It felt like hours that we were trapped under the debris but it could have been minutes. It was hard to tell how much time was passing in the darkness. I was doing my best to conserve as much oxygen as possible by trying to remain calm but with every slow and tempered breath I took I could feel the air growing denser around us. I knew it wouldn't be long be things took a turn for the worst. 

Alexei was a silent shield above me, his heavy breathes were the only sign that he was struggling to keep us both from be crushed from above. I could only see the strain in his face even though he was doing his best to keep his expression blank. I had never considered a time when I might face my death in an unfortunate way. I had imagined it would be old in my bed, surrounded by the people who loved me from the family I imagined I would have built. 

I never had  plans of following in my family's footsteps. I always planned to lead a normal life and so would my children (if I ever had any). Now, it seemed like I wasn't going to get the option to lead anything. I was most likely going to die in the dark with my mate. It was almost comical at this point how everything had turned against me. 

I stared up into Alexei's blue eyes, studying the man in silence. If I had to be completely honest with myself the universe could have picked worse. He had done a lot of questionable things and had been hurtful with his words, but he'd never actually caused me physical harm. If anything he had been taking care of me and protecting me from the beginning. He may have had his own motives but it didn't change the truth. 

Even to the very end he was trying to protect me, I snorted softly to myself at the realization. My eyes began to grow heavy, keeping them open seemed like such a chore. I needed to rest, just for a moment. My muscles began to relax under the warmth that seemed to rolling off of the body above me. It was hard to remember why I had even been worried in the first place as the fogginess in my mind began to consume my logical thoughts. 

"Keep your eyes open, Poppy." Alexei growled at me, sounding desperate, "I know you want to go to sleep but you can't. If you got to sleep now you will die, do you hear me?"

My eye lids fluttered open, his desperation causing my brain to force me to remain slightly aware. I stared up at him doing my best to keep my eyes from falling closed again. I took in a shallow breath, "Talk to me then...ask me questions...something..." 

His blue eyes blazed with life, "Alright. Alright." He gritted his teeth, arms shaking as he tried to shift the weight of his body. I could only imagine how much of his strength this was taking from him and how tired he must be. I shifted my hand, lifting the heavy limb and wrapping my fingers around his arm. I called on my magic, it didn't hum with life as it usually did. The energy moved through my body like thick oil, slowly rolling on. 

The black tendril oozed from my fingers, wrapping around his arm, "This is all I can manage right now..." I whispered, tiredly. I could see the strain slowly evaporating from his face, as I shared the burden of his pain. It leaked into my body, my joints aching and screaming for release as I was overloaded with what his body had been feeling. 

"What are you doing to me?" he asked, eyes narrowed suspiciously.  

I gave him a mocking smile, "I'm sharing the burden, making your job of keeping us alive easier." 

"Well stop it." he growled at me in annoyance, "I'm fine. Just worry about yourself, Snowflake." 

I coughed out a small laugh, even now he wanted to fight with me, "Make me, fido. We are trapped in this tomb together. You're the only only barrier between me and those rocks..." A growl rumbled in his chest, but said nothing else. We both knew there was nothing he could do about it at the moment so he was going to have to suck up his pride and accept my help, wanted or not. 

There was a moment of silence between us, "So you and the boy..." Alexei started and I stared up at him with a blank expression. 

"Vaughn and I are friends. And  we've been friends since we were young kids." I didn't feel like having this conversation because it was only going to lead to him being upset. As much as I liked the idea of pissing him off a bit, now was not the time or place to do so. 

Alexei stared down at me with a contemplative look in his eyes, "Doesn't seem like he thinks you're just friends." He remarked through gritted teeth. 

"Well it's not like he was my companion or something." I murmured under my breath, knowing full well that he could hear me. The pinched expression on his face told me that he had heard the comment and didn't appreciate it. I closed my eyes, breathing in slowly. The air felt heavier in my lungs like it was trying to breath underwater. 

