Double-Edged Words

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

My lungs burned with exertion. Fighting the need to cough, I shouted, "Zander, wait!" But the man continued his frantic sprint into the depths of the forest.

Branches whipped at my legs, arms, and face. Scratching my skin and disturbing the stitches on my shoulder. My vision blurred under the thin layer of water starting to pool in my eyes. "Zander! Stop!" Where is he? I can't see him anymore. My gaze frantically swept my surroundings, hoping to catch a glimpse of his auburn hair. Oh, no. What if he gets lost in that state? "Zander! Where are you?"

The sound of sniffles hit my ears, and I followed it. "Zander?" Under a tree, my husband's large frame was curled up into a trembling ball of muffled sobs and silent cries. "Love?"

"Leyla's dead." He sobbed. "Benjamin and Calim are dead."

What is he talking about? I-Is this one of his nightmares? But he's awake... "No, love. I'm here. Leyla's alive and Calim as well."

"No, I saw them; they're all dead."

Scared of frightening him further, I slowly inched closer and lowered myself to the ground. "No, love. We're alive. Look. Can you see me?" His eyes peeked at me from behind his forearms. "See, it's me, Leyla." The corners of my lips lifted in a small smile. "And I'm here. Alive. Right in front of you in this beautiful part of the forest under the moonlight." He took a shuddery breath. "Can you do something for me? Can you take a deep breath? Come on, breathe in and out." My lungs expanded and contracted, showing him what I needed him to do. "Come on, try it. You'll feel better, I promise." After a while, he copied my movements like a shy little boy. "Good. Now, I want to show you something. Can you look at me?" I dug into the front of my dress and pulled out his wedding band. "I got you a ring." His lovely eyes once again made an appearance. "It's engraved as you can see, and like mine, it has a meaning. It's very sappy, so you want to listen to this so you can make fun of me later." A soft chuckle breezed through my lips. "Few people like vines. Some of them even think they're a nuisance. But they're so special. For example, when vines wound around a tree, nothing and no one can break that embrace." A quiet laugh bubbled from my heart to my lips while I caressed the indentations on its golden surface. "That vine will not abandon that tree no matter what it does. It's there to stay, like a good friend. They're also very strong and determined. No matter how harsh the environment or how unlikely it seems they will survive. They still go on and grow and on top of that, somehow are able to even grow a beautiful flower to display those wonderful qualities that are hiding beneath its surface."

"So, I'm like a weed that won't go away?"

My head snapped up to look at him. "Is that the only thing you heard?" A smile slowly spread across his face in response. "You know what? You're right, if I give you this ring, it'll be even harder to get rid of you, so I'm going to keep it." I bit back a joking smile.

"No, you already showed it to me. It's too late."

He lunged towards the ring at lightning speed, and my hand recoiled barely getting out of his reach in time. "Wait. Wait." I begged between laughs as he crawled on me to seize what tied him to me for all eternity. "Wait, it's only proper for me as the woman to place the ring on your finger." From below, I shot him a wink making him freeze in place. Lifting his left hand, I slid the ring on his finger and kissed the warm, smooth surface of the ring. "Now, you're mine forever."

With eyes that shone like the stars above, his lips dropped to warm my cold lips.

"Seriously!" Calim's voice shattered the magical moment. "I'm worried sick, running around like a blind idiot in this dark as heck forest, only to find you two canoodling like two teenagers in one of those Lady Valentine's novels."