Bleeding Ink

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

With Dessa hardly saying a word all day, she was surprised her mother hadn't made them stop before they reached the eastern shoreline of Escarral, knowing they wouldn't have anywhere to land before they got to Dalcaine. She hadn't pushed her, hadn't slipped in a probing question as they at breakfast and packed up. What Lyv did do was watch her carefully. Even as she was saying goodbye to everyone in Escarral, even as the hours passed as they flew east, but especially when they finally got home and Dessa turned to glare at Elys.

He was the reason for her bad mood. Just as he always was.

She couldn't fall asleep that night, not even with her mother's soft, comforting breathing beside her, her hand wrapped tight around hers even in her sleep. She'd been going over everything they talked about. How when she was conceived, Lyv had dark magic within her, which then went to Dessa along with her light magic. How her mother would never stop blaming herself for it either. No one, of course, would have known her magic would be dormant until now because of it either.

No one except Elys.

Elys, who knew everything – everything – and still never spoke a word of it to her.

Elys, who she still considered to be her best friend, even after five years of silence.

Elys...who she was pissed at for not even telling her what was going to happen the morning before at training just so she could be prepared.

And she wanted to murder him for it.

Granted, her bitter mood wasn't just Elys's fault. Because when she woke up that morning, she'd had to swallow her scream.

She had the same nightmare again. The one with her, Cleo, and another female fighting an unknown force with Elys's help. This time, though, she wasn't watching the scene play out from her own point of view, but rather as an observer. And just as a wave of darkness so powerful, so ominous washed over them all, Dessa watched as her eyes turned onyx and her shadowflame flicker with silver before it exploded around them all.

Her dreams hadn't started out as nightmares, though. Far from it, actually. Her dream had been pleasant. No, more than pleasant, actually. Pleasurable. And it might have involved Elys in a way she hadn't even let herself daydream about. It was all skin against skin, kisses and touches and sensations that had her entire body tightening, bodies glistening with sweat in the firelight. If that dream hadn't turned into her lifelong nightmare, she wouldn't have been able to meet her mother's eyes in the morning.

And she definitely didn't know how she was able to meet Elys's whenever they made it home.

Her sapphire eyes narrowed as soon as she saw him standing a short distance away. Two kinds of heat flashed through her, both on her face in the form of a blush and her hands as they fisted at her sides. Her shadowflame sparked to life, curling around her wrists, tickling her skin and almost laughing at her reaction to him, even trying to pull her closer.

Elys wasn't looking at those flames, though, only her face. Just a few moments passed, but it was enough time for her thoughts to turn back to her dream. Her highly inappropriate dream of the two of them.

"I think I'm going to head up to my room," Dessa said then, flames flickering out though anger still laced through her tone. Good. She'd rather show her anger toward than her growing need. That wouldn't go well with her father. "It's been a long day of flying, so I just want to wash up and rest."

Her mother looked between them, almost as if she were trying to tell what they were thinking. "We'll see you at dinner, all right?"

Dessa nodded once, smiling slightly, before she glared at Elys again as she strode toward him. He still hadn't said a word, still didn't take his eyes from her. With her parents and Cleo watching, she walked toward Elys, who followed her every move. She brushed past him, ignoring the jolt that shot through her, her shoulder hitting him and knocking him back a step.