Page 17 of Rising Out of the Darkness (Divine Guardians Duology #1)

To be honest, I really was beginning to smell. Especially after all the events of the past two days. The idea of a bath sounded amazing, even in this frigid lake.

“Fine,” I conceded, “I’ll toss up my clothes, but you must agree to give me some space. Also, for no reason are you allowed to turn around while I’m in here.”

“Now look who’s giving demands.” He shook his head, and a little smile tugged at his lips. “Here, I’ll lay your new clothes on this rock. I’ll be just over there if you need me. Don’t get any ideas of running away either.”

He laid out the clothes and walked back towards the tree line. Leaning up against one of the tree trunks, he faced towards the camp, allowing me time to bathe.

Peeling off a wet dress with corset strings proved to be an unexpectedly frustrating task. Water thrashed all around me until finally I was free. As I tossed the sopping bundle of clothing back onto the shore, chuckles tumbled through the tree line.

“You can swim, right?”

Responding with an angry grunt, I used the soap to lather my hair and body.

As usual, my intrusive thoughts swirled around inside my mind like the ripples of water, expanding one after another, until finally my brain ached.

Submerging myself under the water, I massaged my hair thoroughly to get out all the remaining soap.

It wasn’t doing me any good to think about so many unknowns.

Leaving my thoughts behind with all the other remnants of the past two days, I swam up to the shore.

I tried to squeeze all the water from my hair and body as fast as I could before sliding into the pants and tunic Bri had packed.

When I picked up my boots to put them on, water sloshed out from inside, and my shoulders sagged.

Turning my boots upside down, I shook them until I was satisfied that every last droplet had been freed from within. Just as I began to shove my foot inside, Declan swatted the boot away from my hands. It tumbled into the dirt with a thud.

“Really?” I protested.

“Elena, you can’t put those back on right now.

They’ll have to dry by the fire. If you put those back on in the state that they’re in, you could catch a cold or, worse, your feet could become infected.

Prolonging our trip to take care of your feet is the last thing we need,” he groused. “I’ll have to carry you back.”

“Had it all figured out, did you, hmmm? Perhaps you should have thought about my boots before tossing me into the freezing lake,” I cooed, glancing at him from over my shoulder. “I think you just enjoy having me in your arms.” I froze, regretting the words that had exploded out of my mouth.

He grumbled something inaudible as he grabbed the wet clothes and the boots and shoved them into the satchel. With a tug, he lifted me up into his arms and proceeded to carry me back to the camp.

When we arrived back at the campsite, only Liam and Killian were left sitting around the fire.

Declan lowered me down onto the log in between Killian and Liam, then placed my boots near the fire to dry out.

Both men dipped their heads in silent greeting.

They looked as though they were on the verge of combusting with laughter.

Shooting them a glare, I dared them to jest.

Liam shook his head and averted his gaze towards Declan. “All is clear, I just checked in a few moments ago.”

Placing his hands inside his pockets, the prince nodded. Liam squeezed my shoulder as he and Killian stood.

“The tent is all set up for you both,” Killian muttered. “There are some extra blankets as well, it feels like it’s going to be a chilly evening.”

Both guards started to turn away, leaving me alone with the Lord of Sass. Panic forced the words out of me as I called after Killian. “So, which one is my tent?”

He tossed a grin over his shoulder, but his gaze didn’t land on mine. Following his line of sight, I landed on a set of striking emerald eyes.

“We’re sharing a tent, aren’t we?” I whispered as I stood, even though I already knew the answer.

The intensity of his stare made my knees threaten to buckle.

“Y-you don’t really think I’m going to let you sleep that close to me, do you?

” Wrapping my arms over my chest, I attempted to cover my nerves with a glower.

One corner of his lip turned up as he leisurely closed the gap between us.

With each step, my heart rate elevated, as it echoed in my ears like the beat of a drum.

Unable to hold the intensity of his gaze, mine fell towards the ground.

Black boots drifted into my view, and I slowly tilted my gaze upward.

