Page 99 of The Shadow Fae Rhapsody
Heavens above, please, please.
What if he’s hurt? My heart drops to the pits of my stomach.
Please be all right.
I keep praying as I strut towards the last room at the back of the enclosure.
Gods help me. I need him to be all right. I need him… I just need him.
I want to see his stupid smile. I want to kiss it again over and over.
The pattering sound of the shower is close. I push the double wooden door and barge right into the washroom.
Svenn is standing there in all his glory, looking like a god, or like he has just slaughtered one. He braces one muscular arm against the wall, letting the running water wash the blood, gore, and mud away.
I’m silent so he doesn’t see me yet. I kick the hay to make my presence known.
My pulse kicks up several notches when his massive shoulder turns. His wild gaze lands on me, his eyes burning like molten metal.
I take a deep breath and exhale, giving my heart time to slow down its pounding rhythm.
I stare at Svenn for several seconds.
“There’s a dagger on your back,” I finally say.
A pause, then he loosens a breath.
“The fucker who put it there is dead,” he replies, his voice a little higher than usual, fighting against the sound of the running water.
His gaze locks on me. The intensity in his eyes steals my breath away.
My throat is bone dry from fear, but I force the words into my mouth. “Turn around. I’ll remove it for you.”
It takes a moment for him to shift his searing gaze from me and do as I ask. I slowly walk towards his broad back. My heart thumps a little harder at the proximity. The blade extracts smoothly from his flesh and I throw it away. His wound heals before the weapon hits the wooden floor.
We both fall silent.
Nothing fills my ear but the constant sound of running water. I pick up a washcloth hanging from the partition and start scrubbing his already clean back.
After a moment of prolonged silence, Svenn finally exhales. “Say something, Nel.”
I was so afraid something had happened to him, I can’t stop shaking. Now I’m just angry.
“Going after the enemy alone like that is so reckless,” I snap, fury brimming my every word. “You could have died—”
“Rhianelle… I can’t be killed,” he interrupts me.
This man doesn’t know of the ball of dread lodged in my throat earlier. I was so scared. I still am. My heart is slamming so hard in its cavity I’m afraid it might hurt itself.
“I have been broken to pieces until all that is left are bones and teeth,” he says quietly. “Even if they incinerate me to ashes, I will return.”
I choke on a breath at his confession. My anger shifts to sorrow.
Oh Svenn.
His strength is far beyond my wildest imagination. Most people will refuse to relinquish such power. But Svenn wants to become human again.
That’s all he ever wanted.
