Chapter 20

**Merianna**


I peeked open an eye and saw him staring at me with a look that said, spill now or there will be no rest for you tonight. I grimaced and sat back up. My skin still felt tender, but with Nelia’s gentle care, I had to admit I felt much better. “What is it?” I asked with a sigh.

“You know what it is. Why did you tense while Nelia was healing you?” He asked. “I know it didn’t hurt, so what was it?”

This man knew me too well, I couldn’t hide anything from him. Well I probably could refuse to tell him the truth and tell him a total and utter lie, but I could never seem to lie to him. He was one of the few people I could really trust completely.

I gave a defeated sigh and faced him. “While Nelia was healing me, I focused on my energy. For a moment it was the same as before, silver and volatile. But then I dived in deeper…” I trailed off, not sure what he would think of this part.

“What is it? Just tell me love.” He said coming closer and holding my hands in his. He looked at me pleadingly.

“Well,” I bit my lip and tried to put the sensation into words, “when I dug deeper, I found another kind of energy. It was still silver but streaked with purple and lighter shades of lilac. And it was … big.”

He gave me a frown and then gave me a look that said that he wasn’t too sure what to make with the information he was hearing. “How big?” He asked.

I shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know, much bigger. You don’t believe me?” I asked, chewing on the inside of my lip.

Thyrion shook his head and gave me a look that said, are you crazy? “I do believe you. I saw those purple shades you are talking about during the ritual when the spell broke free. And it sent me flying across the room, it sent everyone flying actually.”

I stared at him bug eyed. He still had that funny look on his face that I couldn’t place. “What?” I asked apprehensively.

“Do you remember the things that happened when we were fighting against Dermon and the Warlocks? There was also the possibility of that ancient deity Denaue being a part of your soul. So that mass of energy you stumbled across might very well be because of that.”

I put my fingertips over my mouth and drummed them over my top lip while I thought this over. That was true, Hezerial even confirmed back then that I had lived many lifetimes and that Denaue was essentially me. I then remembered the flash of memory of the warm beak in my hands and the faint smell of a fire. “Hmmmm… Maybe?” Then I looked over at Thyrion and saw him giving me a look that could melt me on the spot.

“What?” I asked incredulously.

“You still do that when you think.” He said with his eyes glittering.

I pulled my hand away from my lips and gave him a wry smile. “And you are still as devilishly handsome as ever.” I said leaning over and giving him what was meant to be a peck on the mouth. But he grabbed the back of my head before I could pull away and deepened the kiss in an instant.

I gave a happy sigh against his lips and let him push me back against the pillows without any resistance. He ran his hands over my waist and hips as he kept on kissing me. He was so tender, so loving.

I twined my finger in his black hair and had no desire for him to ever stop kissing me. He slowly pulled away though, gazing down at me with hooded eyes and slight stubble on his rugged chin. I shuddered with want, needing more of him.

But before I could say or do anything he let out a heavy breath and hugged me close. “I don’t think we should risk your energy fluctuating right now.” He placed a hand on the side of my face and looked into my blue eyes. “I hate to see you in pain.” His eyes misted over, showing just how much he hated it.

I gazed up at him. “Okay, I’ll take it easy. I promise.”

“That’s my woman. Now get some sleep, you have circles under your eyes. You need the rest.” He said brushing his fingers over my forehead, and I felt a tingle of magic. My hair and skin were suddenly dry and fresh.

I chuckled as I saw how deep the circles were under his own eyes as well. “Talk about yourself. You need some sleep too, your circles look like craters.”

He chuckled and I shifted over to my side and opened up the cover behind me, telling him to get in. He pulled off his shirt and took off his belt. For a second it got really, really hard to breathe, let alone swallow. He then crawled in beside me and spooned my back.

“Goodnight my love.” He breathed against the back of my neck and kissed the hollow behind my ear. Goosebumps shot through my whole body.

“Goodnight … Mi a shadrak namina ku.” I said, the words just flowing out of me like it was the most natural thing in the world.

I could feel him stiffen and then his arms around me tightened as he hugged me so hard that I could almost feel my ribs bend. “Heaven knows how much I’ve missed you, mi na sa shadrak namina ku.”

I smiled so wide that I bet aliens could see my smile from the next galaxy. “Don’t go anywhere okay. Stay here.” I whispered. Feeling him behind me, his naked chest pressed up against my back and his legs entwined with mine. I thought I might not ever be able to go to sleep like this. But boy was I wrong. I could feel my eyes drooping and my mind slowing within seconds.

Thyrion kissed the back of my neck. “I’ll never let you out of my sight again.”

With those words, and Thyrion behind me with his warm arms around me. I promptly fell into oblivious sleep…