Page 53 of Silent Secrets

Caiden pouts. “That’s boring, but fine, baby girl. But I’ll be thinking about you naked in my shower every time I’m in there now.”

I roll my eyes as I let Caiden lead me out of the ballroom, his hand on my ass, with Marcos trailing behind us. I know I should feel weirder about this than I do. After all, I’d just finished having sex with Marcos and now Caiden is copping a feel. But it doesn’t feel weird, it feels right. Maybe having four consorts won’t be so bad after all.

The four of us hang out in Marcos’s room watching movies—all from L’Airid, which seems weird to me until the guys explain that they don’t actually have movies here. While much of the technology that L’Airid has is based upon magic here in Sorlphi, sometimes the mortals one-up the Fae.

It’s late when I head back to my room, Caiden and Kai walking back with me. Marcos had hung out with the three of us for part of the day before leaving to check on Hunter. He’d kissed me in front of the other two men as if it wasn’t a big deal and they all acted like it wasn’t. While I might have begun to think that having four consorts wouldn’t be so bad, it’s moments like this one that throw me off. I don’t know how to handle it. It gets me into my head, a place that is sometimes very hard to come back from.

Luckily, Caiden and Kai hadn’t let me lose myself in my thoughts. They’d surrounded me, cuddling me between the two of them as we watched the movies. Neither had tried to take things any further, but they’d touched me at every opportunity.

I stop outside my door, turning back to them with a grin. “Thank you for today.”

“I feel like you should be thanking Marcos for today, seeing as he seemed to really help you relax.”

My eyes narrow at Caiden, but it’s Kai who slaps a hand across his stomach, causing him to grunt. Kai sends me a wink and a soft smile that I easily return. He seems to be doing a lot better and had told me that the trip to the healers had taken care of the worst of the injuries.

“Sleep well, angel.” Kai leans in, kissing the corner of my mouth before Caiden is pulling me in and kissing me like he won’t see me again in the morning. I’m in a bit of a daze when he pulls back, choosing to just wave to them as I open my door. I’m honestly not sure that I could’ve spoken if I’d wanted to.

I make my way to the bedroom, feeling like I’m floating on a cloud. I’ve never met anyone that made me feel like these men do. It’s another reminder that while I might not have known I was Fae, I think I subconsciously knew that I was different from those around me in L’Airid. As if I was waiting to come back to Sorlphi, to the Fae, to these men.

I flip on the light and head towards the bed, frowning as I realize that something isn’t right. A scream rips from my mouth as my brain tries to make sense of what’s in front of me.

“Hadley?” Caiden and Kai rush into my bedroom, grabbing onto me. Kai’s hands land on my cheeks. “What’s wrong, angel?”

“I… I…” I swallow, unable to form the words to tell them. I point to the bed as my body begins to shake and the two of them turn to see what I’m trying to direct them to.

“What in the goddess’s name?”

Spinning around, my knees weak and stomach lurching as Kai and Caiden step towards the bed. I don’t want to think about it; I don’t want to see it anymore—but nothing seems to clear what I saw from my mind. My stomach churns and I know that I’m going to be sick.

Rushing through to the bathroom, I barely make it to the toilet before I’m vomiting up everything that I’d eaten today. My body shakes as I heave, though there’s nothing left to throw up.

It takes me a moment to notice that someone is rubbing circles on my back and murmuring something close to me. I realize then that there’s a buzzing in my head that’s keeping me from hearing what’s going on around me—a coping mechanism if I had to guess.

It takes a while for my stomach to settle, my body going completely lax, and I slip to the floor. I’m wrapped up in someone’s arms and lifted in the air, everything spinning around me. My body is still shaking, tears streaming down my face as I cuddle into a hard chest.

I try to look up to see who is carrying me, but I can’t focus through the tears. I open my mouth to ask where they’re taking me, but all that comes out is a sob. Once again, I hear murmuring, but the buzzing sensation keeps me from understanding the words being spoken to me. Giving up, I bury my face in their chest and wrap my arms around myself.

Closing my eyes turns out to be a mistake as I flash back to the scene in my bedroom. Blood everywhere. Words on the wall that my mind won’t let me think about. Something large in my bed, but my brain is trying to protect me and won’t let me focus on it.

Suddenly, I’m moving through the air again, being lowered. Whimpering, I throw my arms around whoever is carrying me, refusing to be set down. I don’t want to be alone—I can’t be alone. I can’t deal with this. I need to be held. Later, I know that I’ll be embarrassed about how much I need whoever this is, but right now I just can’t be strong enough. I need to draw strength from them.

Voices murmur around me, words I can’t understand before I feel whoever is holding me sigh deep in their chest. I’m pulled closer to their chest once more. I stare unblinking at the wall as they sit down with me in their lap, willing myself to not think about it—about anything. My eyes are heavy, but I’m so afraid to close them. I don’t want to see it again.

Something sharp bites into my arm and I gasp at the pain. I glance down and see hands moving away, but I don’t understand. Had they pinched me? Why?

Oh, my head is woozy, and the world is spinning around me. My eyes fall shut of their own accord, no matter how hard I fight it.

No. No. No.

But I’m already slipping into the darkness.

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