears.
“What in the Gods?” I mumble, seeing the darkness below, but also notice a ladder going down the gap.
“Looks like more secrets my father kept,” Darius growls. He squeezes my waist before dropping his hands and crouching down next to the hole in the floor.
I didn’t realize this would turn into a fuckingguess whatgame. Who has a hole in their floor?
I walk over to him and peek over his shoulder. “So, uh, this is new.” Darius turns his head and gives me a dead stare. I shrug. “Are we going down there?” The thought of going into a dark, tight space has my breathing picking up slightly.
His eyes roam over me. “I’ll go down, you stay up here.” He turns and then starts his descent down the ladder.
“Wait, what? I’m not staying up here.” I look around, panic filling me at being left alone in the room of a man who I hate.
“Your heart rate has increased, you’re sweating, and your breaths are coming out faster and faster. You’re clearly struggling with even the thought of coming down there, Rhea. Stay up there.”
“I’m not some weak wolf, Darius,” I growl at him and put my hands on my hips. Pissed that he reads me so well.
He raises a brow at me but says nothing. Which is wise because I would have kicked him in his stupid delicious face and sent his ass sprawling down the ladder.
I sigh and gather myself. I’m not going to let a creepy, dark hole scare me off, it’s better than staying up here on my own. There is obviously something down in the hole of doom. It was hidden behind wards so there has to be something that’s definitely not meant to be found.
I peek over the edge and wait until I can’t see Darius anymore before I turn and step down onto the ladder. My hands shake, and my knees wobble with every step down, but I focus on not falling on top of Darius and keeping my breathing steady.
“Not far to go, little wolf,” Darius calls from below, and his voice is so unexpected, my foot slips. And then I’m falling.
I release a shocked scream, and then anumphwhen strong arms circle me. Clenching my eyes shut, I will my heart not to explode. My arms circle Darius’s neck and I breathe in his scent, my body slowly relaxing. I feel his hot breath against my temple as we stay still, him holding me and me dying on the inside with embarrassment.
“I got you,” he murmurs as he holds me tighter.
Unexpected tears fill my eyes at the tender way he pulls me closer, and I breathe out a shaky breath. I want to stay in his arms but want to get away from him as quickly as possible, too. He hurt me, more than I even thought possible for the little time we have known each other, but it left deep wounds all the same.
I clear my throat and release the death grip I have around his neck. He slowly puts me on my feet, looking down at me, and I can barely make out his face in the darkness. There is something in his eyes that wants me to run, but also wants to stay and search for the answers that I want. Need.
Is he sorry for what he did to me?
He blows out a breath and turns, grabbing my hand and pulling me behind him. I look down at our intertwined fingers and wonder when I got so used to his touch, why I don’t refuse it or clam up at it. Apart from the times I flinched from him unexpectedly after he whipped me, I’ve never shied away from it, I welcomed it even, like it’s always been there.
We walk down the corridor, my other hand going to the wall at my side so I don’t personally say hello to it with my face. Darius doesn’t seem to have a problem watching where he’s going, just moving forward until he stops. I hear the creak of a door, then feel the wood beneath my fingers as I’m pulled past it. Darius shuffles to the right of me, and then light fills the space. I bring a hand up to shield my eyes, blinking against the sudden harshness of light and waiting for the spots in my vision to dissipate.
