Nicon

VII

VII

THE DARKNESS WAS blinding. Here she was, Elysie thought, the girl with a too curious mind and a broken body to show for it, sleeping her life away on her deathbed. If she was dying, she had no idea. For all she knew she was dead already.

Partial sentences and smothered voices kept probing her thoughts repeatedly and on a few occasions, Elysie thought her right hand was being held. She wistfully imagined it was her mother.

A soft melody was on constant repeat. It was barely noticeable, but Elysie was left in the dark continuously and needed something to entertain herself. She wasn't yet sure if it was her delirious mind or someone's favorite record spinning. She hoped for the latter.

"Elysie, my dear. You must wake."

Soft eyes appeared in her mind that matched the gravely voice Elysie had become so accustomed too. Her mother. Hair that was as dark as night, graying around the edges with a silver sheen. Her eyes were brighter than ever before, green as the grass that lined their village.

"Mother?" Elysie could hear her own voice despite the fact that her lips did not move.

"You must wake, Elle."

Elysie felt moisture fill up in her eyes at the thought of her mother's childhood nickname that she had given Elysie at the small age of three. She imagined her mother start to stroke her hair; light fingers running through Elsyie's dark locks with endless care.

"They are waiting."

"For who, mother?" Elysie asked, her tone now frantic as her mother's fingers left her hair.

"Their Queen."

Once again, Elysie was left in the dark. Complete and utter darkness.

King Nicon was starting to think the only emotions he could muster were disappointment and annoyance. It had been a week and all he had done was sit by the girl's bed and wish her awake like a pathetic fool. He did nothing to plan for the storm of chaos that would erupt when his people found out that the girl he was housing in his castle was a mortal, his mate, no less. There would surely be uprisings. He hadn't shed a thought on how the girl would react when she found out that Nicon planned on eradicating her species. Surely he wouldn't be met with gratitude no matter how inferior the humans were.

The only thought on his mind was a slowly ticking clock, counting down the minutes until she would wake.

He had Syd enlist the help of a female to prepare a room for her, near Nicon's, that was equally large as it was feminine. The King could only hope it would please her enough that she would stay.

The only thing worse than having a human mate was having a human mate that ran. Nicon would have to send guards to force her to return, and he was sure that he wouldn't be winning her affection that way. Did he even want to win her affection? She was as powerless as they come, it would be insulting to mate with her.

In frustration, he swiped his hand across one of the medical trays by her bedside and watched the metal tools clang to the floor. He stood up as a loud roar emitted from his throat and his claws started to extend from his fingertips.

He thrashed his hands in anger, stopping only when the light music playing around him skidded to a stop and the record player fell to the floor in a broken heap of splintering black wood.

He attempted to count his heartbeats in an effort to calm down, but they were too loud and rapid to distinguish them from each other, messily forming a tune that only angered him further.

"Why must this happen to me!" he cried at the ceiling, canines elongating so that they were pricking his lips. "Do you find humor in my agony, Goddess?"

He took a large breath and fixed his upturned chair, breathing heavily as he suppressed his furious wolf. Furious because he was paired with a weak mate. Furious because Nicon's decisions were weighted so heavily. Furious because she wouldn't wake.

As Nicon began to count his heartbeats one more time, a soft stirring on the white bed caught his attention. All the King could do was hold his breath.