My breath hitched as he wrapped his calloused palm around my forearm. It felt like the entire forest surrounding us buzzed with energy. Declan leaned forward, causing my skin to pebble as his breath flowed over the shell of my ear.

“Are you scared, Lena?”

Frozen by the velvety tone of his voice, my answer lay rooted on my tongue and made no attempts to venture further. Everything I’d heard and witnessed today had been evidence of all the reasons that I should fear the man before me.

However, there had also been moments where I had caught glimpses of another man entirely.

There was a lightness buried within him that had flickered through the cracks in his carefully constructed mask.

That little flicker of light made me curious what more might lie underneath and how I might be able to coax it out of him.

The hand still curled around my arm fell free. Unconsciously, my body chased after the heat of his palm.

“Let me carry you back to the tent so you don’t hurt your feet.” Both our eyes dropped to my bare feet, already covered with dirt and pine needles from the forest floor.

“Okay.” The words brushed over my lips on a breath. I wasn’t even sure they had even been audible, but the crush of pine needles in front of me proved me wrong. Declan wrapped his arms around my back and legs, and lifted me up.

The walk was short, but the tension that simmered between us made it feel like an eternity. His silence as he guided us towards the tent made me wonder if it influenced him just as much. The prince shouldered open the flap of the tent as he walked us through and lowered me onto the canvas floor.

The flap fluttered close behind us, sealing me in with the shadows—some created by the night, the others by a broody prince with a powerful dynamis. Blinded by the darkness, I bent down to my knees, searching the space for the bedroll that had been in front of me.

Grumbles spilled into the air next to me. I shook silently with mirth with the knowledge that he was struggling just as much as I was. A few more grumbles arose until I heard a thump against the side of the tent, followed by a content sigh.

Dammit. He’d found the opening before I had, and hadn’t even bothered to help me. Cursing him inside my head, I continued to search for the opening of the bedroll. Every inch of my body ached, from the tips of my toes to throb inside my head.

My fingers combed over the smooth warmth of a surface. Shock coursed through me as I realized my palm now lay on top of a very bare chest that was rapidly rising and falling.

Fingers curled around my wrist and gently lifted it away from the scorching heat below. The sensation spurred the dynamis within me, and my palm transformed into a glowing torch between us.

Our eyes widened. No burst of white flame fled from my fingertips. Instead, a soft golden glow radiated from within my palm, just like when Declan had removed my shackles for the very first time. Perhaps there was a sliver of hope that my dynamis wasn’t completely unhinged.

“Well, that could have been useful earlier,” I snorted.

Amusement flickered within the prince’s eyes as he released my palm and I shimmied beneath the bedroll that had been illuminated. The glow dimmed, flying out of my grasp just like my emotions had done for years.

As I pulled the rough fabric over my shoulders, an intrusive thought clawed into my mind and sunk its teeth into it.

If I couldn’t even control something as simple as the thoughts and emotions that swirled within my mind, how would I ever learn to control something as strong as my dynamis?

“ E lena, for gods’ sake, go to sleep.” The prince groaned beside me.

For the past hour I’d done nothing but toss and turn. Sleeping on the hard ground wasn’t exactly comfortable. Neither was the overwhelming sense of dread that plagued my thoughts.

“I’m sorry, I just—I mean—I feel…” A frustrated huff ripped through me. “I’m just uncomfortable.” In more ways than one. “Sorry for keeping you awake.”

A shuffling sound rose on the other side of me, right as soft fabric slid underneath my head. Declan had lifted and lowered my head back onto his cloak.

Confusion was written all over my face, and I was thankful for the darkness that hid it.

The Lord of Shadows had done nothing but give me whiplash since this morning.

One moment he was yelling at me, the next he was brushing away my fears with sweet words and gentle touches.

Still lying on my side facing away from him, I whispered, “Thank you. That really does feel a lot better.”

I felt a small tug at the end of my braid that I had redone somewhere amid my sleep deprivation. The leather strap holding the ends slid into his palm before he tossed it aside.

“What are you?—?”

“Shhh.” He curled his fingers through the locks of my hair.

