55 Tender Moments

"Nothing but… bone…" Daphne repeated after Sirona, her head feeling lighter and lighter with each word. There was an incessant ringing in her ears that couldn't seem to go away, sending her heart rate spiking.

She took a shaky breath, then two, and when the third one came and went, Daphne realized that she was having trouble breathing. No matter how many gulps of air she tried to take in, none of it seemed to ease the thirst for oxygen that had been building up in her lungs. Her shoulders rose and fell in quick succession, her breath so loud that each pant was audible.

"Daphne, look at me." Atticus quickly sat on the bed, holding Daphne by the shoulders so that her body was slightly turned to face him. "Look at me."

Struggling, Daphne managed to raise her line of sight to meet Atticus's. His amber irises looked like bright flames, threatening to swallow her whole. Yet, even though the heat was frightful and hazardous, there was also so much life in them.