Chapter 15 Chapter 15
KILLIAN
There were two outcomes here: she could reveal herself as a witch and save herself or she could make a mess on the ground below. Either way, my mind would no longer be toyed with.
That had been what was going through my head before I pushed her off. But the moment she went over the ledge, a third outcome revealed itself.
At the sight of her hurtling towards the ground, my chest tightened so violently, it felt like it was going to cave in on itself, and before I knew it, I sent myself diving after her.
My witch hadn’t screamed. She’d gasped, her eyes wide with terror, when I shoved her, but she hadn’t screamed. Even now, she just looked resigned and had closed her eyes.
I did, though. The noise tore from me gutturally as fear flooded my mind at the thought of her reaching the ground before I reached her. All I could think of was Why? Why? Why?, and this time, these feelings didn’t just come from the back of my mind… they radiated from every fiber of my being.
Fortunately, I reached her just before we hit the ground, wrapping my arm around her and twisting our bodies midair. The force of it tore through my muscles, but I didn’t stop until she was above me.
Then I slammed into the ground.
Pain exploded through me—sharp and blinding—but it was nothing compared to the relief that coursed through my soul at the fact that she was safe.
I didn’t want to harm her. Gods, I hadn’t meant to.
But I had.
I had shoved her off a roof and watched her fall, and though she was alive in my arms right now, those terrified eyes were burned into my mind. She definitely hated me now. How could she not?
I gritted my teeth and focused on the sound of her heartbeat while my broken body mended itself. Seconds later, I could use my arms again and I pressed my hand to my forehead while keeping the other wrapped around her until the rest of me was functional once more.
The fact that she hadn’t moved or said anything since we hit the ground told me she’d passed out. I kept my arm locked around her as I carefully sat upright. Her head lolled back, her body completely limp, and I spent several moments just staring at her face.
“What are you doing to me?” I muttered as I skimmed my fingers down her face to trace her bottom lip with my thumb, and the memory of our kiss flickered through my mind.
She’d had my soul screaming with need. She’d thrown me off balance ever since I met her, and it bothered me.
It really bothered me.
So you threw her off a roof.
Setting my mouth in a hard line, I got to my feet, carefully lifting her and holding her close. I then headed to my mother’s palace. By the time I got there, the sun had already set and she still hadn’t woken up.
Fabien stepped out just as I got to the top of the stairs and his brows snapped together. “Is she…” He wanted to know if she was dead.
“No.”
His frown deepened. “Then why did you bring her here?”
“You’d rather I brought her dead.”
“I’d rather you didn’t bring her at all.”
“I want her here.” I wanted to keep her close.
He didn’t say anything else and just followed me all the way to my room. After sitting on the bed with her still in my arms, he spoke. “What happened? Why is there blood on you?”
I ground my jaw and tightened my hold on her for a moment, like that would undo what I had done. “Threw her off the roof of Axis Point.” The words burned on their way out, and Fabien’s mouth fell open. “Oh, stop gaping. It’s not like I let her hit the ground.”
I returned my attention to her, absent-mindedly tracing the ridge of her nose with my thumb.
“...What is happening, Killian?”
“I don’t know…” I didn’t look away from her. “It’s like she put a spell on me.”
“What? There’s no trace of spellwork—”
“I know, I know.” I heaved a sigh before getting up and gently placing her on the bed.
“And there’s no spell on you.”
“Don’t say that,” I muttered as I sat next to her and he walked over, stopping just in front of me.
“I would know if there was.”
“You can’t know everything.”
“I’m fairly certain I’d know this.”
“Oh, shut up.” I was still staring at her. She looked so peaceful.
Then her terrified eyes flashed through my mind and guilt slammed into me all over again.
“I’m serious.” Concern was evident in his voice. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
I think I like her… I think I really like her, was what clawed the back of my throat but I didn’t want to say it out loud. This entire situation was too strange and I still didn’t know how she’d gotten into my dream.
“She’s a witch,” I said instead, even though I no longer believed that, and he let out an exasperated breath.
I took her hand in mine, intertwining our fingers, before I brought up her hand to my face. Her scent was intoxicating—
“You’re being creepy. Cut it out.”
I stiffened. “I was just—”
“Sniffing her?” He raised a brow and I reluctantly let go of her hand before he frowned. “Hold on. Is that what this is? You’re attracted to her?”
I sighed again.
I hadn’t wanted to tell him why I’d originally thought she was a witch because he was always worried I’d get attacked or trapped in a dream world with how often I went there. Her showing up in my dream would just make him worry more.
But there was no point in continuing to hide it from him. “She was in my dream.”
“...You thought she was a witch because you dreamt about her?” He sounded a bit annoyed.
“She was in mother’s dream world,” I clarified and his eyes widened slightly.
“Oh… That’s—” He blinked rapidly, his gaze darting from me to my witch, then back to me. He nodded once. “I’ll check her again.” With that, he walked out of the room, and I shifted my gaze back to her.
I didn’t know what I was going to do with her, but I needed to figure out what she was doing to me before it tore me apart.