II

II


I should have been hesitant about Mariamme leaving, but I was too focused on my lessons to care. I heard her footsteps as she returned down the trail we’d come, every step filled with purpose as if she wanted to make sure I heard her leave. It faded the farther she went until I couldn’t pick up any sound from her anymore. 

Now; I was left to myself. 

I listened to the sound of my breathing. Every drag that I took down my system and how it inflated my lungs and escaped my nostrils. In. Out. Repeat. In. Out. Repeat. But this time, I couldn’t feel anything within anymore, except for the sound of my breathing. The howls of wolf from the distance had died out, replaced by the sound of the trees swaying. 

And nothing. 

Nothing else. 

For the next few hours, I sat there, though I was more prepared for the cold than I was the previous day, my lips soon began to quiver and my teeth shatter, distracting me momentarily. 

And then—I heard it or rather felt it. Overwhelming chills of a presence.

It grew closer, and with it, my heart began to race, louder than ever. My body tensed as the familiar scent washed over me—a mix of earth, pine, and something undeniably Trey. My pulse quickened in an instant, and I could feel the heat of his proximity even before I saw him.

I whipped around, breaking the rule Mariamme had drilled into me about staying still. My breath hitched in my throat as I tried to decipher the movement through the blindfold, struggling to pinpoint the exact direction. I wasn’t supposed to move, but I couldn’t help it. My instincts screamed for me to react.

There was a rustling sound—closer this time, impossibly close. And then, without warning, I felt the weight shift just in front of me. My breath caught as I sensed someone crouching in my space. The tension in my body tightened to a breaking point, and my heart raced as I could hear his breath now, steady and calm—an unshakable presence that had me caught in the moment.

One second.

Then two.

Then three.

Finally, I couldn’t hold back any longer. My voice escaped in a firm, breathless whisper, betraying my attempt to keep control.

“Trey.”

A soft chuckle reached my ears, deep and teasing, but there was something softer beneath it. “Hi, Feyre.”

The sound of his voice felt like a balm against the tense silence that had surrounded me. I had been so sure I was alone, so sure that I’d heard nothing but the wind and the faint whispers of nature. But now, with Trey crouched just inches away, the world seemed to shift.

My senses flooded with everything that was him—his scent, his presence, the heat of his body just beyond the veil of my sight. My mind spun, trying to make sense of it, but I couldn’t.

Why was he here?

How long had he been standing there, watching?

I swallowed, my pulse still thumping in my throat, my body betraying me with every beat of my heart. "What are you doing here?" The question left my lips before I could stop it. I didn’t need to ask. I already knew the answer—but I couldn't stop the words from coming out.

He leaned closer, just enough for me to feel the breath from his lips brushing against the side of my face. “I wanted to make sure you weren’t freezing to death out here. What’s a girl like you doing out in the cold anyways?”

The teasing note in his voice was familiar, but it didn't hide the underlying care.

“You’re supposed to be blindfolded, right?” he added, his fingers grazing the edge of the cloth, making my skin tingle.

I didn’t answer immediately. Instead, I allowed the silence to stretch between us, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife. His presence was overwhelming in the best and worst ways. My body ached for the comfort of his touch, yet I couldn’t allow myself to be distracted. Not now.

I drew in a shaky breath and finally pulled away slightly, forcing myself to focus. “I’m training. Not like you’d understand,” I muttered, a bit embarrassed by how fragile my voice sounded in the quiet.

Trey hummed thoughtfully, the sound vibrating close to my ear. “I understand more than you think, Feyre.”

His words sent a shiver down my spine, and I struggled to stay grounded. "What do you mean?" I breathed out, my voice unsteady, unsure whether I wanted to hear the answer.

The moment dragged on, each second feeling like an eternity as his presence pressed in on me from all sides. I wasn’t sure if I was more desperate for him to speak or for him to just disappear before I completely lost myself in him.

But Trey didn’t pull away. Instead, he stayed there, close enough for me to feel the warmth radiating off him. He stayed, waiting—patiently, but with an intensity that made me feel more exposed than I had ever been.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he murmured softly. “Not yet, anyway.”

And with that simple sentence, he settled into the space between us, both an anchor and a weight. My heart thudded faster, and I couldn’t decide whether it was out of fear or anticipation. The seconds ticked by in silence, and I tried to steady my breathing, forcing myself to focus on anything other than the overwhelming presence of Trey so close to me. I couldn't understand why he was here—why he'd appeared out of nowhere in the middle of my training.

“I thought you were supposed to be working on your senses,” he teased again, his voice low, but it carried a note of something deeper, something unspoken. His breath still brushed against my ear, sending a chill down my spine despite the warmth of his body.

I shuddered involuntarily. “I am.”

“Are you?” He chuckled softly, leaning even closer, so close that I felt the heat of his body. "Because it looks to me like you're too distracted."

I wanted to snap back at him, to tell him to back off, but there was something about his presence that rendered me speechless. His proximity made my head spin, and my senses became flooded with his scent, the warmth of his skin, and the sound of his voice. It was as if my body betrayed me at every turn.

"You shouldn't be out here in the cold," he continued, still not moving away. "You're shaking."

I was. But I was also shaking because of him, because of how his mere presence seemed to short-circuit every thought in my head. I wanted to tell him to leave, to get back to what I was supposed to be doing, but I couldn't find the words. He was too close. I couldn't think of him standing there, so near, so... Trey.

After a few moments, he moved, stepping back just enough for me to breathe without the tension suffocating me. "You really shouldn’t be alone out here," he muttered, and for a second, his voice softened in a way I wasn’t used to. But then he straightened up, teasing again. "But if you want to pretend you’ve got this, go ahead."

I turned my face away from him, fighting the flush creeping up my neck. “I don’t need you to babysit me.”

“Is that so?” Trey grinned, clearly enjoying my discomfort. “What’s that I hear? The sound of your heart thumping in your chest? That doesn't sound like someone who’s got everything under control.”

His words were like a challenge, a dare that I couldn’t ignore. He knew what he was doing, pulling me into his teasing, making me feel exposed in a way that made my skin burn. But just as quickly as the tension had built up between us, Trey stepped back, the teasing in his voice lingering in the air.

“You should get back to training, Feyre,” he said, his voice quiet, but the warmth still there. “I’ll leave you to it."

Before I could respond, he was gone. The sound of his footsteps faded into the distance, leaving me seated there, shuddering, nearly melting into the snow.