Page 65 of Acedia

“Oh! Hi. Sorry. It’s so nice to meet you both.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Jade replied. Her voice was a little deeper and more deadpan than Cora’s was. “You’re such an inspiration to all of us over at Elverston House.”

“Me?”

“Absolutely. There are a few ex-Hunters at Elverston House with disabilities, and all of us were the lowest rung on the Hunter hierarchy for some reason or another. We were all sent here as sacrifices, and fortunately, it’s turned out well for us, but you… Youleft. We’ve only heard about your story since we came here, but it’s fucking badass.”

I shook my head, laughing nervously. “You must have me confused with someone else. I did leave, but one of the Hunters helped me. He did all of the heavy lifting.”

“He handled the logistics,” Damen corrected swiftly. “Making the choice to walk away from the only life you’d ever known and into a different world by yourself is the badass-ness they’re referring to.”

“I believe the correct term is badassery,” Jade corrected.

“Human languages are so nonsensical,” Damen complained.

“Could I meet some of them?” I asked tentatively. “Maybe visit you guys sometime?”

I was struggling to make sense of Jade’s words in my mind. I wasn’t anything impressive. Lucas had been the one who’d made this happen.

Maybe they didn’t know about my privileged upbringing and that I’d never been sent away like many of them undoubtedly were. They probably wouldn’t like me after that.

“We would love that,” Jade replied sincerely. “Let’s make that happen, okay?”

“Okay,” I agreed, staying quiet as everyone said their goodbyes.

Damen sighed dramatically, adjusting his hold on my hand so it was more secure. “Now everyone is going to start telling you how impressive you are, and it won’t be special when I do it.”

“It’s still the most special when you do it,” I assured him with a laugh.

“Don’t ever forget it. As I’m sure you’ve figured out, I’m very selfish.”

If Damen was selfish because he didn’t want to be second in my affections, then I hoped he never changed.

Chapter 20

Iwaited for Iris to dismiss me the moment we arrived back in her room, but she invited me in, suggesting that I sit while she washed up and found something to wear.

So… were we spending the day together? Was she in love with me yet?

I’d miscalculated last time, but I was going to make that mistake. The next time I proposed, the timing would be exactly right. I crossed the room to let Tilly out, pausing mid-step with my foot hovering over a cushion.

“Iris,” I called. “Isn’t this room horribly difficult for you to navigate?”

“Um,” she replied from the washroom, her voice pitched a little higher than usual. “It took some getting used to, that’s all.”

Everyone who had been in this room and not offered to fix it was a wretched person-or-Shade, myself included.

“What can I do to make it easier for you? Surely, these floor cushions are a liability.”

“They’re not great,” she admitted, voice muffled slightly—was she drying her face?

Was she naked in there?

No. Focus.

“Could you drag them over by the wall, maybe?” Iris added. “I don’t want to lose them completely, they’re very comfortable to sit on.”

“Of course.” I lifted the small coffee table off the ground, setting it up by a window, and dragging the floor cushions over to go around it. That way, she’d feel the warmth from outside when she sat here by the window.

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