20. Kye

Chapter 20

Kye

M y heart batters my ribs as I hold Apryle in my arms. The screams she let out in her sleep were enough to curdle the blood in my veins. I have never felt bone-deep fear like that, and I hope I never will again.

I should clean the blood dripping from her ear, but I don't want to let go of her to get a towel. I'm terrified if I do, she will slip back into whatever nightmare she was in. So I keep her pressed against me as her fingers cling to my biceps. The soft trembles her body makes have every inch of my body on alert.

"You're still shaking," I remark.

"I'm sorry," she tells me as her teeth chatter. "I can't stop."

I hold her tighter, ignoring the strangled panic clawing at my throat. She said she saw Revna. What does that mean, and why is Revna in her dreams?

"I heard your voice. That's why I was able to pull out of the dreamwalk," she says in a soft voice that makes the bands around my chest loosen.

She trusts me to keep her safe, and that is the highest honor I could ever receive.

When Apryle finally stops shaking, I untangle myself from her and grab a wet cloth from the bathroom. Carefully, I clean the blood from the side of her jaw, my molars grinding together.

"Where's Savannah?"

"She stayed with the others last night, remember?"

Her brows draw together. "Right. Of course."

Worry flares through me, and she squeezes my arm, trying to reassure me she's okay.

"Can you tell me more about what happened?" I don't want to push her, but I need to know.

The way she pulls back from me leaves me feeling cold, especially when I see her expression. Apryle is good at hiding how she truly feels, but in this moment, she is open, exposed to me, and I see every nuance of her fear. I say nothing, letting her find her comfort zone, even though I can feel her anxiety through our bond. The way she tucks her hair behind her ear and dips her head so she is no longer meeting my gaze sets me on edge. I feel as if she is hiding from me, though I am not sure why.

"It was strange. I was dreamwalking, I'm certain of it, but the dream felt more like a memory."

I don't like the idea of her dreamwalking, and the urge to forbid her from doing it again sits on my tongue. Except I know she won't take it well.

"Tell me," I ask as I take her hand.

The urge to bundle her and Savannah into a car and drive far from here nips at my heels, and it is only the fact that we would be far more vulnerable out there alone that stops me.

"Dreamwalking is a specific gift some tau have. It allows me to move freely into someone's dreams. I can see what they are thinking about subconsciously, I suppose, but this differed completely from any walking I have done before. Usually, I choose who I'm going to target and I have control over what I see. This was as if I was being pulled into her subconscious. It was as if I was watching the past unfold." She swallows hard, her throat bobbing. "She was being tortured. They had her bound to a post while they whipped her. There was blood…" She glances down at our joined hands, and I swipe my thumb back and forth over her soft skin.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that."

Her lashes lift to peer at me. "She was pregnant. Like, really pregnant… and she let him attack her for so long before she used her magic to defend herself and her unborn baby."

"It's okay. You're safe now," I assure her, but she shakes her head and cold spreads through me as Apryle's eyes close for a second.

"We're not safe. Her power was unlike anything I have ever felt before. The strength of it was something else. And she didn't draw it from within. It came up from the ground itself… If that was Revna, she's strong—maybe stronger than all of us put together. We can't allow her to become free."

I don't know how we stop that, considering we have no idea how it will happen or whose blood will unlock whatever prison Revna's stuck in. But I give her the reassurance she needs anyway. "We'll stop it."

She scrubs her other hand through her hair, her wild eyes adding to my tension. "This is bigger than any of us. I don't know how we got caught up in this, but I don't see a scenario in which we come out on the winning side, Kye. How do we fight someone that powerful?"

I don't have an answer.

"We'll figure it out, but for now, rest. You're exhausted."

She lets me lay her down and cover her up, which tells me how tired she is. I climb in beside her, holding her to me.

"Kye?"

"Yeah?"

"Whatever happens, I want you to know that these weeks with you have been the happiest of my life."

A lump clogs my throat as the bond flares between us. "For me as well." I kiss her temple. "Sleep."

After a while, Apryle succumbs to her exhaustion, closing her eyes, her mouth slackening as her breathing evens out. I know I should sleep too, but I can't. I am too wired, too desperate to protect the two people who mean everything to me.

So I lie there for hours, watching the steady rise and fall of Apryle's chest.

I never thought I would have a family again, but this right here brings me a peace I never expected to experience. I don't know what the future holds for us, but I do know I will die to defend what I have at this moment.

As the sun peeks through the curtains, my eyes are gritty and tired. I rub at them, feeling groggy from the lack of sleep, but Apryle didn't dream again, and that is all I care about.

Apryle stirs, bringing me out of my thoughts. I watch as her eyes flutter open and awareness throbs through our bond. The comfort I get from her presence inside my mind somewhat soothes me and my wolf, but he is just as on edge as I am. We both know things are going to come to a head, and when they do, we must be prepared.

Apryle's smile as she takes me in is divine. She seems so fragile like this, even though she is the strongest person I have ever met. The resilience of my mate surprises me at every turn, and I admire that most about her.

"Morning," I say quietly.

"Morning."

"You slept better," I remark, earning me a flick of her brow.

"You don't look like you slept at all."

There is no way in hell I could have laid down and gone to sleep, knowing there was a chance she could get dragged into another dream.

"I'm fine." The skeptical raising of her brow tells me she doesn't believe me.

"You need to sleep, Kye. You can't run on fumes."

I can't, but sleeping is out of the question. "I love you for caring about me," I tell her, trailing my fingers over her soft cheeks.

I love how she leans into my touch, and desire flares inside my belly.

"I'll always care about you. You're mine."

The possessive way she says this has my wolf howling his approval. I want to own her, just as much as she owns me. "As long as you know you're mine too."

She presses a kiss to my mouth, and instantly my body relaxes in a way only she can make happen. I mirror her movements, my tongue seeking hers as I slide inside her mouth.

"Forever," I promise.

I'm about to kiss her again when a sound catches my ears. I turn my head in the direction it's coming from, trying to pinpoint what I'm hearing.

Archie.

I go to the door, grabbing a tee as I do and pulling it over my head. As I pull it open, he's coming up the stairs. The only reason I'm not throwing him out of the house is that I know he wouldn't barge in here unless it were serious.

"What's going on?" I demand, my body wired.

I sense Apryle behind me, and even though I know Archie is no threat to her, I place myself in front of her.

"One of your old friends is here." He says this to Apryle, and I glance over my shoulder at her.

"Old friends?"

"Cade said to get you. We're in the main hall. Come quick!"

He turns and rushes back down the steps. "Who is he talking about?" I ask her.

She shrugs. "I have no idea, but let's go find out."