Page 23 of Rising Out of the Darkness (Divine Guardians Duology #1)

Declan

E lena swayed back and forth all the way up the stairs. I chuckled inwardly every time she slipped and a curse flew from her lips.

“Dammit!” Her shoulder hit the edge of the wall, and her face flushed crimson. When we finally reached the top floor, she got on her knees and kissed the wooden floor beneath them. “Bless the gods. I’ve finally ascended!”

As I tried my best not to smile, I slipped my arm through hers and lifted her upright. We had gone through two bottles of wine at dinner, and I was pretty sure she’d drunk the majority of it. On top of that, she’d barely eaten anything. I made a note to make sure she drank water tonight.

“Don’t think I didn’t hear you back there laughing at me, oh great Lord of Shadows.” She turned and shoved her dainty little finger into my chest. “Oww!” Her freckled nose crinkled as she glared at me. “What’s underneath there, armor?”

“Muscles,” I deadpanned.

She slapped her palm against her forehead with so much vigor that it echoed inside the tiny hallway.

Another little chip of my heart chipped away at the sight of her hunched over in a fit of contagious giggles.

The sound alone spread like rays of sunshine all over my body.

I peeled her hand away from her face and used it to guide her towards our room.

Making it to the door, I fumbled with the stubborn old lock. No matter how many times I twisted it, the lock wouldn’t budge. Elena wobbled over and slumped against the door just as the lock clicked.

It swung wide open, and both of us toppled onto the floor. A meek groan rang out from underneath me, where Elena now resided.

“Your muscles are squishing me,” she wheezed, and I couldn’t help but chuckle as I rolled off her and stood up.

Laughter had been a foreign concept for me lately. It had been a while since my cheeks had hurt from smiling so much. This wide-eyed inferno who was staring at me from the floor was melting the frozen facade I’d been building for years.

Grabbing her hands, I lifted her up and helped her over to the bed. Next to the side table there was a ceramic pitcher and two cups. Lifting the pitcher, I filled a full glass of water and held it in front of her. “Drink.”

She raised her hand to her head in a salute. “Yes, sir,” she mimicked as she drained her cup.

The heat from her lingering stare burned into my side as I refilled the cup and handed it back to her.

Her eyes stayed locked on me the entire time, and I got lost in them.

When she finally came up for air, my bottom lip slid between my teeth as bead of water fell down the slope of her neck to the depths below.

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Mesmerized, I tracked her fingers as they smoothed over her soft lips and wiped the remaining dampness from her neck. Heat pulsed up and down my body. Gods.

Elena was a temptress, and she didn’t even know. I tried to erase the forbidden thoughts that swirled inside my head.

“Declan, there’s only one bed.” Her whisper was full of anxiousness.

Closing the distance between me and her where she sat on the bed, I leaned into her, watching her eyes go wild as she fell back against the headboard. My arm slid over her, and delight sparked my dynamis at the sound of her breath hitching as I did.

“Dec—I…” she whispered, he breath brushing against the side of my cheek.

My fingers curled around the pillow next to her and I pulled it with me as I stepped backwards, distancing myself from the bed and her. “I know, Elena, that’s why I’ll be sleeping on the floor.”

The rosy flush that was beginning to be one of my favorite sights warmed her cheeks, making her freckles stand out even more. As she nodded, I grabbed a spare wool blanket from the foot of the bed and began to build a makeshift bed on the floor.

Just as I kicked off my boots and crawled under the sheets, the bed frame creaked beside me. Two aqua eyes peered down from me from the edge of the bed, and unbraided auburn waves dangled around her face.

“You’ve been riding all day, and that floor looks miserably hard.” She scowled at the floorboards. “Please, let me switch with you.”

“Absolutely not.” I rolled over and tucked the scratchy woolen blanket around me.

She must be crazy if she thought I would let her spend even a second on this hard floor when she didn’t need to. A huff fluttered over me, followed by a heavy sigh and even more rustling.

“What are you doing up there? Go to slee?—”

Another balled-up blanket crashed into my face before I could finish my sentence.

“Stop being so grouchy and take the extra blankets at least.” Elena smiled sweetly before she crawled underneath the covers. Inwardly, I smiled at the kind gesture that was rolled up inside of an insult. One of the many reasons this woman intrigued me.

Exhaustion ached everywhere, including my mind. With a heavy sigh, I allowed myself to fall asleep. Any worries I had were just going to have to wait a few more hours.

