The eather in my chest hummed feebly as I concentrated on my surroundings. I was lying on a bed, but whose? I wasn’t sure it mattered.
I inhaled and caught a familiar scent. It reminded me of—
Pain sliced through my head, causing me to suck in a sharp, short breath.
The soft click of a door closing pierced the quiet. Footsteps neared me. I dragged in another breath, this one deeper, and the scent increased. The footsteps halted.
“Are you…?” The source of the scent’s voice was deep and melodic. Familiar. It washisvoice. The one that had captivated me when I was in the darkness. “Poppy?”
That…was…
“Can you hear me?” he asked softly. I tasted…bubbly hope tinged with a tang of desperation.
I couldn’t respond.
“It’s okay,” he said, appearing to wait for a response. “I’m here. You’re not alone.”
He fell quiet, and I wanted him to keep speaking because I had a feeling he’d been doing that a lot. I also wanted him to come closer, even though it made the hunger worse.
“I can tell you’re waking up.” He paused for a moment. “I can feel your confusion—taste it. I don’t think it’s as strong as what you feel from others, but it’s real. Unbelievable, right?” A low, rough laugh left him. “Kieran and I think it’s an unexpected byproduct of the Joining.”
Kieran.
That name felt familiar. Important. I tried to grasp why, but my thoughts were fragmented, little more than glimpses of deep violet leaves and the sound of rushing water. And I was so hungry.
Starving.
“I’ve been waiting for you to return to me,” he said after a moment.
Please, open your eyes again and return to me.
I had heard him say that to me, hadn’t I? I had while I was sleeping. He had been talking to me. Sharing memories with me—memories of us. Restlessness surged through me. I wanted to know them, but they remained out of reach.
“And I’ll keep waiting,” he promised. “However long it takes. Even if it takes forever. I’ll be right here.”
The bed dipped. My right arm warmed. Heat radiated off his body, and I felt his heartbeat. It…echoed mine. That was strange and—
Fingers glided across my cheek, sending a jolt of panic and indescribable yearning through me. The dual emotions ignited a burst of energy, striking every nerve. Power emanated from his fingertips, pulsing with it. The essence in me surged, responding to his. Driven by instinct, I harnessed the power to force open my eyes.
Everything was blurry.
Blinking several times, my surroundings came into focus. Sunlight illuminated ivory walls with gilded trim—walls with thin cracks running from the floor to the arched ceiling.
“Poppy.”
At the rough whisper, I reacted without thought, jerking upward. My legs tangled in the sheet, causing me to land knee-first on the bed as my head snapped up.
I saw him.
Time seemed to slow and then stop. Neither of us moved.
He was strikingly tall, even though he was bent at the waist, one knee resting on the mattress as if he had been in the process of lying down when I sat up.
The black breeches he wore were perfectly molded to muscular legs, and the top clasps had been left undone so they hung low on his hips, revealing a fine dusting of hair that traveled south from his navel, and lower stomach muscles that tapered into distinct, angular lines.
His chest and broad shoulders were bare, and while his body was all lean, chiseled muscle, it wasn’t flawless. Knicks and slashes were scattered across the tightly rolled muscles of his stomach and chest, having long since faded to a shade lighter than his sandy-hued flesh. One scar stood out, its raw, uneven edges a faint pink.
An image—or maybe a feeling—flashed through me, one of such inexplicable pain and heartbreak that it stole my breath. It had been my pain and…his heartbreak. That was all I knew.
