Taking the risk, I wrap my hands around hers, curled in her lap. She feels cold and muted. Her color is wrong, her eyes are gray instead of vibrant blue. Even her hair is a darker shade than it should be.
And her clothes? They are wrong too. She’s wearing what looks like a sleeping gown the likes of which the world hasn't seen since the death of Jesus Christ.
It’s cream with a plain design. The fabric stretches down her arms to her wrists and flutters about her ankles where they cross over the grass. It reminds me of a dress one of my high school girlfriends would have picked out at a thrift store to wear on Halloween.
“Oh, Hadley!” I cry out, gripping her tiny hands harder than I should. I collapse in the heat of emotion that I usually try to block out and drop my head into her lap. Tears saturate her gown as I find myself overflowing with affection for this girl.
Something touches my hair, pulling me from my anguish. I jerk my head up and look at the woman who’s stolen my heart. “Hadley? Baby? Are you okay?” I tug her hand to my chest as I move to sit next to her.
Her gorgeous eyes look out of focus, and she blinks at me a few times, like she can’t believe what she’s seeing.
Me too, baby girl.
“Au-Au—” She tries to say my name, but it puts her into a coughing fit.
“Shh, baby, it’s me, I’m here. I’m real.”
“Aus-nnn?” she gets out, reaching for me with her free hand. She tugs on a piece of my hair and tucks it behind my ear, the gentle touch making me shiver.
“Baby, I don’t know how long I’m going to be here. But stay strong. My brothers and I are searching for you.” I plant a kiss on her forehead, unable to keep my lips off her any longer. “We are coming.”
She licks her lips and tries once more. “Auston.” She smiles at me, and it’s the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen. My heart twists at the foreign emotion, my chest heavy with affection. She’s prettier than the most vibrant sunset, than the rarest jewel. She is stunning.
My vision starts to blur again, and I know my time is almost up. “Baby,” I say frantically, not wanting to leave her when I just fucking found her. “Baby, I have to go.”
“Don’t leave,” she whispers, her voice shattering my heart into a million pieces.
“I have to.” I kiss her fingers still gripped tightly in my hand, realizing she’s warming up, color returning to her skin, hair, and eyes. “But before I leave, I have to tell you something.”
She can only answer with her eyes, her blue gaze searching mine.
“I—”
It’s now or never.
“Hadley, I love you.”
The moment the words leave my lips, a rope tightens around my gut, tugging me away.
“No!” Hadley screams, reaching for me as I’m pulled away from her and back into the fog.
A new room morphs into view slowly, like watching fog disperse on a sunny day.
Hadley looks like Sleeping Beauty. Her sandy blonde hair hangs loosely over her shoulders in waves. She’s wearing the same gown I saw in the other vision. Her delicate hands are folded across her stomach, and dainty shoes cover her feet.
She looks…great. Too good. I wonder if the Darkness has invaded my visions once again. Glancing around, I see she’s lying in a room that I’d guess is inside the tunnels. The same brick walls surround her, the same eerie glow emitting from the ceiling.
But that's where the similarities end. Vases filled with red roses speckled with baby’s breath encircle her. Planters with orchids and lilies decorate the dark space, while candles cast warm light against the stone walls.
My eyes drift back to Hadley.
My perfect woman.
She’s lying on what looks like a soft bed with bright white bedding. Four ornate posts rise up toward the darkness, covering her with a white canopy decorated with intricate lace and pearls.
Whoever has her is actually taking care of her. That thought unnerves me, though I know it shouldn’t. I expected to come in here and see what I saw before—her scared and fighting, or bound and dying.
Anything but this.
If she’s under this type of care, then maybe she’s escaped the Darkness. We can only hope that's the truth.
“Ready to get your hair brushed, Claire?” I jerk my head to the side and see a man—the same menacing man from my last vision—coming out of an adjoining room, carrying an old fashioned hairbrush.
What. The. Fuck.
He leans down and kisses Hadley’s cheek with as much tenderness as a lover. “Such a good girl, my sweet Claire.” The man pulls up a small wooden stool next to her bed and begins to brush her hair. Meticulously, he takes a section at a time and combs through her locks. I’m in absolute shock.
Who is this man? And who the fuck is Claire?
I thought he was the Darkness, but would a being harboring such evil, such wrath, be able to push that aside and treat someone this kindly? This sweetly?
He takes decorative pins and twists the front of her hair up and out of her face, pinning it to the top of her head. It almost looks like she’s wearing a crown.
“Soon, sweet girl. Soon you’ll remember who you are. And once you do, we can be together again, just like the Fates wanted, just like we were destined to be.”
The man kisses her lips, and I growl, feeling my blood boiling with anger. No one touches my girl, especially not this fucking guy.
The man stills, and I just know he’s going to look at me. Closing my eyes, I pour all my strength, calling upon the power of my halo, to pull me from the vision. The room before me fades just as the man’s eyes reach my perch.
“He’s coming back. Auston. Auston, can you hear me?” Karston’s concerned voice trickles into my ears.
“I found her.” I choke on the words, emotion still raw in my chest. “She’s okay but confused.”
“Where is she?” Brax asks. “Did you see where she is?”
I nod and let him pull me to my feet. “She’s down here, in the tunnels. But she’s not alone.”
“Well then, what are we waiting for!?” Karston is already jogging across the room, ready to leave the chamber. “Let’s split up. We’ll cover more distance that way.”
And just like that, he’s gone.
“Last one to get there is a rotten egg!” Preston shouts before hurtling past me. Brax and I exchange a grin, then head off after them.
I’ve hunted for many things in my day, but no prize I ever won could ever be more amazing than finding my girl.
My love.
Chapter 13
Hadley
The dream had been so lifelike and vivid. I could practically feel the Angel’s hand in mine, hear the patter of his heart, see the white tendrils of hair cascading around his face.
Auston.
His name tastes like heaven in my mouth. It may be a cliché, but it’s the only word I can think to use that encapsulates how he made me feel.
When he stared at me, I had the distinct impression that he saw the old and the new. The good and the ugly. He recognized the numerous facets that make me who I am. In that brief suspension of time, he was holding me so the cracks wouldn’t show. Or maybe he was merely filling them up with gold to make me feel beautiful.