felt. I turned my head and locked eyes with the statue that stood beside me. My heart somersaulted in my chest and I stumbled out of my seat. Nyx’s head had turned in my direction. Horror was written on her stone face, as her emotions slammed into my chest like a train. A scream caught in my throat. Nyx’s pain was more than I could bear. Burning heat grew like wildfire in my body and any second I knew I was going to explode into flames. I closed my eyes tight, fear crippling me as I leaned my back against the bench. Was Nyx angry with me for what happened? Did she blame me? Was this my punishment? All these questions rampaged through my head until everything suddenly stopped.
“Claire! What happened?”
I was in Arrick’s arms and back on the bench. I squirmed out of his embrace and stepped frantically away from the statue, but it was back to normal. Nyx’s face retained the solemn gaze toward the crypt entrance. She wasn’t looking at me. Had she even moved at all, or had it all been in my head?
I fell onto another bench; this one more crumbled than the last, and scanned the vampires around me. Some of them gazed at me curiously, others seemed to find my outburst offensive, and glared openly. Arrick walked over and knelt before me. He pulled a tissue out of his shirt pocket and began dabbing my face. Sweat and tears mingled across my cheeks.
“Are you all right?” He took my hands in his and kissed them until I stopped shaking.
“I don’t know.” I placed my hands on my chest and tried to catch my breath. The stones under my dress were warm against my skin. Maybe I shouldn’t have worn them, but I hated taking them off. I hated being away from them. I knew it was strange, and Arrick worried about me, but the stones and I were somehow connected. “I felt someone watching me and when I looked up the statue of Nyx was turned to me. She was screaming in pain. I could feel her inside me.” I covered my face with my hands. I sounded like a crazy woman. Talking statue? Maybe I really was losing it.
Arrick turned toward the statue of Nyx a growl building in his chest like he’d kick that statue’s butt if he had to. It was almost comical. This man, this blood mate, would protect me from anything, even my own wild imagination.
I placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m okay, Arrick. I think I just let my emotions get the best of me.” I smiled weakly.
“You? Let your emotions get the best of you? Such a thing could never happen.” His sarcastic smile broke through the last trembles of my nerves and warmed me through and through. “This is why I fear so much that you hold everything in. Feel, Claire.” He placed his hand on my chest just above my heart.
“But I don’t want to. It’s easier if I just block it all away.”
“It might be easier now, but it will cause you more pain in the end.” He looked away and lifted my Astraia flower from the ground. “Here.” The luminescent light was starting to fade. I took it from him and touched the petals gently. “Time heals all wounds, Claire. But they will not mend if you do not allow them to bleed.” He lowered the hood of my cloak and brushed the hair from my brow before placing a gentle kiss there. “I think there is someone who needs you.”
I looked in the direction in which he had turned his gaze and found Robin, struggling to walk into the tomb. Without another thought I made my way to her. Tears spilled down my cheeks of their own accord as I pulled my friends hand into mine. She didn’t jump at my sudden touch, but squeezed back with the fierce strength she’d always possessed. Our eyes met, both red and swollen with tears, speaking more than any words could ever express. We would get through this together. I might be fighting the sorrow with every fiber of my being, but I wasn’t going to allow her to fight her’s alone. The walls around my heart crumbled and the flood gates released. Robin and I walked hand in hand into the tomb. Neither of us were ready to say goodbye, but it was the only way we’d be able to overcome the