Chapter 6

Chapter Six

NYX

Two Years Ago

“No!”

Nyx glanced from the window toward Briggs who slept on the floor of the cabin, in front of the low burning fire. Shudders wracked his body, and she dug her fingers into the skin of her biceps to keep from reaching out to him.

Touching Briggs during a nightmare was a near death sentence.

Her brother emerged from the single bedroom where they were keeping the girl—the one he was obsessed with but didn’t want to admit it. Pyre crept toward Nyx on silent feet and nodded at her bear.

“Another one?” he whispered. “They’ve gotten worse in the last few weeks.”

“I know,” she replied in a hushed tone. It worried her. Usually, she knew exactly what set him off but not this time.

Pyre pulled his cloak from the peg near the door and chucked it over his shoulders before giving her arm a gentle squeeze.“Try to get some sleep. I’ve got the next watch.” Her brother slipped outside and closed the door softly behind him.

For a moment, Nyx didn’t move. She was weary to the very soul. So many had died recently and there hadn’t been time to mourn. All she could do was survive. It was exhausting. When would it get better? Pyre was pinning his hopes on the Lady Hound but Nyx wasn’t so sure she’d come around.

Briggs whimpered, snapping Nyx out of her thoughts. Enough was enough. Giving him a wide berth, she grabbed an extra pillow from the bedroom and crept closer to the fire. Nyx stayed just out of reach before she lobbed the pillow with all her might at his head.

Her bear bolted upright, snarling, tearing at the pillow with his teeth. Heart pounding, she backed away toward the little kitchenette and began humming a soothing lullaby that he liked. Briggs’ attention darted to her. Tears ran down his cheeks and he blinked repeatedly.

She froze as he stared at her, slowly coming back to himself, escaping whatever hell he’d been trapped in.

“Are you alright?” As soon as the word passed her lips, Nyx felt stupid. Of course, he wasn’t alright.

Briggs shook his head, more tears tracking down his face. “I’m so tired,” he rasped.

She could help with that.

Nyx spun on her heel and dug through her pots of herbal remedies before uncorking the little purple bottle and generously pouring some sleeping oil into her hands. This would help him.

She bustled to his side, rubbing her hands together and reached for Briggs. He caught her left wrist in the palm of his massive hand, and she paused, staring down at him.How’d he escape his bindings? She’d not done a good enough job.

“No drugs.” His whole body was tense.

She frowned. “It’s just herbs.”

“What’s in it?”

“Lavender, tart cherry extract and wolgave.”

“No Mimikia? Or mushrooms?”

She glared at him. “None. I know how you feel about such things. I have not put anything extra in this.”

The tension in his body fled and he released her. Nyx stepped around him, so his back pressed against her legs. She reached down and began rubbing the base of his neck and skull with smooth motions. “I thought you trusted me.”

“I do. It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

Silence.

Not surprising, but still disappointing. They were beyond close as friends and sometimes it felt like more, but he opened all the way up. Briggs kept some parts of himself from her and it cut deep. She wanted to share his burdens.

This is not about you.

She set aside her feelings and continued rubbing down his neck to strong wide shoulders that seemed to bear the weight of the world. At least he’d let Nyx do this much.

Carefully, she edged around him until she stood before him, and he knelt in front of her. Nyx brushed his braids back from his cheeks and massaged his temples, humming softly.

More tears squeezed out of his closed eyes, and she felt her own well. Why was life so unfair to someone so kind and gentle? It wasn’t fair.

Briggs tipped forward, pressing his forehead into her soft stomach just beneath her breasts and wrapped his arms around her tightly, his whole body shuddering. Nyx hugged him back, combing her fingers through his hair, humming while he cried into her skirts, releasing all the pain from his nightmares.

She cried silently with him, hating all the cruelty he had suffered and made a promise to herself that she’d try to only bring good into his life. While she wanted a life with him, being his friend and giving him this much peace was enough. It had to be.

His shaking stopped and Briggs turned his face to the side, his arms never letting her go.

“You know,” he rasped, “that’s the only thing I remember from the first time I spoke to you.”

“What?” she murmured, stilling her hands over his braids.

“The lullaby you hum for me.” He pulled back to look up at her, his dark eyes shining in the dying firelight. “The night I almost killed you. My mind was muddled but what brought me through was your song.”

Her heart clenched. “I’ll always sing it for you whenever you need reminding of where you are.”

