Scorched Treachery (Imdalind, #3)(85)

“I have kept her safe for you, Ryland. Just as I promised you I would. But I need to continue keeping her safe until she realizes that she doesn’t need to be scared of you.”

Ryland’s eyes looked up to me, and I felt my heart beat uncomfortably as it tried to escape the prison that I had trapped it in, as it tried to stop me from enacting on my heritage.

“She still loves you, Ryland. I can see it in her eyes. I saw it every day that she would talk about you, in the way she held out hope. She told me every day, Ryland. Her heart belongs to you.”

Ryland listened through it all, his body relaxing and his eyes softening as he listened. He walked toward me slowly, his magical impulses finally released from wherever he had held them prisoner, the waves calm in the air.

“I will make this right and return her to you whole.” I smiled, my face pulling up uncomfortably as my heart protested against my words.

“Thank you, Ilyan.” Ryland voice was soft in my ear as he embraced me, his body appearing only slightly younger than mine. I reluctantly returned the hug, my arms unsure how to respond to such a gesture.

“Samoz?ejmě, bratr, I will let you see her as soon as she is ready,” I said, his slight smile appearing at my words.

Thom had been right from the very beginning. Handing her over was going to be harder than I had ever imagined.

It was duty, my role, to do what was right. There was no question that this was the right thing to do. I could not lead the few of us that remained if I was not honest and right.

And doing this, this was right.

The choices we make are not always easy, but it is the ones that are hard that matter. I could tell, looking into his eyes, that this was the one that mattered. This was the one that would make a difference.

This is the one that needed to be done; no matter how much it hurt.





Chapter Twenty-Six





I woke up with Joclyn in my arms, her body pressed against mine as I sang to her, my words flitting between Czech and English. I had finally fallen asleep at some point last night after making one last check on Dramin.

I had slept dreamlessly, but at some point, the restraint I had against her waking had slipped off and she woke. She was scared. I could tell by the unsteady beat of her heart and the way her hand pressed roughly against me, as if she was trying to move into me. I tightened my arms against her, hoping the pressure would help to relax her.

I had seen her need for the security and the way she had come to get that from pressure as she wedged herself in between the toilet and vanity the other day. I had felt her need for the strength of something else when she could not find her own in the memories she had lent me.

Joclyn’s body stiffened at my touch, a small flinch that shivered over her shoulder blades. Her breathing picked up and her heart rate increased, but I kept my arms tight around her, not willing to let her move into herself, not wanting her fears to take over. I pushed my magic into her, calming her, settling her frayed nerves.

I stayed silent as I held her, as she calmed. I wanted her to decide when she felt safe enough to speak. I wanted her to feel security come from me and then be able to find it in herself.

“Joclyn?” I kept my voice soft, my lips speaking gently against her dark hair.

She pressed against me at the noise, my arms helping her in her search for comfort, as I tightened them around her.

“Are you okay?” I ran my hand over her hair, feeling the soft strands between my fingers, the act helping to slowly calm her heart.

Her head moved against me, the subtle nod of agreement one I hadn’t expected. She was okay. Even though I could feel her fear, feel her panic, she still felt okay.

My heart beat in one wild thump before settling again, my hold on her lessening. I kept her against me as I ran my hand over her hair, my other coming to press her back into me. I surrounded her in security, keeping her broken mind safe for just a moment.

She sighed, and I felt her body relax just enough to mold against me. I wished I could give her serenity in her waking moments, but it was not in my power to do so. There was one thing only I had power to give her right now.

I sang.

I hummed the melody of her song, our song, into her hair. Her body relaxed at the sound, her breath escaping in a warm rush against the skin of my chest. I smiled as I sang, and she calmed and breathed against me. I could still feel the stutter in her breath, the small half beat of her heart, but for one small moment I didn’t hear that, I couldn’t feel the tightness on her back, the tension in her joints. She was just Joclyn, in my arms once again.

She didn’t know it now, but she was stronger than the demons that had filled her soul. I could feel it in the way she relaxed, in the steady strum of her heart. She could overcome this. She could become bigger then it. I just needed to help her find that path. To help her figure out how to put it behind her, to prove her own strength to her. I would help her find herself again.

I sang as I watched the sky lighten through the large arches of my room, the stars fading as the light of dawn took them. Minutes turned into hours but still we lay, her body against mine, my song providing the calming security she so desperately needed.

I moved away from her slowly, surprised when she jerked as if the movement had been a lightning strike. I didn’t dare go too far, only far enough to be able to look at her, to see her beautiful eyes stare into me. I had missed them, and in the morning light, they seemed to shine, the light of her soul sparkling through them and into me.