Beyond His Evil

TWENTY-EIGHT.

~~~

Someone called my name.

"Kira!"

A pair of hands shook me, urgent and desperate. "Wake up, please. Wake up!"

A dull, throbbing pain radiated through my skull as I groaned, my eyelids fluttering open. The world spun, my vision blurring before slowly sharpening.

"She's awake," Evelyn sighed in relief.

"Devon, teleport them to safe land," the seer instructed.

Wait... Devon?

Evelyn's hands steadied me as I tried to sit up, but the dizziness hit me hard. I pressed my palms against my temples, trying to fight off the pounding headache.

"Is she okay?" A woman's voice-unfamiliar and sharp-cut through the air.

"She'll be fine," Devon reassured.

His voice sent an unwanted shiver down my spine. I hated that it still affected me, hated that hearing him made my chest tighten.

The pain in my head sharpened, and Evelyn turned to him, her voice laced with concern. "Devon, what's wrong with her?"

I felt him before I saw him, the shift in the air, a whisper of energy. He had teleported. Then his fingers brushed my wrist. A featherlight touch, hesitant, as if he wasn't sure I would let him.

"Kira," he murmured. "Look at me."

I couldn't. I kept my head down, my breaths uneven.

He let out a quiet sigh before gently pulling my hands away from my head, his fingers warm against my skin. When he cupped my face, his touch was impossibly gentle, like he was afraid I'd break.

I forced myself to meet his gaze.

His crimson eyes looked exhausted, dark circles haunting the space beneath them. A fresh scar stretched from his cheek to his jaw, a jagged mark that hadn't been there before. It didn't dull his beauty, but something about it unsettled me.

What had happened to him?

The way he studied me made my chest tighten. I could see it-the worry, the fear, the care.

"Okay?" he asked, rubbing slow, soothing circles against my hands with his thumbs.

And for a fleeting moment, I let myself sink into the familiarity of his touch, his voice. I had missed this.

But then-the memory of that night crashed into me.

A sharp, cold wave of anger replaced everything else.

I pulled away, my voice like ice. "I'm fine."

His hands fell to his sides. I saw the flicker of hurt in his expression before he masked it, but I turned away before it could affect me.

"Did you see anything, Seer?" the unfamiliar woman asked, drawing my attention.

I looked at her properly this time.