Crave ✔

Chapter 42

       "Emrie, I-"

       "It is getting late." I interrupted the minute that sad sigh passed his lips.

       I needed to think, to sleep. My mind felt like it had been crammed to its full compacity and would explode at any second. I needed to be alone. His presence took up whatever little space I had left inside my head. I couldn't begin to decipher anything with him around.

       "I would like to go to bed." I murmured and turned slowly around as I felt that stare burn holes into my shoulders. Our eyes met, and that unwavering stare started to begin, but I looked quickly away. I couldn't get lost in him. I refused to.

       His hands fisted at his sides, a very inhuman growl rose to his throat, until he shook his head and let out a hard exhale. "If that is what you want." The words sounded like barrels of lead as they passed his lips, as if they were too heavy to flow easily.

       "Aeyron has taken Terif's place a while ago, but he will escort you back to your room if you wish." His gaze flickered towards the night sky, his breath leaving in deep pulls. "I will leave you now."

       He turned to leave, his eyes not once traveling back to mine. I couldn't help the jab of pain that shot through my chest. "North I..." He paused, his body turning just enough to acknowledge me, and waited.

       I didn't know what to say, did not know why I called to him. Watching him walk away was harder than I could possibly imagine. Silence passed slowly between us before he turned away again.

       "I prefer it when you call me Adie." His words were soft, but that undeniable emotion ringing there tore at my heart.

       I watched as he walked out the back entrance of the garden, the one that lead to the grassy field on the side of the Mountain. My breath came out shakier than I thought. I was not sure how long I stood there staring after him, my heart in my throat, my body shaking. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes, though it felt like hours.

       "Emrie? Are you alright?"

       Hardly.

       Aeyron was staring at me from the other side of the frozen fountain, his warm brown eyes swimming in concern. I tried to force a reassuring smile on lips, though I'm sure it came out more like a grimace,

       "I'm fine, just weary and tired."

       Those all-seeing eyes of his continued to study me as he walked slowly around the fountain, stepping over the light dusting of snow on the earthy floor. "Have you eaten recently?"

       The smile that suddenly pulled at my lips was genuine, and I rolled my eyes. Of course, that would be the first conclusion he would jump to. "Yes, I am just tired." He stopped a few feet away, those dark yes not believing a word that slipped past my lips.

       "Then I will walk you to your room... And have a maid bring you up some food." He didn't let me protest as his arm wrapped around mine and he began leading me towards the castle entrance of the garden. Further away from- from... Adranus.

       If that was what I was to call him now.

       "Do you remember now?" I asked softly after the silence surrounding us grew deafening. His dark gaze snapped to the side of my face, his arm stiffening around mine before he glanced away.

       "Yes, but my time in existence is significantly far shorter than his. I do not have much to remember." He wanted me to forgive North completely. I could hear it in his voice, see it in the way his eyes pleaded at me. I looked away.