Page 89 of Of Serpents and Ruins
Maybe I was falling.
A ragged roar exploded from my throat. My lungs ached. Everything hurt. There was only one way to find relief.
That rageful pulsing intensified within me. My sense of smell intensified, each scent strong enough to club my brain—sharp rain with saltwater, iron-rich blood, ancient stone.
And him. The scent of the one who had to die. Rich and smoky. He had to die. It was the only way.
Die.
Die.
Die.
The stone was slick beneath me. My fingernails scraped across the grooves. Water ran down my hair and face. My breathcame in pants and gasps. The stones eventually evened out. The cold wetness on my face and body ceased.
I would do it. I had to. It was the only thing that made sense anymore.
I just…
Had.
To.
Find him.
A column of light appeared before me. The need to kill crackled through me, absorbing every trace of energy and focus. I lunged at the column, my hands flying up.
"Stella, I know you. Stella, wake up. Stella!"
The words cut through me, hot as fire. My head snapped back. My mouth fell open.
What? How…how was this possible?
I stood in front of Brandt, my hands clutching his throat. For one horrifying moment, I stared up into his face. The light around his face solidified, revealing the richness of his eyes, the sharpness of the kohl, the prominence of his brow and nose, the vibrancy of his red and black hair. He was restrained against the wall, black iron chains shackling his wrists and his ankles to the dark stone. He had little more than a few inches of give in either direction.
I fell back and dropped to the floor, holding my head. A wail of sorrow escaped my throat. "Brandt," I moaned. "Oh, Brandt. I’m so sorry!"
A wry chuckle followed before he sighed. "Don’t blame yourself, Stella. That curse… Well, I guess you know now."
"If you hadn’t pulled me out of it…" I whispered in horror, my forehead pressed to my knees.
Why hadn’t I been able to help him that way? He’d always seemed deaf to any calls for him to return, and yet he had been able to do it for me. Thank all that was good he had!
He clicked his tongue. "Stella, look at me."
Tears blurring my eyes, I lifted my head.
His smile was soft and surprisingly comforting, his voice even gentler than before. "Don’t go there, sweetheart. It was like that for me at the start. The first few times, you could call me out of that cursed state, and you did that as long as you could. Over time…the curse got worse."
Yes. Much clearer flashes of memories snapped into my mind. Holding him. Nuzzling him. Whispering against the column of his throat as I dared to be close to him. Pleading for someone to save him.
Tears rolled down my cheeks. I really did want to be closer to him. Not just in memory but in reality.
"If I could hold you and comfort you right now, I would." The low rumble of his voice enveloped me.
"Look at the pair of us." My voice grated in my throat.
"We are rather striking," Brandt said softly.
