Page 25 of A Glimpse of Music

Joel’s knees wobbled as each word hit him like an arrow to the chest. Wordlessly, he nodded. The children needed her. He needed her.

After adding another log to the fire, sparks shooting upward in the hearth, he sank into the adjacent armchair. He held on tight to her hand, unable to sever the physical connection.

Killian’s fingers probed at the black markings on her skin. Nyana arched her back. And released a scream.

Chapter 6

An inferno moved through Nyana’s body, spreading like wildfire claiming her chest, neck, and arms. A familiar agony. One she fought off with all her strength. She focused on breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth. The pain would pass. It had to.

“You’re hurting her!” Joel shouted, followed by a scraping chair and the scuffle of footsteps.

She cracked her eyes open to find Joel shoving someone away, only for the man to melt into the shadows and reappear just behind the couch. Alarm shot through her chest, her heart speeding up in response. But pain quickly followed. She gritted her teeth against a groan of agony.

“What did you expect?” the other man snapped. “Dark magic isn’t exactly butterflies and tickles.”

At the mention of dark magic, she glanced down at the black swirls etched into the skin above her heart.

The blasted thing had grown… This was not how she’d wanted Joel to find out.

Again, she glanced up at the man. Blond hair. Blue eyes. Vertical pupils. Tall. A shadewalker. “Killian Graves,” she rasped.

His eyes momentarily widened in surprise. “So, you do remember me.”

“It’s been over fifteen years since we last spoke.”

She noticed he continued to use the sofa as a barrier between him and Joel, who stood protectively over her. Protective… When was the last time someone had tried to protect her? Her memories only conjured up Joel throughout the last six years of her life.

“I think you need to be honest with your husband.” Killian pointed to her heart. Nyana couldn’t hold Joel’s worried, questioning gaze. She’d brought him into this marriage when she knew this could be a possibility.

Guilt fell over her like a suffocating blanket.

“I’ve been fighting it. I thought if I fought it long enough, it would go away.”

Joel crossed his arms, worry stretching across his face. “What exactly is it?”

When she glanced at Killian, silently pleading for him to explain, he simply waved his hand for her to speak. She clenched her fists as she fought off another wave of pain before she finally held Joel’s gaze. “Liam wanted to make sure I suffered if he died, to kill me so no one else could have me. It was meant to be a final blow to Calle’s heart, a final effort to be the winner.”

Joel stared at her. “What do you mean?”

The logs popped in the hearth as her somber gaze slid to the flames. “A mage connected my life force to Liam’s only months before his death. I have fought tooth and nail to make it this far. Because Liam is dead, I will die, too.”

Stunned silence.

Killian cleared his throat. “You should have died within hours of Liam’s death. And judging by your new husband’s dead-eyed stare, I assume he knows nothing about it. Perhaps you should explain.”

The mage sat in an armchair and pulled out several vials from his briefcase, occupying himself with the elixirs as if to give them some modicum of privacy.

As if feeling less threatened, Joel lowered himself on the chair beside the sofa. His expression was a mixture of confusion, worry, and…she dared not say it aloud…betrayal.

Her voice continued to escape as a rasp, each word causing pain to ripple through her chest. “I don’t know what to say.”

Glass vials clacked together as Killian spoke for her. “Nyana is what is called a Forest Empath. Or, in other words, she is descended from nymphs.”

Joel rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. “But you are a Sun Fae.”

She winced as she shook her head. “Half Sun Fae. My father is a nymph. My mother was a Sun Fae. In his culture, it is forbidden to marry someone other than the forest folk. He was cast out of the forest when he married my mother. I was born, and shortly after, my brother.” She coughed, wincing again as the action pained her. “I took on my mother’s physical traits while he took on my father’s. When my father was called back to the forest…” She closed her eyes and sighed. “He was forced to leave my mother and me behind, and he took my brother with him. I haven’t seen or heard from them since.”

The tie holding the top half of his hair fell out as he ran his fingers through his brown locks. Healthy, luscious strands framed his face, creating a patter of…of something in her heart.

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