Page 110 of Twisted Ties

She reaches for my hands, prizes them away from my head.

“They keep us safe, Rhi. They’re keeping us safe.”

“No they’re not. They still come. They still come. And I can’t … make them stop.”

“What did you see? What did you see this time?”

A man dressed in black.His face masked in shadow by the dark hood he wears pulled over his head. He lifts his head and magic blasts from his gloved hand.

Another man,his face scarred, inks twining up his strong arms, his eyes mismatched colors. He weaves a tight coil around my neck and squeezes and squeezes. I gasp. My lungs burn. The world fades.

A third man.Lying face down in the dirt. A silver dagger in his skull.

Death and destruction.Fire engulfing everything. People screaming. People burning.

Chaos.

“Rhi! Rhi!”It’s not her voice this time. It’s louder, stronger, deeper. A voice that tugs me back. That ricochets around my mind and pulls me out of the memories, out of the terrors.

I open my eyes and gasp for air.

I’m shaking, my body caked in sweat. Just like those memories.

And just like those memories, I’m gathered up in strong arms, comforting arms. Arms that hold me close to a solid warm body.

“Rhi. It’s okay. It’s okay. You’re here. You’re here.” He rocks me back and forth and I cling to him. Cling to him for dear life, frightened that if I let go, I’ll be sucked back down into those nightmares. “You’re okay now,” Stone whispers against my forehead. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”

I swallow, tasting his scent in my mouth; woodsy, bookish, something uniquely his.

“Sweetheart, you’re okay,” he soothes.

I pull away from him, my entire body still trembling, shaking in his arms, and peer up at him. My vision swims with tears. He stares back at me with concern, none of his usual lazy indifference. His face is as white as I’m sure mine must be and his brow is damp with moisture.

The strange force in my gut, the one I’ve been trying to deny, the one I’ve been trying to forget, strains towards him, buzzes at his proximity.

I can feel his heartbeat against my skin. Strong and powerful like his embrace.

“What happened?” I peer up to find Azlan standing above us.

The bond strains for him too and he kneels down next to us.

“It was …” My voice shakes as violently as my body. I close my eyes, those memories so vivid, so terrifying. The panic rises in my throat and–

Azlan rests his hand on my shoulder and that panic fades away.

I open my eyes and I cup my hand around the back of his neck and pull him in close, pull his mouth right up against mine and kiss him. I kiss him as Stone cradles me in his arms and I hear the professor’s breath turn ragged.

I wait to see if the man in black will lift me from Stone’s arms and into his.

He doesn’t.

I break away from his mouth, and with my body shaking even harder, I turn my head and peer into Stone’s eyes.

His eyes are clear and blue like cloudless skies.

I lean forward and press my mouth against his, my heart racing so fast I can hear it in my ears.

I want to know if I’m right. I want to know if this idea I’ve been harboring is correct. If what I’m feeling is real.