Chapter 8
Is it snowing outside?
That was the first thought that went through Nora's mind as she began to slowly tap into her senses. Every joint in her body was locked as she steadily began to realize she was laying in bed.
Why is it so quiet? Nora's heart began to race wildly. No, no, no.
Not wanting to relive the terrifying moments all over again, Nora sat up in bed and threw off the sheets that kept her warm. Her breaths came out in urgent gasps as she pushed the pillows off and tried to scurry off the bed.
She did not want to see her dead mother's face. Those eyes...those open eyes that had stared at Nora for hours in the night as she slept. She felt her heart shrink to the size of a pea and her throat dry up as fear gripped her soul and pulled her down to hell.
Panicked, disoriented and frightened, Nora kicked with her legs and paddled backward with her hands, desperately trying to get away from seeing her mother's frozen face. Her hand slid off the side of the bed, causing her to tilt backward. She was headed for the floor when suddenly a pair of arms scooped her up and held her off the ground.
Nora's heart stopped. She kept her eyes tightly shut and shoved with her hands at whoever had caught her. The unconscious part of her mind that was still stuck in the land of fear was terrified to see who it might be. She wasn't going to risk opening her eyes to see her mother.
"Nora!" Hayden snapped, trying to hold her steady.
Nora's eyes flew open, snatching Hayden's breath away.
Everything grew silent.
The brown in Nora's eyes was otherworldly. They were unsettlingly deep, with craters and mountains. There were hills and canyons. A whole world resided in the brown of her eyes. As Hayden gazed on, he suddenly had a longing for a place he had never been or known. A place far far away with rich brown soil and mountain ranges so perfect that they could put mother nature to shame.
The jinn would have happily vanished into the strange world without a care for what or who he was leaving behind if it weren't for the whimper that caught his ear. Hayden's gaze moved away from Nora's eyes as she began to make little sounds that were starting to feel like someone was stabbing him.
For the first time since he had seen her wake up like a storm in the middle of the sea, Hayden began to notice the petrified look on Nora's face. Her eyes watered as she bit down hard on her bottom lip and held back a sob that almost came out but got caught in her throat. His arms immediately loosened up around her as he carried her over to the bed and sat her down.
Hayden didn't know what to say as Nora practically pushed away from him and settled on the farthest corner of the bed. She pushed her messy hair out of her face and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand before swallowing the lump in her throat. Her long wet lashes lifted as she stole a peak at Hayden.
"It's okay," Hayden said, crouching by the side of the bed. "You're okay now. You're in the infirmary."
Nora looked around the room before looking down at her hands and noticing the IV and other monitoring devices she was hooked up to.
"What happened?"
Hayden flinched as soon as he heard the way Nora's raspy voice cracked. The doctors did say she had injuries to her throat. But he didn't expect it to be so severe.
Nora's eyes widened as soon as her ears picked up her own words. Her hands flew up to her throat and her fingers wrapped around the areas with white gaze.
