Shadows of the Night | BOOK 2 DRAFT

39

39. 

Malik doesn't stop Elias as he walks closer, nobody does. Malik's wolves watch, lurking at the edge of the trees, just out of reach of the dying flames. Cassia has dragged herself to rest against a burnt stump, clutching her bleeding shoulder. I can't bring myself to look at her. It would mean looking away from Elias. The air feels stagnant as he moves through it, the forest fire behind him dying down and framing him in an iridescent glow.

Our eyes meet. A thrill races through me. This is Elias—I trust him with my life. And yet, something about his gaze makes me step backwards.

"Milena." My name is no more than a whisper rolling off his lips, but it sounds like a song, calling to my body in more ways than one.

He reaches me, staring down with those burning amber eyes. When his fingers brush against mine I jolt backwards. "Don't get too close," I warn.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

"That's not what I'm scared of."

Still, he reaches for my wrist, wrapping his hand around it, eyes never leaving mine. The skin tingles at his touch, but I don't dare look down as his other hand trails the inside of my arm, all the way to the top of my shoulder.

"What're you doing, Elias?" Cassia orders, voice pained. "Seriously, stop this!"

"Take Cassia to the infirmary," Elias orders, eyes still on me. Nobody moves. "Now."

Over his shoulder, Malik nods, and two of the guards approach Cassia. She lashes out when they reach for her, another two coming to aid. I flinch as she shouts at them when they drag her away, back towards the castle, staring at Elias.

"What're you doing?" I hiss.

"She needs help," he says.

I look at Malik over his shoulder. "And you trust him to help her?"

"Yes."

"We can't trust him. After everything, why would he want to help us?" He doesn't answer me, casts his gaze to the ground. "Elias?"

He pulls on my wrist, tugging me into the shelter of the trees. I stare at Malik over his shoulder when Elias comes to a stop, turning to face me. Malik adjusts his position so he can just see us through a gap in the foliage, but he doesn't interfere. It sends a thrill of fear down my spine. I don't understand what's going on.

"Why have they stopped fighting?" I whisper. "What'd Malik say to you?"

His gaze is a warm caress as it brushes across my face. "Do you trust me?"

I trust Elias with my life, but something makes me hesitate. I search his face. His eyes burn in the forest. It feels like there's an orange glow around us, highlighting the planes of his cheeks. There was once a time when he showed me nothing; I even wondered if Elias was even capable of feeling emotion. But now, he's an open book, and what I see makes my stomach churn.

"Don't—don't look at me like that."

His hand brushes the hair back from my face. "And how am I looking at you?"

"Like you're about to make a really stupid decision."

He laughs lowly, but it's hollow, empty. "I really do love you, you know."

My eyes blur as I stare at him, a weight constricting my lungs. His touch on my wrist feels like electricity, but it's his words that set my body ablaze. They don't sound romantic; they sound the same as when he said them in the prisons, when he thought we were going to die.