Page 64 of Wicked Thieves
Crossing the hall, she found herself standing before Aeric’s door. His room was nearly identical to hers, save for the dark colors of the curtains and the lack of a rug. It was all black oak and dark furniture. A fire warming the room where his leathers and other clothes had been left strewn across the settee and chairs situated around a small table by the windows, littered in books and maps that he’d no doubt been given by Castian. His sword had been left propped up against the wall, standing sentry. In many ways, it was entirely him.
A world of his own making when he had been given nothing without a cost.
He was there, laying in the large canopy bed to her right, sleeping soundly beneath the sheets and dark covers.
He wasn’t alone, for Idris was seated in the chair closest to the bed, angled toward him. The Bane twin’s long legs were stretched out before him and his own sword was laying atop the arms of the chair, at the ready. If he were here to protect Aeric, he was doing a poor job of it, for he looked to be dozing, his head bobbing forward before shooting back up. His tired eyes wandering over to Aeric before they slid closed once more.
Anelize grinned as she wandered over to him. When she gently patted his shoulder, Idris sat up in his chair, the sword easing free from its sheath an inch before he realized it was her.
All right, sonottoo poorly then.
“Anya, are you all right?” Idris breathed out as he slumped back in his chair, running a hand over his scarred face.
She nodded, then motioned toward Aeric. “Why don’t you go to bed? I’ll stay with him.”
Idris eyed her before he reluctantly said, “You’ve been through a lot today. Are you sure you do not wish to sleep? No one would fault you for it, not even my brother. If he does, I’ll set him straight for you.”
“Thank you, but I’d feel more reassured if I stayed here. I can keep watch over him if he stirs.”
“Is that the only reason?” He grinned suggestively, and despite the circles under his eyes, there was always that light in them that was so unmistakably Idris that she couldn’t help but grant him a small smile.
She kicked his boot with the tip of her slipper. “Go on, before I change my mind.”
Chuckling, Idris rose from his chair that looked entirely too small for him. He stopped before he could pass her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you for what you did today. For him. For all of us. It is not a sacrifice Adan or I, even Castian, will take for granted.”
A knot formed in her throat. Her eyes stung at the admission he’d just made. That they knew what she’d done, and what she feared it had cost her without her needing to say it out loud. That she’d taken a life when she had said she’d never be capable of such a thing. And that they recognized the toll it would take on her once the dust finally settled, and she was left with no choice but to face the consequences, the guilt, of what she’d done. The same one the twins shared in their own way.
Idris slid out of the door, closing it with a soft click behind him before his footsteps faded down the hall.
She slowly approached the side of the bed, thefire in the hearth painting Aeric in a golden glow, willing more color to return to his pale face. His long lashes casted shadows over the skin beneath his eyes, and his dark hair was strewn over the embroidered pillow beneath him. He looked beautiful, even in his pain.
She gently took a hold of his hand where it rested above the covers. Warm and calloused. Safe and familiar. Reaching up toward his face, she brushed back that curl away from his brow, tucking it behind his ear.
“You’re going to be insufferable when you wake up, aren’t you?” she murmured half-heartedly.
When he didn’t open his eyes to make a remark, she found she wished he would. That he’d smile and tell her everything would be all right now.
Instead, low enough so he may be the only one to hear, she said, “You can’t leave me. You said so yourself that nothing would stop you. So, please, do not venture where I cannot reach you.”
As she watched him sleep, never taking her eyes off the rise and fall of his chest, never ceasing to listen to his heart that called to hers, she realized that no matter the guilt she felt in taking a life today, she would do it again.
At the cost of her humanity and the fleeting kindness she still managed to possess after everything she’d lost. She would rip every part of herself to nothing more than shreds. Unravel the threads that had weaved her soul from the beginning all to become a wretched creature. If it meant protecting those she could not live without.
22
Anelize found herself standing in a vast field of blooming yarrows.
The sound of echoing laughter trickled around her as two little girls ran past her, coming to join hands as they hurried through the fields in bare feet. Their skirts muddied and flying wildly in their joy. One of them wore a dark purple dress and had long flowing dark hair, while the other girl had a braided crown atop her head, her soft golden hair rich in curls that bounced around her shoulders.
Anelize stood and watched as they hurried toward a luscious, vibrant forest with evergreen leaves. Beyond the trees, she saw dozens of people standing within the tree line. People who waited for them to come home with warm smiles and open arms.
The fluttering rays of the sun shone down upon her, warming her as she watched the girls run up to a man and woman who held them in their arms as if they were precious treasures.
The man and girl with the golden hair turned and wandered into the forest. But it was the faceless woman and the girl with vibrant blue eyes who looked back at Anelize.
“We’re waiting for you,” the girl said, waving a hand as if beckoning her to follow them too.
When she made no move to follow, they disappeared into the forest. The winds blew her hair across her face and the clouds slowly inched over the sun, dimming its warmth. That was when the screams started, and the shadows poured out of the forest in onegreat big wave, killing the fields and flowers around her. Draining them of all life. Ashes falling from the sky.
