Her Hidden Half (War Songs of the Courts #1)

Chapter Thirty-four

Demetri seemed distracted. He watched me as the words rushed out of me, in too much of a hurry to even take a breath in between sentences, but his expression never changed. Something akin to concern furrowed his brow and clenched his jaw, his eyes far away in thought as he stared at me. But it didn't seem like he was hearing what I was saying so I didn't think it was that.

"What's going on?" I finally asked, the silence following the long string of words that leaped from my mouth becoming too much.

"How are you feeling?" He asked softly, ignoring the fact that I asked him a question.

His demeanor was so unlike what I was used to that I was taken aback for a moment.

"I'm fine," I said defensively, too proud to admit that that was the farthest thing from the truth.

Last time I was overwhelmed and vulnerable and it made me slip up. I wouldn't do it again.

His eyes narrowed and he stepped forward to grasp the back of my neck, not allowing me to escape his piercing gaze. "You're not."

I tried to hold my stance, unwilling to let him push boundaries like this, but I couldn't maintain the lie. A few stubborn seconds passed as I held his eyes in defiance before it faded away. I slowly relaxed into his hold, closing my eyes to contain the emotions that threatened to show.

"I will fix this, Ecasia. You will be safe soon enough."

With his words I felt his other hand come up to curve around my jaw, his hold firm and comforting. My eyes opened of their own accord and I wasn't surprised to find him only inches away. His deep chestnut eyes stared back at me, conflict clear as they bounced between mine, a war waging within himself.

My own conflicting emotions held me in my spot, unsure if I should pull away or draw closer. The urge to be closer had won out just as I heard him mumble almost to himself in a foreign language, "Pozhaluysta, izvini menya." The sound was harsh and heartbreaking to my ears and I struggled to understand what it could mean.

He pulled away and as I reached out for him, unsure what what happening, I felt myself being pulled from the dream. Like a rug being pulled out from underneath me, the world slipped away and I tumbled back into the quiet comfort of sleep. Only when I woke it hadn't felt like it gave me much comfort at all. Instead it felt like sleep had escaped me entirely, leaving dark circles under my eyes.

Noah spun me until I came to abrupt stop against him, pulling me from the memory playing over in my mind. I ground my teeth together to prevent myself from voicing the anger that I felt in my core.

"Wha-" I began, unable to contain myself.

Don't. His growl vibrated in my mind and my insides froze uneasily.

Every person in this room is listening to us. You have questions, but this is not the time nor the place, Dröttning. He voice was stern but gentle at the same, his mind's tongue loosely curling over the last word without any difficulty, making me wonder if it was his native language. I hadn't detected any kind of accent when he spoke, but his words were always so soft and careful that it was never a question.

I took a breath, even more questions on the tip of my tongue. Something he must have seen because he settled me with a quiet but final, Soon.

We parted as the music slowed to a stop, a silence settling over the room. His hand gently released my hand, and I took the cue of the others as they stepped back into the crowd. I weaved through people as they watched me with mixed expressions. Some looked at me with star struck envy, as if they were jealous I was lucky enough to dance with a man on the Council. Mostly the expression shone of variations of unfavorable opinions.