The beast and the blessed novel by Ashley Breanne novel Chapter 113

Eight: Joselin

Joselin's P.O.V.

The darkness had never looked more appealing than it did at that moment. Either that or I opened the door before me and faced the man I knew was standing on the other side. I didn’t need to hear him or see him to know that he was there.

I could sense his beast, his aura.

He was lying in wait patiently, like he was waiting for the perfect moment for him to pounce on his unsuspecting prey. Only I knew Tobias was on the other side of the door.

My heart was beating rapidly, giving me away as well. He knew I was here, and I knew he was listening to the erratic thumping in my chest. He had been for the past five minutes that I stood there, staring at the doorknob.

Was he the lesser of two evils?

Knowing he was willing to wait for me to leave my tower instead of walking right in to confront me made me even more anxious.

The darkness I would need to teleport through gave me enough pause, but being unable to walk freely down the hallways made me angry. This was my home. I didn't even know where Tobias slept, but it wasn't in the castle.

Yet, he was preventing me from doing my job by cornering me.

After a long internal debate during my shower, I finally decided to talk to Killian about my suspicions. But to do that, I would need to get through the wall of muscle that had gone from ignoring me the past few months to avoiding me the past two weeks to torturing me.

On the other hand, I hadn't traveled through the empty realm on my own since my near-death experience. Every time I considered it, a shiver would run down my spine, and I felt the nails clawing at my skin again.

They had wanted me to stay last time. A knife was sticking out from between my shoulder blades from Talia. She had helped raise me, but as soon as she had the chance, she had thrown that dagger with deadly precision and lodged it into me. It wasn't surprising. She had always held grudges and was vindictive, but she was also one hell of a teacher.

What had caught me off guard were the sudden presences in the darkness. Before, it was always quiet and empty. I could travel through to anywhere I desired in the blink of an eye. But at that time, there were others.

Demented voices, hands, and claws pulled at me, tearing my clothes and skin, trying to drag me away from Aurora and Agatha as I fought to get them to safety. I had done my best to get them out of that darkness quickly, but one creature trapped in that world scared me above the others.

I had felt their warm breath on my exposed shoulder only a second before their rough tongue slid across my skin, tasting the blood that dripped down from one of the scratches they inflicted on me.

In my mind, I had seen the exit of their world. I was ready to leave and take my people to safety, but as my blood coated their tongue, the low growl of satisfaction made me freeze with terror. Every hair rose as I felt my mouth open in a silent scream.

If it hadn't been for Aurora pushing what little magic she had left to me, I don't know if I ever would have come to my senses.

Yet, now that I was stronger, it seemed easier for me to zip through that world to get to where I needed to go rather than facing Tobias.

I counted in my head to one hundred, taking long and calming breaths as I tried to decide if it was worth the risk.

While Tobias wouldn't kill me, I needed a break from his mind games.

My hand turned the knob as I settled on ignoring the man as I let my feet carry me to Killian's office. Tobias was leaning against the wall across from my tower entrance, his arms crossed and eyes glaring at me impatiently.

"Wrong choice," I whispered as I let myself go, flickering into the darkness that filled my soul with unease. I watched through the first two flashes as Tobias lunged forward, grabbing my hand before we were sucked in and prepared to travel.

My hand tightened on his as I silently thanked the Goddess that Tobias had come with me, even if I wasn't ready to speak to him. It took everything in me not to stop and glance around in the vast emptiness as I felt eyes on me. I knew Tobias could sense it too, as he let out a warning growl.

It only confirmed that I was not ready to travel there again. Whatever had gotten a taste last time was still there.

Killian. Get to Killian.

As quickly as we had entered, we were free, standing in front of Killian's open office door. The king raised an eyebrow at our joined hands, and I pulled away from Tobias aggressively, shoving mine into the back pockets of my jeans.