"Anna and I...that was something that our parents had always wanted." He said in a tone of frustration. I opened my eyes to look at him once more. I didn't want to particularly hear anymore, it caused jealousy to twist my stomach into uncomfortable knots. These weren't the feelings that I wanted to have, especially when it came to Alexei. I wanted to not care about who he was with or who he had been with. I wanted it to not matter, but it did and that grated on me. 

"We both denied the match. We'd never cared much for each other even growing up but when her father died she needed someone to take care of her. She came to me with the proposition again. I was getting older and needed to bind my beast to someone before it was too late. She was beautiful and willing. It seemed more than enough for me." 

"Said every man, always." I added.  

He gave me a narrowed look, "But it wore out its novelty quick for both of us." 

I let out a small breath, feeling more agitated, "So have you two..." 

"Have we what?" he questioned, brows lifting. My cheeks felt hot under his confused gaze. I wasn't one to talk about these types of things. I'd never gotten very far in the realm of romance, other than reading cheap novels. I wasn't like I hadn't thought about it or done things but talking about was something completely different. 

I cleared my throat, "Have you guys had sex? I mean since you've met me..." That was the real truth that I wanted. 

His expression changed into one of understanding quickly, lids lowering slightly as he studied my face through the darkness. I found my mouth growing drier as his eyes turned into blue fires of desire, "No, Snowflake. I can assure you that you are the only one that I think about in the late hours of night or when I wake in the early hours of the morning...or when I shower...or when..." 

"Okay!" I interrupted him, face burning, "I get it." 

He chuckled softly, "Are you sure? I don't mind telling you about the ways I've imagined you or what I've imagined doing to your body. I can tell you all about how I hunger for you with an insatiable need if that is what my snowflake wants." 

I shook my head back and forth as heat pooled in my lower stomach. My body didn't seem to care that we were on the verge of death, "Keep your insatiable need between you and your hand, fido. I don't want any part of that..." 

He took in a shaky breath, the thickness of the air getting to him as well, "That's what your mouth might be saying but your body is telling me something different. You can't lie to me." 

"Why did you say I was an acquaintance?" I snapped out, wanting to change the topic before we went any further down that path. I was not looking to inflate Alexei's head anymore than it already was or we both be crushed under the weight of that alone. 

I liked the way his smugness dropped away and he diverted his gaze from my face, "Isn't that what you've wanted?" I suppose that it was what I wanted but it still hurt me. I knew I was being fickle and I'd never been that way before but there were things I had longed for--things that I knew I couldn't have in this world. I longed for normalcy. I would never have anything like that with Alexei. 

I flicked my tongue over my lips, "I didn't like it." I replied softly, unable to meet his gaze as well. I found my fingers digging in deeper to the firm flesh of his arm, as if I was afraid that he would disappear. It felt like he was my anchor to the world at the moment, keeping me sane in a moment without hope. 

There was a stretch of silence, "I didn't either." I could hear the vulnerability in his tone. I didn't meet his stare even though I could feel the heat of it on my face. The possibility of our deaths had brought us to place where we could finally be honest. I let my thumb draw small circles over his arm. It was a strange intimacy but it didn't feel bad, it felt comforting. 

"Poppy-" My name on his lips had me freezing my motions, and holding my breath. Whatever he had planned to say was died on his tongue as the sound of the rocks shifting over our heads had us both tensing up. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for us to be crushed beneath them. There were voices carrying down to us, getting louder and louder. 

"You guys alive down there? Please say something." Loren's voice carried down over the sound of the movement of rocks being heaved away. 

I took in a deeper breath as cracks started to form between the rocks, bringing in fresh air, "We're alive." I called back as I gulped in greedy lungfuls. I could have cried with joy that we were both going to walk away from this with all of our limbs still in tact. 

"I told you that we weren't going to die down here." Alexei remarked as someone pulled away one of the bigger rocks, blasting us with the dying light of day. I closed my eyes and found myself smiling softly in relief. 

"I was never going to let that happen, Snowflake." he whispered to me with such confidence I believed he'd go through heaven and hell itself to bring my soul back if I had. That thought had warmth like I'd never known blossoming in my chest. 

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Song: Devil's backbone- The Civil Wars