Page 82 of Sleeping Redemption
Gritting my teeth, I rolled up my sleeves.
“Leave that part to me.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Blood and ash. It laid before me on the ground like a grotesque version of the yellow brick road. Would it lead to someplace like the Emerald City? I hoped wherever it led, it was made of chocolate truffles and waffles.
I placed one foot in front of the other and followed the trail out of my bedroom. It led down the stairs, winding through the lower level and into the garage.
Before I left my room, I felt like I had been sitting in a movie theater inside my mind. It had been akin to watching my own personal movie reel, watching the highlights of my destruction. I could see my past executions vividly on replay, Nico’s face magnified to a point I could count his eyelashes, and through the foggy outside lens of my eyes, I had seen my three guys.
Now, drawn to following this swath of deep red and dull gray, I looked several feet ahead.
Rook walked backward with his eyes solely focused on mine. His hazel eyes were dark with power as his hand waved back and forth like he was painting the air. Part of me innately felt like Ishould be aware of what he was doing, but there was an intense mental block that prevented me from connecting the dots.
The path I followed beckoned my attention once more, the most beautiful shade of crimson beneath my feet shone like it had been freshly spilled. The cool ash was an alluring contrast to the warmth the blood portrayed.
My focus intensified on the forged path that became my mind’s obsession to the point I no longer noticed Rook’s presence.
It was unclear how long I followed my mind’s obsession. At one point, I was certain that I wasn’t walking at all yet still moving forward. The oddity of the sensation didn’t bother me; it felt like there was a cloak of safety surrounding me the entire time. There was no fear and no worry; there was only focus.
When the trail stopped, so did I. Looking around, there was nothing. No sounds, no movements, and no light. It reminded me of what sleep used to be like before the nightmares.
Fingers intertwined with my right hand, but I couldn’t see them.
Then, the same thing happened to my left hand but slightly different.
A gentle warmth cupped either side of my face, with a soft breeze gracing my lips.
“Angel,” Atlas’s voice echoed in the dark. “Focus on what you feel right now, in this very moment.”
Both my hands squeezed around the phantom fingers they laced with, making them even more tangible.
“Good girl,” Sy’s voice caressed my right ear, providing praise that filled my need to know I was right where I should be.
Next, it was Rook’s British accent that I recognized that came to my left ear. “Are you ready, love? Just let yourself fall, and we’ll catch you.”
Gradually, my vision began to clear, and my surroundings revealed themselves. First, it was just the unremarkable color of the walls. Then, the basic furniture appeared, followed by some personal decorations. All of which I didn’t recognize.
It was like having layer after layer peeled back, revealing one piece of the puzzle at a time. The last of the components around me were my three men.
Atlas stood directly in front of me, holding my face firmly in his grasp. His sky-grey hues stared deeply into my eyes, and this overwhelming sense of humanity tugged at my chest. It almost bordered on oppressive, like pulses of pure sunlight coming from his palms.
Rook and Sy stood on either side of me, with each of them bearing a different expression. It seemed my archangel was under the strain of tension, visible by the crease in his forehead and the tightness of his jaw. As for my trickster demon, he was a vision of optimism and safety.
The one thing they had in common was the way they held me. Each of them had one hand wrapped around one of my own and the other resting on the small of my back. On its face, it may have looked like they were lowkey keeping me hostage, but there were only gentle and soothing movements in how they maintained their connection with me.
“Where are we?” I asked curiously, my eyes trying to recognize something other than the occupants of this place.
With a firm squeeze to my hand, Rook spoke up. “One of my humble getaways. I use it sparingly when my work leaves me feeling depleted.”
“It’s safe here. You’ll be safe with us,” Sylas stated with such certainty that you would have thought he added mindreading to his list of abilities.
“How are you feeling?” Atlas asked, his thumb stroking over my cheekbone to coax my attention back to him.
For such a simple question, I found myself unsure. I maintained the silence for a little while, not feeling any ounce of pressure from the three men to answer.
After a little while, my lips parted as I spoke up. “I feel like my body and mind have been pushed through a blender.”
