Page 88 of The Last Guardian

“Live,” it pleaded.

But the agony made me shut my eyelids, and then I succumbed to the tumult, letting the shadows embrace me into oblivion.

And darkness.

I FELT SICK.

A pounding resonated in my head in a constant hubbub of noise, as if my head had been stuck for hours inside a drum.

Nausea threatened in my chest, my stomach jumping with each breath. I tried to open my eyes, but the sunlight made me shut them again. I lifted a hand to shield my eyes and groaned at the movement.

Hells.

The soft rustling of curtains closing, followed by footsteps clapping against a floor.

“Better?”

Zaidkiel’s face took shape as I opened one eye, testing it to adjust to the light. Zaidkiel watched me in the shadows of the room, sitting now on the chair near my bed in the room we were staying in at Ade’s.

Rubbing my eyes, I slowly sat up against the headboard. Zaidkiel moved; his hand found my waist to help me adjust to the bed before returning to his chair.

“What happened?” I asked with a hoarse voice.

Zaidkiel leaned against his chair, touching his jaw with one hand. “Your Void sucked you in.” His low voice darkened. “It kept pushing different memories again and again, until your mind couldn’t take it anymore.” Lifting his gaze to meet mine, he added, “You passed out on the field. I brought you back to the inn.”

The memories. Nevan, Father, Haedeon…

They came back to me in full force. Dizziness took hold as I pinched the base of my nose to help ease it, closing my eyes again.

Zaidkiel moved, pouring some liquid into a glass before handing it to me. “Drink.”

I sipped the water, my dry mouth welcoming the cold liquid in a slow swallow.

It kept pushing different memories again and again.

I glanced at Zaidkiel once more, a knot forming in my throat. “I—you saw everything?”

Our eyes met, and silence fell.

Zaidkiel sat unnaturally still. His gaze sharpened, darkening the green into a deep shade—burning into mine. His fists clenched at his side, knuckles turning white. “Yes.”

My chest locked, depriving me of air, my eyes darting as my mind completely froze. Zaidkiel had seen my darkest secrets, how Father had treated me my whole life, what Nevan had done for years. Haedeon’s attack.

I parted my lips, ready to talk, but no words came out.

“That night, in the garden…” Zaidkiel’s voice took a darker tone. “I saw you.”

I went still.

I looked at him, his face cold as steel—a coiled anger simmering inside.

“I heard your cries from the other part of the garden.” His eyes hardened, looking down at his hands, closing a moment, as if he could still hear the sounds of my cries. As if it were unbearable to hear.

My eyes couldn’t look away from him, searching—trying to understand.

“When I saw what that son of a bitch was trying to do—” Zaidkiel stopped for a moment, breathing loudly, closing his eyes. “I should’ve fucking killed him,” he spat as his eyes met mine at last.

My heart skipped a beat.