Page 41 of A Tale of Treachery

A bone-chilling cold frosted the ground as goosebumps prickled along my skin. The oxygen exited my lips and transformed into a cloud of condensation.

Between the dark sky, the maroon lightning, and frost where there shouldn’t be frost, I could feel the earth protest, feel its objection to the unnatural change being wrought.

Restless whispers filled my ears, murmuring foreign words in a dark undertone that I didn’t know or understand. I plugged my fingers into my ears to drown out the voices that filled my head, but they wouldn’t be silenced.

The edges of my vision tinged with gray as my head grew foggy, and dizziness sent me spiraling to the ground.

Ryken’s arms enveloped me once more, catching me as I fell.

Then everything went black.

CHAPTER15

Lost in a sea of stars, I found myself switching back and forth from the present reality to an unconscious state, unable to remain alert. I drifted in and out as Ryken carried me to the infirmary and placed me in bed. Redmond hovered over us, asking an endless list of questions. I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. All I could do was lie comatose as the two discussed what happened earlier, their faint voices background noise to my dreams as I drifted into a deep sleep.

The shouting match in my room snapped me from my slumber.

“What are you doing with her? Don’t touch her! She’s not yours to touch,” a voice hissed.

My breath hitched. Was that Aiden?

“Mind your business, pretty boy. You don’t own her,” a dark voice snapped. Ryken.

“Neither do you, deranged lunatic!”

A chorus of grunts and the sounds of a scuffle urged me to open my eyes, but I couldn’t, no matter how hard I tried. They were crusted over, my lids not following the simple command to open. My nerves were electrified, and pain filled my bones as I lay motionless.

A stern voice interrupted the sounds of fists on skin. “Gentlemen! Stop this at once! Dahlia needs rest, and you both need to leave.”

The room fell into a tense silence, and I could feel all eyes level on me.

“I’ll be back later to check on her,” Aiden declared, a dark undertone lining his voice.

Shuffled footsteps echoed throughout the room, followed by the slam of a door. Someone hovered over me, their breath ghosting my skin. Redmond’s voice sounded from somewhere further back. “I appreciate you tending to her, but I can take it from here.”

A grunt of acknowledgment followed, and Ryken’s footsteps echoed as he left, closing the door quietly behind him.

A cold, wet cloth brushed against my burning forehead, and Redmond spoke softly. “It’s all right. You need to rest. You have a challenging night ahead of you, and you’ll need to save your strength for later.”

Eulalia. Tonight was my meeting with her. I willed myself to open my eyes or push myself out of bed but was still unable to move or speak. I needed to know what happened after the rift was torn. Was everyone all right? Did we face some sort of apocalypse while I lay around, useless?

There was so much to do, and so many unanswered questions.

A rattled wheeze slipped past my lips as I tried to speak.

“Rest, Dahlia. We can come up with a plan of action later. But, for now, your only concern should be recovering from what happened today.”

With his words, I sank back into the abyss, my body frozen from the unpleasant nightmares that plagued my mind, nightmares of Malachi stirred from the day’s events, and my deep-seated fear of his impending arrival. In my dreams, he chased me through the forest, his dark, wavy hair hanging in his face, a wicked gleam in his sapphire eyes. I dodged and hid, fear racing in my heart as he trailed me.

This wasn’t a nightmare. It was a flashback.

I crammed my small body into the nook of a petrified tree, breathing rapidly. His footsteps crunched along the leaves behind me, slowly dissipating. I breathed a sigh of relief when he was finally gone.

“Boo!”His face appeared an inch from mine.

I shot up in bed, sweat glistening over my brow, my clothes drenched. My rapid breathing slowed as I took in my surroundings and collapsed to my pillow with a sigh.

I’m safe. I’m safe. I’m safe.

---