The Heir of Moon-Fire

Chapter 49

Emily's POV

"That's a terrible question," someone muttered behind me. "You came here of your own volition."

I slowly turned around, seeing Mal lounging in a plush chair. "I'm still in your mind, right?"

He rolled his eyes at me. "Obviously. I mean, I'm a thousand miles away, so there is no way in hell that you can be talking to me in person." I watched his good-natured smile drop into a frown. "Speaking of which, how, the hell, are you in my mind? I'm completely surrounded by iron, for Cauldron's sake!"

I continued to stare at him. "I- I- you're- but-"

He sighed, closing the book in front of him and standing up. "Hey, it's okay. I'm here right now." My chin quivered as he walked up to me, brushing a tear off of my cheek. "C'mere," he told me as he wrapped his arms around me. I sunk into his warm embrace.

"What even is this place?" I asked him at last, my arms still tightly wrapped around him in case this was all just a dream.

"A safe house of sorts. I keep all my memories here in case someone, Vincent, for example, tried to erase everything." I could feel him smile as he pressed a kiss to my hair. He pulled back with a raised eyebrow. "You didn't think I would just leave my memories floating around, did you?"

I furrowed my brows while judging his face. "But- your mind's always so lively..."

He shook his head in amusement. "You of all people should know the difference between thoughts and memories." I opened my mouth to retort before snapping it shut.

"Good point," I grumbled.

As silence reigned, I watched his smile slowly fade away. "I suppose you came here for a reason, though," he whispered to me.

"I did."

He gestured to a couple of chairs. "Let's sit, then."

I nodded, silently following him over to them. We both sat, refusing to make eye contact. I pointedly stared at the red rug, wringing my fingers. I looked up several times to see him also staring at the rug. Leaning back, I released a long breath. "Your mind is in complete disrepair, Mal." His head shot up, finally meeting my eyes. "It's so dark and quiet and the 'ground' is riddled with fissures." I closed my eyes as I took a steadying breath. "I nearly gave up and left."

He turned his gaze back to the floor. "It'll take a while to repair, even with the help from me and the healers. We can't fix it without you, though."

His head snapped up. "Who said anything about-?" He groaned, burying his head in his hands. "You want me to go back to that hell?"

"We got you out, Mal-"

"Don't give me false hope, Emily. Vincent is nigh impossible to find, much less beat. So, don't you fucking dare tell me you got me out." His skin was pale as the moon as his hands shook. "I'm not going back."

"Mal-"

He stood up. "If you say another word about it, I swear, I will make it impossible for you to come back here," he snarled at me.

I snapped my mouth shut. He had every right to carry out that threat. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you. Do you want me to leave?"

He dropped his gaze to his feet. "No. I just- I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay. Then we can talk about something else."

He shrugged. "Just being here with you is enough for me," he told me with a small smile.