Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Tuesday Teaser

 


~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.”