Page 69 of Sticks and Stones and Broken Bones

I swallowed, my throat suddenly feeling thick and uncomfortable. Oh, Gods. I was going to talk emotions and that made me feel awkward. “Raevyn, I don’t do well with people and I…” Fuck. I couldn’t get my mouth to form the words.

“You’re really fucking this up,” Deimos crowed.

I growled and took a step back from Raevyn. I pulled at the strands of my hair. He was right, I was fucking it up and I wanted nothing more than to run away so she couldn’t see how pathetically broken I really was.

“Hey,” she said softly as she approached me, her hands held out as if getting close to a wild animal. “Casimir, look at me.”

It took everything in me to look at her then. To let her see the cracks. I didn’t know what I expected but what I got from her was the furthest from what I could ever imagine. There wasn’t any judgement in her eyes, just a warm acceptance and I almost couldn’t bear it.

“I don’t care how broken you are, when you’re ready to tell me your story I will be here.” She brushed a lock of hair away from my forehead and I melted a little. I’d never felt affection or the warm touch from someone and it unsettled me a little. I was out of my comfort zone here, and I didn’t know what to do with myself.

“Thank you,” I managed to get out, but it was a fumble of words.

“You’re welcome.” Then she surprised me again by pressing a kiss against my lips. It was tender and soft. Nothing like the way I really wanted to kiss her, but I still enjoyed it all the same. It was more than just passion and lust. It was… love.

My heart fluttered in my chest at the thought, and I was at once exhilarated and terrified. Before she stepped away, I pulled her back for another kiss, one that was more familiar than the tender one she had given me. She gasped deep in my mouth as I forced her lips open wide. I thrust my tongue past the seam of her lips and licked at the roof of her mouth. She kissed me back just as fiercely and nipped at my bottom lip. I hissed at the sharp sting and felt her mouth pull into a smile.

“I really need to stop wearing leather pants,” Nox grumbled as he left the room.

I took one look at Raevyn and we both burst into laughter, which was just what I needed. It released all that tension I’d built up and it was all down to Raevyn and how she made me feel. I just wanted to feel like that forever and hopefully I would.

Chapter Thirty

Raevyn

Iwas surprised that Hades had let us loose topside again, considering the past couple of days had been a walking disaster for all of us. I guess souls still needed to be collected because GRIM HQ was still being investigated and we were the only ones capable of handling that. I hoped Roux was alright. She had been nice to me, and I think that her taking me to the pier might have got her into a bit of trouble. I made a mental note to check in with her later. I also, kind of selfishly, wanted a friend outside of the guys and I felt like she would be a good one to have. Trouble, but definitely the good.

And I was one hundred percent on board with giving my power another chance to blossom. Maybe the soul we were after today would give me that chance. Apparently, it was going to be a lot more challenging than the last one. I just hoped I could make it through this one without passing out or causing anymore chaos.

“So, tell me about the soul we’re collecting today,” I asked Nox as he joined in step next to me.

“Ooh, this time we are going after an advorsus.” He rubbed his hands together, his eyes flashing with glee.

“I take it you find these ones fun?” I asked, now a little wary of what we were hunting if it inspired that kind of excitement in him. I was starting to learn that if Nox was excited, there was usually violence involved.

“Oh, yes. They’re usually swirling storms of rage and hate. Souls that refuse to move on and become twisted things.” Nox linked his arm with mine and started dragging me behind him. “They inhabit a body to hide but eventually the body starts to show signs of the advorsus’ presence.”

“What kind of signs?” Hawk asked as we walked past him. He still didn’t seem to like wearing clothes, choosing to wear his coat with the ripped sleeves and no shirt underneath. I totally checked him out as I walked past, and I noticed I wasn’t the only one looking. Casimir seemed to be scowling intently at the intricate patterns on Hawk’s torso.

“Skin that’s kind of dead looking,” Nox said, pulling my attention from Casimir.

“Dead looking?” I asked.

“Yeah, kind of pale and like they’re a walking corpse.” Nox scrunched up his nose. “And they smell bad.”

I froze. “How bad?”

“Like rotting fish in the sun bad,” Nox said.

“Ew, that’s grim.” I was definitely not looking forward to meeting this soul. “Do we have to find it?”

“We do,” Casimir said as he strode by. “If we don’t, the soul will fester, and humans will start to notice. It’s bad enough the supes have made comments about it.”

I checked my utility belt for the animarca vial and noticed it was missing. “How do we catch an advorsus? I notice the vial is gone.”

“Well, we have to coax an advorsus out the body before we catch it,” Rook said, his hand holding Korbin’s. “Then, once the soul is free, we have to capture it in a circle scorched into the ground.”

“Scorched? Into the ground?”

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