Page 82 of Eternally Bound
Ronan’s eyes flew open and his head turned toward Kadence. Her hand remained limp in his grasp, but her eyes were on his. Except, she didn’t seem to see him, and the color of her eyes robbed him of his breath. He’d never seen anything like the white blue shade of her eyes as they glowed with an eerie light.
Declan stepped closer when her eyes shifted toward him. “The paths,” she croaked. “The paths, they’re all broken. They go nowhere. They go everywhere.”
Her eyes closed as fierce spasms shook her. Ronan clasped her to his chest until the spasms stopped and she fell silent once more. Her body eased against his as her shallow breaths warmed his neck.
He had done this to her; he had caused this to happen. The uncertainty surrounding her and this hideous pain was his fault. Self-hatred boiled through him, rocking him to the very core of his being.
“What paths, Kadence?” he whispered, but she didn’t respond, and he hadn’t expected her to. “You will not die.”
He didn’t know if she heard the order or not, but he willed her to survive as he sought her out through their bond. This time, he found a small opening, but he discovered only a slumber so deep that he could barely connect with her.
“She is strong,” Declan said. “Stronger than any of us realize.”
“I hope so,” Saxon muttered.
“That strength is what is making this more difficult and different from any other transition. The parts of her that have been dormant since birth, possibly since the creation of the hunters, are changing and evolving,” Declan said. “We will soon know what she will become.”
CHAPTER 36
Kadence stirred, causing Ronan to nuzzle her forehead with his lips as he held her in his arms. Declan stepped out of the shadows by the back wall when she whimpered.
Her eyelashes fluttered against his skin as she blinked. Hope clutched at Ronan’s chest when he leaned away to peer down at her. Shadows circled her eyes, but the brilliant azure color of them had returned.
“Ronan,” she whispered.
He exhaled sharply as relief filled every part of him. He kissed her as his hands ran over her face. Warmth radiated from her flesh instead of the unnatural cold she’d been emitting. Her heart beat more solidly within her chest and her breathing was stronger.
“Are you okay? How do you feel?” he inquired.
A small smile curved her lips. “I’m fine now. That wasn’t normal, was it?”
“No.” He brushed the lank strands of her hair away from her face. “It shouldn’t have happened.”
“We both knew it may be different for me, but there was no choice. It had to happen. How long have I been out of it for?”
“Almost two days.”
“Not too bad.” She stifled a yawn and struggled to sit up. Ronan steadied her as she pulled herself up to sit against the headboard. “It’s over now. There’s only the future to look to.”
Her voice took on an odd tone as she said those last words and her eyes became distant.
“Kadence—”
“I’m fine, Ronan,” she interrupted and her eyes came back to him. “Truly.”
He turned to Declan. “Leave us.”
“I’m glad you are well, Kadence,” Declan said before he slipped out the door and closed it behind him.
Ronan gathered Kadence’s hands in his. “I was worried about you,” he admitted.
A tug pulled at Kadence’s heart as she inched closer to him. “I know.”
Kadence held him as she tried to bury the memory of the murky realm of uncertainty she’d been trapped in. It felt like weeks had passed instead of days. “I could hear you and feel you, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t come back to you. There were so many different things.”
She knew she didn’t make any sense, but she couldn’t quite process what had happened to her yet. She rubbed her hand over his back, taking comfort in the familiar strength of his etched muscles. He was something solid when nothing had been solid for the past two days.
“What happened, Kadence? You mentioned something about pathways.”
