Page 95 of Of Night and Blood: Special Edition

The Healer tapped my nose, leaning into Winona to offer a swift kiss and then headed back to his seat beside Noe, who was arguing with Lian. I attempted to tune into their conversation, though I could not help but look into Winona’s mind, enjoying the way her amusement mingled with her adoration. The couple’s love was practically inebriating, and I enjoyed getting doses when I could.

“I think that I am easily his second. You guys are foolish to believe my skills do not make that so,” Noe insisted, pointedly looking between Lian and Cyprus. The former shook her head, blowing a breeze at an unknowing Noe, who fell backwards onto the ground. I could not prevent the giggles from slipping past my lips when she popped back up, her hair full of snow and her cheeks red from the cold. “Bitch.”

“Seeing as I am a captain in his army, the swordmaster, and an incredibly skilled Air, I argue that I am far more qualified,” Lian said with a smirk.

Noe curled tendrils of shadow between her fingers, almost looking as if she were holding a snake. As if she heard me, she opened her hand, the shadow taking the form of a serpent and crawling from the skin of her palm. It was unnerving—creepy.

The snake slithered towards Lian, who yelped when it wrapped around her ankle and attempted to drag her towards Noe. Cyprus, who had been mostly silent, disappeared in his own whisps of darkness, body losing shape and melting into that cold darkness I had felt those many weeks ago. The shadows struggled to blend with the unusually bright day, but soon he was gone completely, reappearing next to Noe and shoving her back in the snow once more.

“Idiots, the lot of them,” Winona muttered above my head.

I laughed, enjoying the scene as the three of them got into one of the most hilarious fights, each using their abilities to trip or push or knock over the other. That continued on as Winona finished my hair, and even proceeded as I ate.

When Henry and Bellamy emerged from the latter’s tent, the trio froze, soaked in snow. Bellamy laughed at the sight, clapping Henry on the shoulder, who smiled over to him. Apparently they had made up.

Seeing the two of them together reminded me that I needed to speak with Bellamy about Pino’s vision, about all of his many lies and evasions. But doing so would also mean needing to admit that soon I would leave him and go back to Betovere, where I would conquer and rule. Where I would prevent another Great War.

“It seems we missed all the fun,” Bellamy said. He came over to me as Henry disappeared in a cloud of white light, only to reappear next to Cyprus and tackle him to the ground. Bellamy had changed, now sporting the same leathers he had worn on the first night of our journey.

I relished in the way his muscles flexed through the leather. How the fabric clung to his thighs. My cheeks warmed as I pictured the way he had felt against me, his skin scorching and his voice rough as he told me over and over again that he loved me.

Silently, I begged myself to get it together. I had not acted like this in nearly two centuries, there was no reason I should be doing so right now. He was still the same insufferable demon from before. The only difference was that now I had seen him naked. And really that made no difference.

Why did it matter that the very tongue that darted out to wet his lips was the same one that was on me mere hours ago? That the fingertips currently grazing my thigh had been inside of me not long before the sun rose?

I squirmed, working myself up like a love-sick youngling who had just lost their virginity.

Bellamy smirked, eyes of ice looking me up and down, moving slower over his rumpled red tunic I had confiscated. Then they moved to my lips, halting there for a few moments before meeting my own. His fingers continued to tease as I felt something—or someone—projecting. I pushed back, knowing it was him and not daring to let his words catch me off guard.

A mistake on my part.

“Good morning, Princess,” he said, inching closer to me. He leaned in, smelling the air between us. My breath hitched, his exhale wafting across my collar bones. “Is that a new perfume? You smell absolutely…delicious.”

I felt the blood spread from my cheeks to my entire face, reddening even my ears and neck as the mortification rained down on me.

Someone coughed, and I shook my head to bring it back into focus. Henry and Noe were snickering from across the way, Lian holding her hand out to Cyprus who begrudgingly offered her a handful of coppers. Ranbir and Winona remained silent, though they both had smiles upon their faces.

“Is it time to go?” I asked, trying to swiftly change the subject. The others lost their smiles quickly, tension growing.

“Way to kill the mood Ash,” Henry said, scooping up a ball of snow and throwing it. I was too slow, too baffled, to dodge it before it smacked me in the face. My head flung back, and I accidentally inhaled some when I gasped from the sting.

Wiping it away, I glared at the demon. Bellamy seemed to be equally annoyed, conjuring a ball nearly as large as Henry and throwing it at him with his Water power. Henry was unable to move before it struck him. We all burst into laughter as it sent him flying backwards, his body hitting the snowy ground with a loud thud.

“Yes, we are,” Bellamy responded, smiling down at me as he wiped stray flakes from my cheek. “We already rode the horses to a nearby village, and I sent word for someone from the palace to retrieve them. Time to say goodbye, for now.”

I nodded, feeling my sadness mix with the others’ in the air around us. Saying goodbye to them felt nearly as hard as missing my friends back home. Though they did not know it, this was likely the last time they would see me.

The more you love, the more you lose.

Mia had taught me that, and she had been right.

Chapter Fifty-Two

Bellamy had provided me with my very own set of the Trusted’s leathers, which turned out to be surprisingly comfortable. The gesture felt like an offering of sorts—a chance to become one of them.

I said nothing as I dressed myself, choosing silence over the hard truths I needed to share.

Our farewells had been short, not wanting to waste any more time. We would need to get everyone in place as soon as possible to avoid whatever danger Pino had seen. The Oracle still had not responded to Bellamy’s inquiries, which only further stressed the prince.

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