Shadows of the Night | BOOK 2 DRAFT

16

16.

I barely sleep that night. Elias fills my mind, the thought of him being merely a hall away nearly torturous. After months of wondering whether he was even alive, it takes everything in me not to seek him out and make up for lost time. Because the part deep inside of me that yearned for him has only grown stronger. I had so much to say to him—the words I whispered as I flicked through his sketchbooks, the conversations I fantasised curled up in the library by the fire, the dreams of our last words, last touch, last look. Everything happened so fast—from finding out Elias was a wisper to finding out I lived a life meant for him—there was so much left unspoken between us.

But now, when he's only a room away, I can't seem to bring myself to move. Elias didn't come out of his room after the healer forced me out, neither did the healer. They both stayed in that small room with the sheet pulled across. It doesn't take a genius to know that Elias is punishing himself for what happened.

I roll over on the bed to stare at Cassia's side of the room. She's not there. When I look at her belongings, my chest tightens. I thought I'd forgiven her for what she did to us. But now that Elias is back, the flame reignites. His suffering could've been prevented if it weren't for what she did.

I sigh and stare at the roof. There's something about being in the cave that reminds me of the tunnels I grew up in. The lack of natural light, the narrows halls and small rooms. But this place is warmer than the tunnels ever were, and much less barren.

I don't know how many hours pass before someone pokes their head through the doorway. I sit up so fast my head spins, my gaze meeting a pair of amber eyes. "Elias?"

He moves into the room. He looks stronger than the last time I saw him, less frail. "Can I come in?"

"Of course." I scramble on the bed to make room for him, hugging the sheet closer to cover my bare legs, self-conscious of all the scratches littering them. It's a stupid thought.

He comes closer and sits on the edge of the bed, so far away I wouldn't even be able to touch him if I reached out. The air between us feels cold.

"How... how do you feel?" I ask.

He stares at the ground, the left side of his mouth tilting up in a nearly-there smile. "Better."

I fiddle with the edge of the sheet. "I'm sorry about what happened before. I—"

"That wasn't your fault."

"It wasn't yours either, you know," I say quietly. He doesn't respond. Ever since I met him, Elias has carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. Things beyond his control somehow become his fault in his eyes.

"Everyone at home will be so excited to see you," I say, not knowing how else to fill the silence. "I don't know how much they've told you, but Eric left Aliyah in charge, and even though I think she'd do a great job, Harrison was so angry because he doesn't think—" Elias smiles. "What?"

He looks up. "You called it home."

"What?"

"My village." He shifts slightly so we're facing one another on the bed. "You called it home."

The smile that tugs at my lips is unstoppable. "I guess... I guess it is home now."

"They're not treating you too horribly?" he asks. I shake my head. "Even Harrison?"

"I think I can handle Harrison," I say.

He laughs. "Some people will never change."

It feels stupid to be talking about me having a horrible time when Elias was the one being tortured these past three months, but I can't be the one to bring it up, so I blurt something stupid instead. "I learnt to read while you were gone."