The Frozen Prince (The Beast Charmer #2) - Maxym M. Martineau Page 0,56
wandering too.
Something small and demanding begged me to remember what had happened in the clearing when Winnow had removed my curse. I had seen all those pained faces, but when the curse had been lifted, life had reentered their bodies. They’d smiled at me, as if somehow I’d been forgiven.
It didn’t seem like there were wanderers left. But Amira, Bowen… I glanced back and forth between the two of them. They felt real. Their deaths still weighed heavy on my heart. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe…
“I didn’t know.”
“We know. We don’t blame you.” Bowen’s nose brushed against my ear. They were both so close, surrounding me. Drowning me. “But you can help us find peace. All you have to do is give us the last wanderer. Then we can all ascend together.”
The last wanderer? My mind reeled. Tried and failed to connect the dots. Between their heady scents and the thick red tendrils wrapping us in our own private world, nothing made sense anymore.
“Please, Aleksander.” Amira leaned closer, trailing her fingers along the bare expanse of my chest. I was frozen beneath their touches, mind revolting at the thought of…of what, exactly? They deserved peace. I’d wanted that very thing for so long. If I had the power to alleviate their pain, then I would do it. Without question.
My throat was tight. “How?”
“She needs to go.” Amira’s voice was soft. Pleading.
Kill.
Something hard crashed through my gut. “She?”
“She is the last one. She was at death’s door, and the curse feels robbed. If you give back what you stole, then we’ll all find peace.” Bowen pressed his forehead against my temple, his breath hot on my neck.
Noc. Leena’s voice reverberated through my mind. Lilac and vanilla filled my senses, chasing away the tantalizing mix of Amira and Bowen.
“You could raise her.” Amira’s words were a tempting offer I didn’t even want to acknowledge, and yet how could I not? An eternal life with the woman I loved? The idea sank deeper than it should’ve, and the red haze thickened.
“We’ve seen her thoughts. Her deepest desires,” Bowen whispered. “She wants to walk with the shadows.”
“No.” My voice was weak, unconvincing. She couldn’t want that. Could she? I’d only brought it up once in passing since our return from Hireath, and she hadn’t acknowledged it. Her beasts… What would happen to them?
“Give her what she wants, and then we’ll all be free,” Amira said.
No. I can’t do what they’re asking. I can’t kill, Leena. I could never—
“Shh. It will be all right.”
I couldn’t tell who had spoken. Their forms were red, their voices melded, their hearts beating as one.
“Noc.”
I moaned. “I can’t.”
“Noc!” Two delicate hands cupped my face. A thumb worked over the trail of my scar. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”
Brilliant rosewood light doused the maelstrom of red, and there she was. Leena. Wide hazel eyes stricken with fear. Rich-brown streaks of windswept hair tangled around the shape of her face. Bow-like lips parted. Her very breath battered against me.
Control. Shadows exploded outward and blanketed our room in a riot of onyx and charcoal, tendrils slithering over one another like snakes in search of the vile red that had previously claimed my mind. I grabbed Leena and pulled her close. Buried my nose in the crown of her hair and inhaled her familiar scent. She was real. Tangible. Not a ghost or a memory, but my anam-cara. My pulse slowly shifted back toward normal.
Quaking hands pressed firm against my back, and her voice broke. “Are you with me?”
“I’m here.”
I felt her exhale, and her body slackened. “You were just standing here, staring at nothing. I couldn’t reach you.”
Shadows licked our bodies and kept us close. “You can always reach me. I heard you.”
Tilting her chin up, she studied my face. “What happened?”
“It’s these damn—” My voice cut off as if someone had wrapped their fingers tight around my throat. An ugly cough sputtered from somewhere deep in my chest, and I turned away.
If I couldn’t physically tell her about the danger I posed, then she wouldn’t know to leave. To keep her distance. It was up to me to keep her safe, and yet she was the only thing that seemed to stave off the madness. She grounded me, and while being near me put her in harm’s way, it also made it easier for me to think. Breathe. I could rationalize in her presence.