trust you

trust you
“ahh…” he smiled, looking at me. “i see you have gotten bold all of a sudden” he said,
I steadied my stance, my fists clenching at my sides as Helios’s eyes flickered in the dim light. He stood tall and unwavering, but I noticed it—thin cracks in his polished demeanor. His smirk faltered whenever his gaze shifted to me, as if something inside him strained against the mask of power he wore so arrogantly. It was all talk. He was cracking’ i thought to myself as i looked at him
“I won’t run this time,” I whispered, more to myself than to him. My chest tightened, but I refused to let fear show. “If it’s a fight you want, you’ll get it.”
For the briefest moment, Helios’s lips curved in amusement. Then it slipped—his jaw tensed, his hands twitched at his sides, and I saw the fracture. It wasn’t much, but enough to tell me he wasn’t invincible.
I drew a shaky breath, preparing to strike before he could, but then he tilted his head, studying me with something I couldn’t name. Disdain? Conflict? Both?
“You’re not ready,” he said finally, his voice low and sharp, cutting through the silence.
My heartbeat stumbled. “What?”
Helios took a step back, his presence no less overwhelming, but his fire dimmed. “Another day, little flame. You’re not worth burning out yet.” His eyes flickered to Aiden, still pale and trembling at my side. A cruel smile tugged at his lips, but it never fully reached. “Keep your wolf alive for now. I’ll return when the both of you are… ripe.”
The words sent a shiver through me, but before I could move, he dissolved into the shadows, leaving only the faint echo of his power behind. The room felt instantly colder, emptier.
My legs nearly gave out, and I stumbled forward, bracing myself against the broken wall. The tension drained from me all at once, leaving nothing but a hollow ache in my chest.
Aiden rushed to me, his hand brushed against mine, weak but steady enough to ground me. “He’s… gone?” His voice cracked, uncertain, as though afraid to believe it.
I nodded slowly, still staring at the space Helios had occupied moments ago. My body trembled, not from fear but from the storm raging inside me. “For now,” I murmured, tightening my grip on Aiden’s hand. “But next time… next time, I’ll be ready.” i said even though a sense of dread filled my stomach.
The silence that followed was thick, but this time, it was only ours. No threats, no fire burning at our heels. Just me and Aiden, alone in the ruins of what had almost been our last stand.
“Advika” Aiden called, rushing to me and hugging me “i was…”
I did not let him finish. Mainly because the questions in my head was bubbling over.
I wrapped my arms around Aiden, pressing my face into the curve of his neck, letting the warmth of his skin soak into me. My chest rose and fell with uneven breaths, and I told myself it was relief—that I was glad he was alive, that Helios had left us for now. But beneath it all, a storm churned.
“I trust you,” I whispered, the words trembling as they slipped past my lips. I felt his arms tighten around me, protective and steady, as if those three words meant everything. His breath hitched just slightly, the smallest crack in his armor, before he pulled me even closer.
But the truth was far less simple. The words weren’t only for him. They were for me—an anchor I tried to drive into the chaos unraveling in my mind. The Fae King’s warnings lingered, his voice sharp and poisonous, whispering that Aiden would betray me, that trusting him would lead me to ruin. And then Helios’s mocking tone echoed through me, dripping with certainty that I wasn’t strong enough, not yet. Their words clung like shadows in the corners of my mind, trying to take root.
I squeezed my eyes shut, gripping the back of Aiden’s shirt as though if I held him tight enough, I could silence those voices. “I trust you,” I repeated silently, this time to myself. Over and over, a mantra, a shield. I clung to it, to him, because if I let go, even for a moment, I was afraid the doubts would consume me whole.
Aiden’s hand brushed through my hair with a gentleness I didn’t deserve, his voice low against my ear. “You don’t have to say it if you don’t mean it I’ll wait for you if you don’t trust me. I’ll always wait and when you are ready i would come around.” His words should have eased the ache in my chest, but instead, guilt swelled. I wasn’t lying to him, not exactly, but I wasn’t being honest either.
I pulled back just enough to see his face, to look into his eyes. They were earnest, unwavering, full of something I couldn’t name without feeling like I was breaking apart. I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that trust between us could silence the fae king’s venom, could drown out Helios’s cruel certainty.
“I do trust you,” I said again, forcing the words to steady this time. A fragile smile curved my lips, though my insides felt like they were unraveling. Maybe if I said it enough, I could make it real.
Aiden cupped my face in his hands, studying me as if he could see the storm raging beneath the surface. But he didn’t push, didn’t question. He simply nodded, as though that alone was enough for him.
I leaned into his touch, closing my eyes once more. The world was still in pieces around us, but in his arms, I carved out a sliver of stillness. And in that silence, I repeated it again in my heart—I trust you. Not for him this time, but for me. To fight back the darkness trying to take root, to push away the words that haunted me.