Page 89 of Karma

I do as I promised and kiss him. He melts into me the way no one ever has, flooding my mind with overwhelming guilt for betraying him, even while the fires of utter joy ravage my chest.

But as soon as Karma’s lips join ours, I know everything will be good from here on. That everything will be better than just good. That it will be right. The way the sun coming up in the morning is right, the way stars twinkling in the sky are right, the way in which the heat of fire chases away darkness and cold is right.

This—the three of us together—was meant to be. I’ll die before I ever let it slip away from me again.

I hope that day never comes, just as hard as I hope this night lasts forever.

47

Scorpio

Even my house is being used to treat the wounded, as dirty and unsanitary as it is. I’ll make the rounds and visit all my wounded brothers in the morning. None of them are in danger of dying in the night and I want to put the war as far behind me, as I can right now.

We took their tent and set it up on a hill overlooking the town. All the fires burning all over town seem like small beacons of hope—hope for a better, calmer, happier tomorrow. Hopefully they’ll continue growing until happiness is all there is.

We built our own fire and made a simple dinner from the stuff Karma and Grim had in their packs. They always have something. Including a brand new bottle of whiskey, but I didn’t drink much. Just enough to take the edge off.

A part of my mind is still protesting how easily I forgave them. But I’m starting to accept I didn’t really have a choice. Going back to the life without them in it is impossible for me to imagine. And I don’t think I’d ever been happier than I was when I finally admitted that.

We’re all huddled together, with me in the middle, Karma leaning against me and Grim’s arm around my shoulders. I’ve never felt safer. Or more like I belong, that I’m right where I need to be. Even on this snake and critter infested hillside that had seen too much bloodshed today. After the day we’ve had, or the weeks we’ve had, more like, we’re all too tired to do anything more than hold each other.

“Do you think the peace will hold?” Karma asks, running her hand across my stomach under my shirt. It’s not a sexual touch. Just one of relaxation. Of needing to touch.

“As far as I’m concerned, yeah,” I say. “I doubt Joker will move against the Devils as long as he’s with Eden.”

Grim chuckles darkly. “But if they break up, it’s another story.”

“Yeah,” Karma says, also darkly.

But I’ve had more than enough darkness today. And in my life previous to this moment.

“You guys… you’re always looking for something to go wrong,” I say.

“Because it usually does,” Grim says and I feel those words deep in my chest. That calming, deep voice of his packs a punch in more ways than one. Like before, when he told me he’d die for me. There was nonot believingit. And after hearing it, not forgiving them was suddenly impossible too.

“Not anymore,” I say. “You have a place to live now where you don’t have to look over your shoulders all the time anymore, fearing the worst.”

Both of them tense around me in an almost identical way. A glance at their faces reveals an almost identical look of confusion and shock.

Grim recovers first. “And where’s that?”

I point at the fires burning all along the town below us. “Right here, in Justice. No one knows about it and it’s actually a very nice place when it’s not so packed full of people.”

They’re both silent, until I’d think they don’t want to stay here, but when I finally glance at them again, the looks in their eyes—almost identical too—are of pure gratitude. The teary sort.

“I was gonna tell you this before you decided to turn against me,” I say.

They’re both very tense again. Like they’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. Or like they don’t know how to keep apologizing.

“I get it, you wanted to save me from dying in a war,” I say. “And I do appreciate that, even though you put me through hell.”

“We put ourselves through hell too,” Karma says, the shadows and fire light playing across her face making her appear as gorgeous as the most beautiful painting. But she’s not. She’s real. And she’s mine.

“But I’m gonna go ahead and stop bringing this up, because I do forgive you,” I say, before they start thinking their dark thoughts again.

“Thank you,” Grim says and it’s possibly the most sincere thing I’ve ever heard. “It’s more than we deserve.”

Karma seconds that by nodding fiercely.

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