~excerpt from book #2 in the Daemons of San DeLain (No title as of yet! Also, book #2 will be about Kage and Austin again, as will be book #3.)
“I’m okay.” Austin blew
out a breath and rested his head against Kage’s shoulder. Kage arranged the
pillows behind them so they could lean back against the headboard.
“Same nightmare?” Kage
gently brushed Austin’s sweaty hair off his forehead.
“I’m afraid so.” Austin
wasn’t sure if ‘nightmare’ was the right word for what he was having, since it
really had happened. “Sorry I woke you up. Again.”
“Hey now, none of
that.” Kage nudged Austin’s chin up until they made eye contact. “You can’t
help that your mind keeps making you relive that.”
“I know. Really, I do.
I just wish the screaming would stop.” Did he ever. “I hate that I wake you up.
What a horrible way to get jolted out of a sound sleep.”
“I wish I could
get awake before you get to that point.” Kage pressed a kiss to Austin’s
temple. “What I hate is that you keep reliving this.”
“You and me both. It’s
got to get better, right?” Please let it get better. He was ready to sleep through
the night undisturbed again. “I mean, it happened several days ago. Just need a
little time, right? To get better. Right? This sucks.”
“It’s still fresh in
your mind. You had a scare, and that left an impression. I do think it’ll get
better. And if it doesn’t? Then we’ll find someone for you to talk to, if
that’s what you want.”
“Like a therapist?” Of
all the things Austin had expected Kage to say, that wasn’t one of them. “Um, how
would that work? How could I talk about this to a—”
“I never said the
therapist would be human.”
“Ahhh, gotcha. Of
course.” Austin glanced at the alarm clock. It was 5 AM. “At least it’s only an
hour before the alarm went off this time.”
“Austin. Babe. I don’t
care what time it is. If you need me, I’ll be there. I am, after
all, the cause of this.”
Austin sat up and ran
his hand through his damp hair. Turning slightly, he frowned at Kage over his
shoulder. “That’s crap, and you know it.”
“Is it? They came after
us because of me. Because of what I am.”
“And I caught
their attention by asking questions about you.” Austin leaned back against
Kage. “We’re a pair, aren’t we? You feel responsible for me having nightmares.
I feel responsible for waking you up on the nights that I have said nightmares.”
Kage grimaced.
“When in actuality, the
hunters are to blame for all of this. But neither of us seemed to have gotten
that memo.”
“You’re right, of
course, but that doesn’t help the guilt.”
“Believe me, I know.”
