Old Flame︱Brennan Sorrengail

the impossible

I WAS ALONE WHEN I FINALLY WOKE UP. Exhaustion crippled my limbs. Pressure filled my mind. Voices cursed outside.

I jolted up—way too fast—and stumbled into a desk. Ink spilt over a sheet of paper. A book fell over. I whimpered at the spinniness of my head. And the confusion.

Fuck, where was I?

The door slammed open as Violet stormed inside. Violet and Brennan.

Violet and her dead fucking brother.

Holy shit .

Every thought I've ever had fled my mind as Brennan smiled at me. Truly smiled . "Hey, Lena."

It took all of me not to sink to the floor. "Bren?"

Oh, my head was really spinning now—so fast I could no longer stand straight. Wobbling around, I put distance between the Sorrengails and me, trying— desperately trying—to bring in a breath of air.

I couldn't breathe .

"Shit, Lena," Brennan rushed out, racing to my side. I swatted him away. Violet, too.

Hysterical laughs escaped my lips as I fluttered my heavy eyes closed. I couldn't look at him for another second longer. I'm afraid I'd break if I did.

Who was I kidding? I broke three years ago when I found out he was dead.

He didn't seem very fucking dead right now.

"I'm dead, right?" I shook my head, finally sucking in a breath. A loud one. Although, it was one thing I could count as a win. "This has got to be a joke, right? I mean, it's one of the two. So, tell me. Am I dead, or are you fucking with me?"

Silence. More silence. Why weren't they talking?

"Or...maybe it's my subconscious playing tricks on me. Show me the people I care about right before I die? Because Violet, if you're dead too, I'm going to pummel you—"

"You aren't dead, Lena." Violet's soft footsteps echoed closer. "This is real."

"Fuck that." I kept my eyes closed. "I don't believe you."

Brennan's hand found my side before guiding me back to the bed. His bed. It smelled like him. Like alive him.

He smelled different now. Like wood. And some dark berry I couldn't name.

My body tensed as he moved his hand to my cheek. I finally opened my eyes.

He's alive.

He's really alive.

Alive and healthy and—

Kneeling. Brennan was kneeling. And every ounce of his focus was on me. "You look good." He ran his hand over the mattress beside me. His thumb brushed against my thigh.

I stared, studying him. As if I looked long enough, I'd piece together the last three years without him.

He tugged his lips up at my lingering gaze. I couldn't stop gaping at his eyes. Amber and infinite, they enchanted me—like some fantastical forest deep in a king's foreign lands.

Brennan was everything.

And he was alive.

He ran a hand through his reddish-brown hair. And—he combed through his soft waves, sighing. I don't think I breathed as I watched the rise and fall of his chest.

He was alive.

"Please say something," Brennan whispered.

I forced down the tears in my throat. "You're alive."

"I'm alive." He chuckled, brushing his thumb over my knee. "I missed you."

I finally gained some semblance of sense and pushed him away from me, aiming for the door. It was only a second before I realised I had no idea where I was.

But that didn't stop me. Putting distance between Brennan and me was my only priority. I needed to breathe. To see Feyreth. To do anything but look at him another second longer.

"Where are you?" I reached for the tether between my dragon and me, darting down the halls of the mysterious building. Brennan and Violet shouted my name behind me. "Feyreth. I need you."

"I advise against that until you've eaten, Little Reader."

"Feyreth—"

"Eat first. Talk later."

What a shitty dismissal. One that I would ignore. She wouldn't tell me where she was? Fine. I'd find her my-fucking-self.

I slammed into something solid after turning a corner to run further from a not-so-dead guy. And—I would've thought it was a brick wall had Xaden not shoved me away and shook his head at Brennan shouting for me again.

I scowled as soon as he parted his lips. "Fuck off, Riorson."

He grabbed my arm. It took all of me not to cut him with my dagger. Fighting Xaden wasn't smart. Not right now. I was pissed; he was levelheaded. I didn't like my odds.

So, I settled for pushing him away. And threatening his child-bearing ability if he touched me again.

Violet and Brennan caught up with me. I contemplated running again. The only thing that stopped me was Brennan's desperate eyes. And his soft words.

"Lena, let me explain. Please let me explain. Please."

"Screw you and your explanation." I darted my eyes down the hall, planning my escape. Brennan glanced towards his sister.

Wisely, she and Xaden found somewhere else to be. I envied them.

"Lena, please. Please let me make it easier. I know you're confused. I know you want answers. Let me give them to you."

Gods, I hated it when he was right. Like a lot . And it happened often. Like a lot.

"One minute," I choked out. "One fucking minute, and I never want to see you again."

Brennan nodded his bowed head. It made me want to take everything back and hug him. But then I remembered the last three years. "If you decide that, I'll accept it. I'll let you do whatever you want." He stepped up to me, reaching out as if to hold my hand.

He backed away at the last second. Something swelled in my chest as he settled for pointing back down the hall. "The exit's this way."

Heat travelled in my cheeks as I glanced towards the opposite way I was running in. Of course, I ran in the wrong direction when trying to escape my dead ex. Really, this entire situation screamed 'Just Milena's luck' .

"Right." My shoulders went taut with unbecoming anger. "Of course, it's that way."

Brennan chuckled. Then cleared his throat when I glared at him. We sat in silence before walking up to his door again. "I'll go grab you something to eat. Relax."

He lingered at the door as I walked into his room, folding my arms to my chest. He nodded. Then he left.