Page 96 of Sleeping Redemption
My arms wrapped around her waist, squeezing her tighter than ever while I buried my face into her hair and savored the moment. The scent of her enveloped me in the fragrance of water lilies and summer nights.
Kinley only pulled back slightly so she could look up at me with those captivating blue eyes that appeared bluer than I had ever seen them. “What are you doing here?”
There was just a bit of hesitation as my smile faltered slightly. “I just wanted to see you happy.”
Given the sensitivity of her mental state, I wanted to tread carefully with what information I presented to her. I didn’t want her memories tainted by this illusion because I introduced trauma to it.
Both my hands came to rest on the sides of her head as I looked at her in awe. “You are the most exquisite flower here,” I complimented her.
She responded with a kiss filled with an overwhelming amount of love despite it only lasting for a few seconds. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in eons.”
Pressing my forehead onto hers, I remained close. “I know, love. But listen, I don’t have long, so I need you to listen to me carefully, yeah?”
The first subtle sign of worry creased at the corners of her eyes. She nodded. “Of course.”
Here went nothing…
“I want you to hold onto this feeling you have right now. This place, the warmth of it, the safety, and the immense amount of peace it brings you. Can you do that for me?”
“I-I can, but…”
One of my hands dropped from the side of her head to capture her chin, my thumb tracing her skin lightly. “No buts. Promise me that no matter how lost you feel, you’ll hold onto this feeling. I don’t care if you think things are beyond repair, you think about this place and what it does to you. Think about how much I love you, how much Atlas and Sy love you.”
“Wait, where are they? How come they aren’t here with you? Did something happen?” Her voice began to grow with worry, and I couldn’t have that.
“No, no, no. Ssh, love. They’re fine.” I leaned forward and kissed her forehead several times to chase away the creases forming there. “All you need to do is let yourself be loved. You can do that; I know you can.”
Kinley nodded, even if there was a part of her that was confused by my insistence that she focus on this particular state of mind.
“Good. Now, there’s one last thing I need you to do. It is the most important thing of all, so listen very carefully.” I locked my eyes onto hers so she would understand the seriousness of what I was about to say.
“Promise me you will come back to us. Promise me you will fight for that. Don’t you dare give up.” My hold on her chin tightened slightly under the gravity of my words. I wanted to strike a chord in her.
Softly, she spoke her commitment. “I won’t give up. I will always keep fighting for where I belong. Promise.”
As with any promise worth its weight in gold, I sealed it with a kiss. I wasn’t taking any chances. I devoured the taste of her, savoring every hint of sweetness my tongue could seek out inside her mouth.
I could feel my strength fading, and knowing the reality I’d be returning her to nearly crushed my soul.
Breaking the kiss, I repeated myself. “Don’t forget what I’ve said.”
Like a drunken stint on the spinning teacups ride, the illusion ended before Kinley could respond. My entire body felt floaty from the amount of effort it had taken to keep her under that complex level of trickery.
Groaning, I rolled onto my back, not even having it in me to sit up until the dizziness stopped.
Kinley lay beside me, making small noises of distress. I could hear Atlas speaking to her. “Angel? Please say something.”
Sylas came over to my side of the bed with a rare look of concern. “You doing okay?”
If I hadn’t been worried about upheaving an entire loaf’s worth of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I would have nodded. I chose a shaky thumbs-up instead.
Still focused on not passing out, I didn’t see the movement, but I could feel weight shifting on the mattress next to me where Kinley lay.
Her voice sounded so frail and small as she finally broke free of her mute state. “I hate how much it hurts.”
Never would I have prayed for a flood of her tears, but I considered her sobs filling my ears as a battle cry in a fight to not be lost to her pain.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
