A Thousand Year Obsession ✔

29. Remember Who You Are

29. Remember Who You Are

Derek pulled me into a large bedroom, and released me as he fell against the door, a heavy breath escaping his lips. I tentatively moved away from him, glancing all round me at the dusty bedroom.

A large black-robed bed lay against the wall directly behind me, beside which on opposite walls sat a desk and a wardrobe. A cabinet stood tall on the right of Derek.

Derek pulled away from the door and turned towards me. I stopped moving as my gaze fell upon his glistening cheeks.

Was he crying?

He moved towards me, stopping just in front of me. His silvery blue eyes fell on my own and he gently curled his hands over mine. Derek pulled me over to the bed and sat down on its edge, never releasing me from his gaze. His lips parted, but no sound came forth. This repeated several more times. Then finally, he spoke.

"Can I hold you?" He sounded so broken, so terribly broken.

I was speechless, completely utterly speechless.

Where had the uncaring, mocking monster gone? And what had replaced it?

"Please." His voice cracked.

I only gazed at him with a baffled astonishment as he tenderly pulled me into his arms, resting my head onto his shoulder. We sat like that for a while more until I found the strength within myself to speak.

"What happened?" Those weren't the words I'd meant to speak, but for the strangest reason I hadn't the will within me to pull away or scowl or shout.

Derek's eyes closed. "I don't want him to hurt you."

I frowned. "Why would he hurt me? I freed him."

He only sighed. "Who knows why he does anything." He paused. "I've seen that look before, Morgana. He's determined to have you. No matter what the cost."

"But why?"

"I don't know. For some reason he's chosen you over his--" He broke off suddenly, but then he began again as if nothing had happened. "It must have something to do with you freeing him."

I tried to pull away, but Derek held me firmly in place.

"I can't lose you, Morgana." He breathed. "Not to him."

"You won't . . . " I said hesitantly. "The only one you'll be loosing me to is me."

He sighed and released me. I shifted away from him and stood, cautiously watching him as I backed up towards the door.

"Be careful, Morgana." He said quietly as my fingers wrapped around the doorknob. "Don't underestimate him."

I turned away and slipped out the door.

° ° °

I didn't mean to return to the library. It simply happened, the natural course of my thoughts led me directly back to the looming bookshelves. Ones surely overflowing with answers. I knew combing the shelves for information about Immortals and bonds might take an awfully long time, but what else could I have done? Nothing else would get me any closer to escaping this dreaded castle.

But soon enough, after what seemed like hundreds of books later, a terrible throbbing took up a place in my skull, and my eyes burned and blurred as I scanned over each title, painfully pulling out a few particular volumes and glancing through them. I hadn't even gotten past the first shelf before I'd slumped down at its base and let out an exasperated breath.