“I—”

“For once, just will you be quiet, woman?” A deep sigh fled his lips. “Just let me help you.”

A thousand thoughts flooded my brain about what my hair had to do with my sleep, but exhaustion outweighed my fight. Rolling my lips between my teeth, I ceded to his request.

Once he untangled my braid, his skillful hands combed from the top of my scalp all the way down to the tips of the wavy strands.

Stroke after stroke cleared my mind as he worked.

The soothing movements almost meditative.

Occasionally, he tucked a few strands behind my ear as he went by.

Each movement was detailed and precise, almost routine, like something that he had done several times before.

I was no stranger to this feeling either.

Memories flashed through my mind of a time when my mother would do the same.

Closing my eyes, I swore I could almost feel her delicate fingers comb through my hair as she would hum to help lull my worries away.

A deep ache pulsed inside my heart as a tear rolled down the side of my cheek.

Discreetly, I ran my fingers over my wet cheeks and wiped away the evidence before the prince could notice.

After some time, the tightness that had taken over my muscles loosened. Every part of my body was deliciously relaxed. With each tender brush of his fingers, my eyelids grew heavier.

A small, satisfied moan slipped through my lips, causing the prince’s palms to still within my hair. Declan’s deep chuckle rumbled over me, and my cheeks heated.

“Oh, gods. So sorry! I just—it just feels really, uh … nice .” Every word I muttered was gibberish, only furthering the redness that spread across my face. Silent curses ran rampant inside my mind as I squeezed my eyelids closed, wishing I could fade into the darkness.

I heard a little more rustling behind me. The blanket I had not realized I had tossed aside was now placed back over my shoulders. Declan leaned in and whispered so softly that I could barely hear his words.

“No more apologies. Just close your eyes and get out of your head, Lena.”

Even after only one day, this man read me like a book. Everything about that left me unsettled.

“Sleep,” he whispered, as he continued combing through my hair.

Exhaustion tugged at my eyelids, and I finally allowed myself to fall into it.

Declan

W ind rustled against the canvas of the tent, and I forced myself to peel my eyes open.

The hazy, clementine light of dawn trickled through an open sliver of the tent flaps.

It caressed the long legs that were now spread over mine and illuminated the boundless waves of auburn hair that cascaded over me.

Elena’s body rose and fell peacefully. Her breaths brushed against my bare chest. My fingers itched to reach out and glide through her hair like they had done last night, but I forced the urge down.

It had been such a long time since someone else had been this close to me, mostly due to self-imposed reasons.

Cool morning air gusted through the tent, and the delicate body next to me shivered. Careful not to wake her, I slid the blanket back over her shoulders. She nuzzled her head deeper into me with a little hum, and I groaned inwardly in frustration.

Everything about Elena was forbidden, yet I couldn’t seem to shake the unexplainable pull that I had towards her.

No one could deny that she was stunning.

Vibrant locks of auburn hair that made her ocean eyes glisten.

Freckles that kissed the tops of her cheeks and nose.

Pillowy pastel lips that only seemed to spew words of indignation towards me.

My lips twitched with amusement. To be honest, it was the dichotomy between her tenacity and tenderness that lured me to her.

I was frustrated by the way she had challenged me every chance she’d gotten, but I must admit it had made me want to push her even more.

Her unwavering will was alluring. However, it was the way she cared so much about everyone but herself that had cracked a small sliver in my heart.

In another time, another place, Elena and I might have been kindred spirits. We shared more in common than she would ever know. She stirred a little bit, and I used the moment to carefully roll her back to her own bedroll.

Quietly as possible, I got dressed and shoved everything else into my satchel.

As I stepped out of the tent, I took one look back at the peaceful woman I had left behind.

Unfortunately, whatever was brewing inside of me needed to end right here.

I would only bring about destruction in her already turbulent life.

My duty would always come first, and this kingdom needed me to be alert and focused on all that was about to befall it.

The flap of the tent fluttered closed behind me as I went in search of Killian. Space away from her was desperately needed if I was going to survive the rest of this journey.