He swallowed hard. “I don’t deserve such friendship.”

Nyx pushed his shoulders, so he released her, and she leaned down until they were nose to nose. “Don’t you dare say that. You are kind, smart, generous, thoughtful, and understanding to everyone around you. You deserve friends better than me.”And it was the truth.

She heaved in a deep breath and his eyes dropped to her lips. Her pulse skittered when a low growl rumbled in his chest and his fingers curled into the fabric of her skirts. He pulled, tumbling her into his lap. She grasped at his loose shirt, her knees falling on either side of his thighs. Nyx trembled as she gazed up at Briggs who seemed to be shaking as hard as she was.

“Briggs?” she whispered. Was he still dreaming? Was she dreaming?

His warm hand landed on her lower back and pulled her closer as he leaned forward, his breath mingling with her own.

“Just this once,” he panted.

“What—”

Briggs kissed her.

Nyx froze as Briggs devoured her, begging her with his lips to give into him.

And she did.

Her nerves sparked alive, and she grabbed handfuls of his hair, pulling him even closer. He crushed her against his body, his hand on her lower back burning through her dress, branding Nyx. She gasped as his hands slid up the back of her thighs before he lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. It was everything and not enough all at once.

The room spun and she tipped her head back, gasping for breath as he pressed urgent kisses to her jaw, neck. His fingers clenched her bare skin, his thumbs sweeping her curves. She shivered as he licked the hollow behind her ear and tugged on the lobe.

Sweet poison, that was heaven.

Nyx cupped his face and brought him back to her mouth for another deep drugging kiss. Briggs shuddered and his hands seemed to be everywhere at once. The world went hazy, and she sighed, eyes closing. This was what she’d wanted for ages. It was for him to notice her. To want Nyx as much as she wanted him.

Her dress sagged and slipped off her right shoulder. He tugged on her hair, tipping her head back so he could once again nibble on her jawline.

“No,” she moaned, running her hands down his muscular chest. “Kiss me.”

The kisses stopped.

She opened her blurry eyes and blinked at Briggs. He stared down at her.

Not at Nyx, but her neck.

Releasing his hair, she slapped a hand over the mark.

“What is that?” he asked gutturally.

“Nothing,” she said quickly, pulling up the sleeve to her dress. Nyx practically scrambled from his lap, and Briggs let her. She moved to the window as her bear slowly got to his feet and stared her down.

“You’re marked.” It wasn’t quite an accusation.

“Just a scar,” she mumbled, messily tightening the laces on her side.

“It’s not just a scar.” A pause. “Who marked you?”

“No one.”

He took a step in her direction, his eyes dark. “Are you mated?”

“No.”

“That mark is fresh. Maybe a few years old.” He ran a hand over his mouth. “Were you mated?” A demand.

“No.”

He inhaled deeply and her skin prickled.

“Stop attempting to scent me,” she whispered.

“I can’t smell another on you.”

“Because there is no other!” she shouted.

“Then why hide it?”

So you wouldn’t hate me.

“Because it was an accident.”

“That mark is too clean to be anything but deliberate.” He paused, his expression sobering. “Did he leave you? Did he hurt you?”

Nyx swallowed hard.

“You can talk to me,” he murmured, all kindness. “You know you’re safe with me.”

She laughed, the sound grating in her own ears. He wasn’t safe with her. “You can’t help me.” Nyx yanked her cloak off the peg and tossed it over her shoulders. She had to get out of here before he wheedled what he’d done out of her.

Nyx wrenched open the door and stepped out onto the porch, intending on fleeing. Briggs caught her hand and pulled her back to him. She sniffed hard as he cupped her cheeks, his large warm hands dwarfing her face.

“We all have our secrets, but you don’t have to bear yours alone. And if a male forced you, all you must do is say the word,” he rumbled softly.

“It’s nothing.”

His gaze dropped to the clasp of her cloak, guilt creasing his forehead. “And I just took from you. I didn’t ask.” A heartbeat. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

If he’d stabbed her, it would have been less painful.

Nyx ripped out of his grasp and backed down the stairs until she reached the forest floor, sniffing back her tears. “I’m not safe with you.”

He blanched and she regretted her words but didn’t take them back.

She turned her back on him and strode into the woods. The time was coming for Talagans to be free from the monarchy and all she could think of was Briggs. That had to change. She had to turn off her feelings.