Elena

S leep evaded me as I lay restless staring at the beams of the ceiling. Just like every night, my thoughts had spiraled into a tangled web in my mind and I was struggling to find my way out.

With each thought, my chest became heavy and the familiar fear prickled all over my body. It was an uncomfortable itch that no matter how hard I tried, I could never scratch. Trapped, I lay there and tried to fight against it.

I replayed the past few days in my mind, and the fear spiked even more. Even with my eyes closed, my mind replayed the events in vivid detail.

All the times I’d failed and let others down. The moments when I had been reckless and stubborn in the name of healing, only to cause destruction instead. What good was I supposed to do for this realm if my dynamis only led to ruin?

Inwardly I screamed, angry at how helpless I felt inside my own body.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I came to the inevitable conclusion—there was no way I could go to the capital or back home.

The only place I needed to be was away from anyone else.

A place where my failures would never hurt someone ever again.

I knew at that moment I had to leave.

The remnants of the bottle of wine still hazed inside my head, and it continued to throb as I rose from the bed. Peering around the edge of the bed, I could see Declan’s eyes were still closed. His chest rose and fell in steady breaths.

He looked so peaceful as he slept, no furrowed brows, no scowl etched across his beautiful lips.

I froze. Beautiful lips?

Gods.

My eyes scrunched closed as I groaned inside my head.

Thoughts like those were another reason I needed to leave this place.

In no way should I have any kind of attraction for the son of the king.

A king who had a complete disregard for anything that was different or unique in this realm.

Like the humans, or like me…the Light Phoenix.

Fear soured my stomach, and I tiptoed over to the water pitcher and poured myself a cup full. After I gulped it down, I sat on the edge of my bed to put on my boots, then slung my satchel over my shoulder and made my way to the small window facing the back alley.

There was no way I could exit through the front door. There were probably guards on duty all around the tavern. The window looked big enough for me to slip through, and as I peered through the foggy glass, there seemed to be no one else around.

Thankfully, the window was already open. I only needed to raise it a few more inches to squeeze my body through. I wrapped my fingers around the sash and eased it up. The hinges groaned.

Panic stilled my limbs as I sent a prayer to the gods that I hadn’t woken Declan. Timidly, I looked over my shoulder and held my breath.

The moonlight cast enough light in the room that I was able to see his eyes were still shut and he was still in the same position as before. Relief washed over me as I slung my legs one by one over the side of the windowsill.

There were only two stories of the inn, but the alcohol that still ran through my veins made it seem a lot steeper of a jump. Fate must have been on my side, because below there was a wagon full of hay. As I gathered my courage, my eyes wandered one more time to the man behind me.

Tonight at dinner had actually felt normal.

Like we had just been two normal Elysians sitting inside a tavern, with all the time in the world to get to know one another.

The reality, however, was there was nothing normal about us at all.

There never would be. With a heavy sigh, I turned back and jumped to my fate below.

Landing in the hay bale went exactly how I imagined it would, loud and painful. My legs absorbed most of the shock before I fell forward on my knees and hands, all of which now ached incessantly.

Voices rang out from the stable across from me. Shoving my pain aside, I buried myself deep into the hay. Heavy boots walked by, and I waited until the sound ceased before I crawled out of the wagon and shuffled into the stable.

A man’s voice yelled out from the street, startling me so much that I barged into the first open stall I saw. The beautiful tawny mare inside snorted.

“Shhh…sorry, girl, didn’t mean to startle you,” I soothed as I brushed my hand over her soft fur. “Want to help me get out of here?”

This time she whinnied, and I took that as a sign. The saddle was still on her, which meant someone had just left or someone was about to come soon. Either way, I better hurry.

Extending my leg toward the stirrup, I gripped the seat of the saddle and willed my body to leap onto her. Immediately, my foot connected with air, and I realized I’d missed the stirrup entirely. Instead of mounting the horse, I cascaded down to the ground.

“ Hellllls ,” I groaned, knowing tomorrow my entire body was going to hate me. Shuffling and the click of boots echoed throughout the stable and into my stall.

“Your owner’s coming, girl, we’ve got to move fast.” I rolled onto my feet once more.

The horn of the saddle felt slick with the sweat of my palm as I gripped it. Just as I lifted my leg into the stirrup, a heavy hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled my body backwards up against the wall of the stall.

Thick shadows swirled around the body of my captor. As they cleared, I came face to face with a pair of lethal verdant eyes.

“Just where do you think you’re going, Wildfire ?”