Page 91 of Ghost

Meanwhile, I couldn’t tear my eyes from Mrs. Dubois. Finn had been born a few months ago, and I didn’t remember Momma looking like this…

Why did she look dead?

The nurses’ face was white with fear. “What are you two doing here?”

“Where’s Bailey?” Titus stepped forward, the air shifting dangerously around him. “What’s going on?”

“Good sirs, I…” The woman seemed unsure of what to say, and on the verge of panic. Normally I would have cared, but concern for Bailey was foremost in my mind.

Where was he?

“There you are,” an ancient voice spoke from behind us.

I tore my eyes away from the woman, and turned to face the newcomer. He stood outside of the door, his elderly frame even more exhausting to look at than just this morning. “Elder Stephens, where is he? What’s going on?”

“Come along, you two.” He stepped forward, touching our shoulders, and guiding Titus and me from the room. “There’s something you should know.”

My pulse drowned out the man’s words. Whatever he was saying, it was impossible. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. There was no worse omen.

It couldn’t be true. Not again.

“Damen,” a musical voice whispered, cutting through the darkness of my memories. “It’s time to get up. You left Maria locked outside.”

Awareness trickled back into me as the smell of Bianca’s sweet breath drifted over my face, reminding me of where we were.

I had fallen asleep. My plan had only been to shut my eyes and communicate with Kasai for a short time. Perhaps even to merge, in an effort to find that annoying sibling of mine. But I hadn’t even done that.

The fact I was this tired was understandable, but not a good thing. But with Kasai talking, I had been trying to reach for new limits with my abilities.

Speaking of reaching—she was right here.

My arm shot out. Bianca was closer than I expected, so it was simple to grab her arm and pull her against me. Where she belonged.

“Damen!” Her voice squeaked in surprise. But even so, she lay beside me, unresisting as I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and held her against me. “He must be worse than I thought…” she muttered under her breath. “There must be something I can do.”

I smiled, ignoring her words. I was certain it’d come up later anyway. But there were more important things, like the way her face pressed against my chest, and she couldn’t see me. Technically no rules were being broken. As far as anyone knew, I was asleep.

Besides, there was nothing wrong with cuddling. We had already done that.

It had felt like a lifetime—but was only a week—since I’d felt the touch of a woman. This torture was becoming unbearable. But I no longer wanted anyone else.

And there was something about this, even if it was only holding her. It did more to soothe my psyche than any encounter ever could. Every time her body moved against mine, my soul rejoiced. Everything about her felt right.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Bianca

Glittering

I sat on the floor near the living room entrance. However, my task—courtesy of Maria—did little to keep my mind off of the last half hour’s events. Organizing Maria’s game bag could only hold my attention for so long.

What was on my mind, of course, was what happened with Damen. It was one thing to cuddle on the floor with others nearby, but being alone on a bed? Well that was entirely different.

The only saving grace about the situation was Damen had no idea of what he had done. After holding me for a moment, he stretched awake and grinned at me. It was clear he was oblivious to his actions.

Therefore, I ignored the tightness that began to take residence in my chest.

Perhaps he needed something from me? Maybe I was the only thing standing in between Damen and the loss of his soul. My skin felt warm where he touched me. And there was no way the pulsing echoing through my body was normal.