Bound by Devotion

Chapter Ten

A scream that went on forever woke Eve, only for her to realize it was her that was making the sound. She bolted from her bed. The day was beautiful, but something horrible was going to happen, if it hadn't already.

The images of the dream hit her, hard as bullets, only twice as fast. Kornae. She needed to tell him. But...

It had been another three weeks since she had seen him. Three weeks since the fight that helped her in so many ways. Three weeks since she lay between her lovers and felt that things might actually be okay.

Once again, she found herself running through the hallway, not knowing where his room was. She was too terrified to try to imagine calling for a portal, but she had to try. Stopping her instinctual flight, she closed her eyes and begged, please, I need help, you know I do, where can I find him. Opening her eyes was that familiar circle and not able to care about what it did to her, she stepped in.

There he was, laying across the bed that they shared for such a brief amount of time.

Racing for it, she hit her knees at the bedside, reaching for the hand that hung off the side. She grabbed it, frantically calling his name. "Kornae, wake up. Please wake up."

Only heartbeat had passed and he was looking down into what she knew was terrified eyes.

"Eve, what is it? Why are you here?"

She was breaking down, losing the ability to speak as arms lifted her, held her in his lap as she shivered from the renewed violence of the nightmare.

In the time she had been Queen of the Unseelie throne, her love for the place she once hated had only grown and since she came into her magic, that love had manifested in being able to feel when something was wrong. She took strength from the land and now that was failing her because her home was failing.

"Eve, talk to me." His voice held all the warmth in the world as he continued to stroke her back and she cried against his shoulder.

How could she tell him when she didn't know? It was the earth screaming at her that she knew something was wrong. It didn't tell her what. But, she knew, didn't she?

She lifted her head and let the calm in his eyes enter her. "Shadows move," she whispered as alarms went off around them. 

~~~

She sat on the side of her bed, trying to hard to compose herself. Fingers clutched the edges of her blanket, trying to warm her soul as the land cried out for her help. Kornae tried to pull the blanket from her, and her grip tightened.

"Eve, we have to go. Let me help you."

Help her. There was no helping her, not so long as Faerie cried its agony through her. Did it know what it did when crowning someone as ruled by their emotions as she was? But she could do it. Had to do it. Losing herself in the pain that surrounded her was not going to fix what was wrong.

Her fingers went limp and he pulled the blanket from her nude form. She took a deep breath. The Queen of the Unseelie throne couldn't lose herself.

She took the things he offered before turning his back, allowing her a shred of modesty and she dressed. It was a shred she didn't need. He had seen her before. What was there to hide?

"I'm ready." Her voice was low, but steady and perhaps she could do it.

He turned to her, eyes calm and she wanted to fall to her knees and beg him, how to find that place where nothing hurt? But she couldn't.

Thick leather encased her because who knew what was going on outside the palace walls. But they needed to find out.

Find out that indeed shadow moved and it was time to end this. End all of this.