The Earth and the Flame by RD Baker

Author:RD Baker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rihannon Baker

Dawn is barely breaking at the horizon when Juno’s screams tear me from sleep. She’s sitting up in bed, her arms cast out in front of her, her eyes so wide I can see the whites gleaming in the half light.

“I killed you,” she cries. “I killed you, you told me to do it, oh fuck, oh god.”

“It’s OK, it was just a nightmare.” I try to hold her, but she’s shaking and writhing out of my grasp, clawing her hands against her temples.

“You told me to.” She gasps in a breath. “You told me to kill you, and I stabbed you. I watched you die.”

“Juno, it’s OK,” I say, taking her in my arms. “Baby, you’re safe, I’m here.”

“It was him!” She screams before she collapses against me, her shoulders heaving as sobs wrack through her body. “Oh god, Tal, it was him. I remember. I remember.”

“What do you remember?” I cradle her head to my chest. “Juno, you're safe. No one can hurt you. What do you remember?”

She looks up at me, shivering, her hair sticking to her tear-stained face. “Gabriel. He cut off my wings.”

My veins ignite almost instantly as rage swells at the base of my neck. He knew her. That's why he looked like that. Because he fucking did this to her. I’m so filled with fury I can’t speak. I just hold Juno to me as she cries, as she slowly calms and begins to breathe again.

“He’s going to pay for what he did,” I say quietly, tipping her face up to mine. “I swear to you, he is going to suffer. And no one is ever going to hurt you again, do you hear me?”

She nods, squeezing her eyes shut. “I know.”

“Do you remember when he did it?”

“No, but I remember how it happened.”

“Do you want to tell me?” I ask quietly. I don’t want to push this.

She nods. “Someone - someone betrayed me. I only have an impression of it, that someone I loved betrayed me. I trusted them, and they delivered me to Gabriel. I think -“ Her voice breaks, and she sucks in a breath. “I think someone abused me.”

“Abused you?”

She sighs heavily, and pulls back from me a little. She takes my hand, clutching it to her chest. “I have this impression, this feeling of betrayal. Someone I trusted, they betrayed me. They were - angry.” Her eyebrows knit together as she tries to place her memories. “Something hadn’t worked, they told Gabriel it hadn’t worked when they brought me to him.”

My stomach constricts violently, I can almost feel her pain, I’m sure of it. I don’t know what to say, what to do, so I just keep hold of her hand.

She gasps suddenly, and a hand flies to her mouth. “Someone raped me.”

I have to calm down. I’m going to set fire to my damn bed. I take a deep breath, resisting the urge to sweep her into my arms because I don’t know if that’s what she needs.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.