part that tore into me was knowing that when Kyden’s touch left mine, the despair I was suffering would wash away to something dark. Desperately, I wanted to stay like this locked in his arms forever. If I held onto him, our connection remained. I would stay. I wouldn’t be lost. “You can’t ever let go of me,” I whispered.
Kyden rose up above me, determination strong on his features. “I will do what I have to in order to keep you.”
I never replied. What could he do?
“Nexi, I’m coming down,” Zia’s voice came to me.
“We have to get dressed,” I said to Kyden. “Zia’s on her way.”
Kyden let go of me and a wallop of anger filled me, an overwhelming blast of fury. He dressed quickly, took my hand and the sadness sank back in. Exhaustion overtook me immediately. Suffering such quick, intense emotions was more than draining. He helped me dress, never letting go of my hand.
When Zia and Talon reached us, they sat beside us, and we all just stared at each other. No one said a word. What was there to say?
Zia started crying.
I reached out to her, wanting nothing more than to ease her pain. She was like a mother to me, and as hard as it was to be facing the loss of Kyden, it would be just as hard as to lose her too. “Zia,” I said softly.
Surprising me, she jumped to her feet. “No,” she roared. “You have to fight against this. Do what you must. You cannot let this be so.”
Without any inkling of warning, she slapped me across the face impeccably hard. I sat there, stunned.
“You must stop this,” she screeched. “I love you. I need you here.”
I reached up, put a hand to my stinging face. “What can I do?” My cries were loud screams. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to stop it. Don’t you think I would if I could? I don’t want this!”
Sobbing, she fell to the ground and Talon gathered her up in his arms. “No,” she cried. Again and again she screamed it.
All I could do was sit and watch her. I met Kyden’s sad eyes. “What do I do?” I pleaded for him to tell me, for him to find a way to stop this.
Kyden stood, strong and determined. “No more of this. We are done talking.” He reached down, took my hand and pulled me to my feet. “Let’s go. I am taking you somewhere where you can have a moment’s peace.”
As we walked away, my gaze met Talon’s. He still had said nothing, but he didn’t need to. His face said it all. He was hurting.
The further away we got from them, they less I understood of what had just taken place. Why had Zia’s words affected me so? What the heck had I been crying about? I was close to her, I knew that much, but that is where the feeling stopped. It was a thought, more of a word spoken, then a feeling inside my soul. All that remained in me was a jumble of confusion. A wonderment of what it actually meant to be close to her. Why was I feeling nothing toward her? Furthermore, what did it feel like to feel anything at all?
I gave my head a shake, clearing the thoughts. “Where are we going?” I asked Kyden.
He gripped my hand, his eyes searching. Apparently whatever he was looking for, he didn’t find. His gaze tore from mine as he bowed his head. “I’m taking you to see something that is filled with happiness.”
Silence fell between us as we made our way through the grounds of the Otherworld, back toward the Council. My gaze flicked between Kyden, the grass, and the sky. I felt exhausted, nearly ready to just fall down and die.
Kyden’s presence beside me was the only thing holding me together now. His strength provided a much-needed blanket to keep going. He was right, we had now, and all I thought about. Forced myself to remember why I loved him, the way he made me feel. It surprised me to find these emotions for him still lay strong within me because besides his presence in my heart, I felt nothing else.
Once at the castle, we stepped in the foyer, then quickly made our way to the portal. Still unknowing where we going, I let my mind go blank as Kyden opened the door. The flash of light hit and when it