Page 82 of Rising Out of the Darkness (Divine Guardians Duology #1)

Elena

C ool, salty air brushed over me as I peeled my eyes open. The sun’s rays painted the entire room, and the white curtains around the balcony window danced about in the breeze. I threw my arms over my head, stretching like a cat.

My body had been through muscle aches over the years from all my panic attacks, but this ache was something different. It was a delicate ache, a reminder of all the love that had gone into making it. With a sappy grin, I rolled over to my side in search of the man who put it there.

The side of his bed was cold and empty, and my smile faltered. Had he changed his mind? Did he think this was a mistake? Worry flooded my brain as I clutched the sheets against my chest.

“Morning, love,” a deep voice rumbled in front of me.

Standing in nothing but his briefs was Declan. Entranced, I watched every movement he made as the towel caressed over the rest of his body. Never had I been more envious of a damn towel.

A smirk spread across his lips as his eyes locked onto my peeping gaze. Tossing the towel aside, he strode over to me. I could feel my body sinking back into the bed as it trembled with anticipation. He leapt onto the bed and crawled over my body, caging me underneath.

“You’re drooling, Wildfire,” he whispered into my ear.

Out of reflex, I elbowed him in the gut. He then fell over next to me, laughing so hard his eyes crinkled closed.

Seeing the rare act of this man laughing did unspeakable things to my body and made my heart throb with love.

I couldn’t help but laugh alongside him as he curled me into his chest. We lay there contentedly as he caressed his fingertips up and down my back.

With his other hand, he brushed the hair out of my face and behind my ear, then gripped my chin, lifting my gaze to meet his forest eyes.

“How are you feeling?”

“Sore, but it’s a delectable kind of sore.” Warmth flooded my cheeks as I bit my bottom lip.

“That’s my girl.” Declan tenderly kissed my forehead, nipped the tip of my nose, and finally devoured my mouth where he lingered for a while before letting me come up for air.

“I made something for you.” He rolled off the bed and bounded over to a tray that held several silver lidded platters.

He was practically bouncing up and down like a child as he placed the tray in the middle of the ruffled sheets.

“Who are you, and what have you done with my grumpy, brooding Shadow Lord?” Feigning a swoon, I placed a hand against my forehead.

Declan scowled while he placed two of the covered platters on the bed in front of us and poured us each a cup of coffee. He stuck out his tongue at me, which further led me to believe he had lost his mind.

“Careful, my prince. Do that again and I’ll find more productive uses for it.”

His eyebrows shot up to his forehead before a mischievous smirk spread across his handsome face. “Oh, Wildfire,” he purred, “that’s a promise I intend to make good on.”

We both smiled as the tension between us began to sizzle. Unfortunately, my beast of a stomach decided to growl. I couldn’t help but snicker at myself as Declan opened the lid to my breakfast and tossed me a fork. “Suppose we better feed the beast.”

“Watch it, Shadow Lord, you just handed me a weapon.” I giggled as I twirled the fork between my fingers.

The spread before me was full of eggs, bacon, and a very well-done looking piece of bread. When I looked back up, I was met with Declan’s rosy cheeks. Was he blushing?

“You made this by yourself, for me?”

“Of course. I’d do anything for you, Lena. Anything to make you smile.”

Gods, I loved this man.

Grabbing the fork, I piled on some eggs and shoveled them into my mouth.

Dear gods! They tasted like they had been marinating in the ocean. He was watching me intently, so I tried my best to not gag as I swallowed it down. After he’d done something so sweet for me, the last thing I wanted to do was hurt his feelings.

A cough made its way up my throat before I could stop it. Seeing me struggle, he reached for the cup of coffee and handed it to me. Without a thought, I knocked back the liquid.

Oh, Hells, it’s not coffee!

The thick concoction slid over my tongue and assaulted me with its horrid soil-like taste. It took everything in me to swallow that down, and I felt sick to my stomach.

“It’s for, you know…” He cleared his throat, obviously a little uncomfortable. “It helps prevent little Elena’s and Declan’s from coming to fruition.”

I reached over and squeezed his thigh. “Thank you, Dec, for all of this.”

He dipped his head as we both clinked our cups together and downed the rest of the vile ingredients.

“It’s funny, I used to make these for people in my town all the time, but I never knew how horrible they tasted.” I laughed. “I’ll definitely have to work on making it more palatable for the future.”

“Future indeed.” He smirked. Redness flooded my cheeks. “How were the eggs?”

“Amazing,” I whispered as I placed another bite into my mouth.

A fter we finished breakfast, we snuggled back under the covers for a while. Neither of us wanted to leave the comfort of the bed.

“As much as I want to lie here with you all day, all week really”—Declan smirked— “we must meet with Liam, Nayla, Clara and Killian. There’s something we would like to tell you.”

“I believe I already know,” I whispered. “How long have you all been in the Rebellion?”

A smile warmed his lips. Cupping my chin, he pressed a kiss to my temple.

“You’re a brilliant woman. I shouldn’t have kept this from you.

” Intertwining his fingers with mine, he continued.

“There’s more to it though. Those letters you found, they were from my mom and one of our allies.

We built Oria, the Rebellion City, together.

We’ve been helping humans and Elysians escape the tyranny of my father and the violent acts of the Nightshades. ”

“Who’s in charge of it all?”

He cleared his throat. “A man named Fallon oversees Oria now. He was my brother’s best friend. Shamus is our ally in the west in Atheling, and…”

“And you?” I breathed.

He gave a nod. “And your father.”

Sitting up quickly, I wrapped the sheets around me. “How long?”

“Warren’s been a part of it since we began. He wanted to tell you himself, he just thought you needed time to adapt to your dynamis first. He just wanted to make sure you were safe, Lena.”

“He had my entire life to tell me, Declan.” I grumbled.

His head dipped, and I knew that he agreed with me, but I started to get the sense that there was a deeper connection between my father and him.

“Thank you for telling me.”

“No more secrets. That’s a promise I intend to keep.”

His lips brushed the top of my shoulder, and I let myself melt backwards into his chest. “Why have you never left?”

The words floated in the air between us before he finally answered.

“My mother left me a letter. She begged me to hold on to hope, to keep fighting for my father…” I could feel his jaw clench against my cheek.

“She knew that there was still light left in him, and she knew I was the one person who might be able to break through to him. The one who understood the dark and the light, and how to find my way through it.”

I turned myself in his arms so that I could face him. “Do you still wish to stay?” I breathed.

With a heavy sigh, he held my head in his hands. “No, love, he’s too far gone in the dark. It’s time for me to go. We leave tonight.”

I embraced him tightly. “Let’s get ready then,” I mumbled into his neck.