The night air coiled around her, clinging with cold wet fingers. She was still in turmoil, wondering not only who she was at this moment, but how she would get past the conflict and terror that was riding every breath she took. Her mind was refusing to function, it was living separate to her at that moment, lost in a nightmare she wasn't sure she could survive. The mist was a living entity, writhing around her, caressing like the hands of a lover, like his hands... NO! She refused to think of him... of all that had happened between them... all of the dreams that could never be real... He'd lied to her, over and over...
She twisted in her bed, torn and tortured, aware that nothing was as it appeared, and she had to find a way to hold on to the reality that would make this darkness end. She felt the weight of another presence close to her, sensed a malevolence that was both familiar and terrifyingly alien... Locked in the inescapable prison of her mind, she tried to run and got nowhere. The darkness continued to blind her, though all her senses were alive and aware of the evil lurking close to her. It didn't matter what direction she turned, there was the undeniable truth that she was not going to be free until she came face to face with whatever stalked her.
She reached out, clinging to the one who had put her in this place, cursing herself for every kind of fool imaginable, but needing his presence and his strength. Not surprisingly, he remained out of reach to her. She'd walked away, what did she expect, really? He would hate her now... and she deserved it. She had made him think she hated him, and for a little while she had even believed it herself. The emotion had lasted for as long as it took her to remember that she'd fallen deeply in love with Rehv. The fact that his bonding scent clung to her skin made a lie of her fear-induced denials.
The blackness around her shifted like the damp fog that swirled around her and reached out to stroke her skin, making it tingle against the ice that ran over her body and penetrated to burrow into her bones and blood. Inside her mind, she heard his voice, his sorrow dropping onto her cheeks as tears that she cried herself. She felt the weight of his hand on her shoulder, anchoring her in a world that had become shadows and shifting air, icy winds ripping through her despite the lack of motion in the air.
"Ehlena... leelan...."
His deep, resonant voice washed over her like a kiss that ignited hope and passion. She wanted to deny the response, but it was as natural to her as drawing breath, and far more pleasant. She turned, looked up into Rehv's dazzling eyes, the jewelled beauty of amethyst seeing all there was to her as he took possession of her very soul. He leaned in, and her heart started to pound wildly, a timpani of thunder that played for him alone.
Laughter rippled the cold air and her eyes flew open, and she stumbled back as she stared into glowing red eyes. The hatred that poured into her from that malevolent and hate-filled face chilled her to the core, and the words that slithered into her consciousness had the quality of a serpentine hiss.
"He IS mine, and I will have him back!"
Ehlena wanted to tell her to die all over again, but the words were lodged in her throat. A stream of profanity that would have made Rehvenge stare at her in surprise streamed through her brain, but was never voiced. A thin, triple-jointed hand wrapped around her neck and began to squeeze...
"Mine!"
As the cloying mist and the shadows came together, coalescing into solid darkness, Ehlena cried out, Rehv's name tumbling around in her brain, the only thing that could save her from the death that was drawing near....
She twisted in her bed, torn and tortured, aware that nothing was as it appeared, and she had to find a way to hold on to the reality that would make this darkness end. She felt the weight of another presence close to her, sensed a malevolence that was both familiar and terrifyingly alien... Locked in the inescapable prison of her mind, she tried to run and got nowhere. The darkness continued to blind her, though all her senses were alive and aware of the evil lurking close to her. It didn't matter what direction she turned, there was the undeniable truth that she was not going to be free until she came face to face with whatever stalked her.
She reached out, clinging to the one who had put her in this place, cursing herself for every kind of fool imaginable, but needing his presence and his strength. Not surprisingly, he remained out of reach to her. She'd walked away, what did she expect, really? He would hate her now... and she deserved it. She had made him think she hated him, and for a little while she had even believed it herself. The emotion had lasted for as long as it took her to remember that she'd fallen deeply in love with Rehv. The fact that his bonding scent clung to her skin made a lie of her fear-induced denials.
The blackness around her shifted like the damp fog that swirled around her and reached out to stroke her skin, making it tingle against the ice that ran over her body and penetrated to burrow into her bones and blood. Inside her mind, she heard his voice, his sorrow dropping onto her cheeks as tears that she cried herself. She felt the weight of his hand on her shoulder, anchoring her in a world that had become shadows and shifting air, icy winds ripping through her despite the lack of motion in the air.
"Ehlena... leelan...."
His deep, resonant voice washed over her like a kiss that ignited hope and passion. She wanted to deny the response, but it was as natural to her as drawing breath, and far more pleasant. She turned, looked up into Rehv's dazzling eyes, the jewelled beauty of amethyst seeing all there was to her as he took possession of her very soul. He leaned in, and her heart started to pound wildly, a timpani of thunder that played for him alone.
Laughter rippled the cold air and her eyes flew open, and she stumbled back as she stared into glowing red eyes. The hatred that poured into her from that malevolent and hate-filled face chilled her to the core, and the words that slithered into her consciousness had the quality of a serpentine hiss.
"He IS mine, and I will have him back!"
Ehlena wanted to tell her to die all over again, but the words were lodged in her throat. A stream of profanity that would have made Rehvenge stare at her in surprise streamed through her brain, but was never voiced. A thin, triple-jointed hand wrapped around her neck and began to squeeze...
"Mine!"
As the cloying mist and the shadows came together, coalescing into solid darkness, Ehlena cried out, Rehv's name tumbling around in her brain, the only thing that could save her from the death that was drawing near....
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