Page 198 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

Seconds pass by as he takes a deep breath, his brilliantly green eyes eclipsed by a wariness I haven’t seen before.

“If it gets bad enough, yes, it can be deadly,” he admits.

“You…” My lips tremble. “You lied to me. You told me you’re fine and you’re clearly not. If this can kill you. If…” I ball my hands into fists and bang lightly against his chest. My eyes are moist, achy, and no matter how much I blink, I cannot get rid of this irritation.

He catches my fists and holds on to them.

“Don’t panic,” he whispers. “It’s not my time to die yet, Minnie.”

“But you will die.”

“Eventually, I will.”

How can he say this out loud so carelessly?

“No, no.” I shake my head.

“I’m mortal, Minnie. My fate has been decided a long time ago.”

“No, I won’t let you,” I tell him vehemently.

He gives me a tender look.

“If I were to die, soon, at some point…will you stay with me until the end?”

“I’ll find a cure. Whatever illness you’re suffering from, I’ll do everything in my power to cure you.”

He gives me a sad smile.

“You’d be messing with fate again,” he notes wryly.

“So be it.” I shrug. “I can take whatever punishment they dole out for me. But at least you’d live.”

“My tiny darling,” he whispers as he pulls me to his chest, pressing one of my hands against his beating heart.

I raise my gaze to his, and with our gazes locked together, I lean in and press a light kiss against the scar on his chin. Slowly, I make my way up, kissing each and every one of his scars.

“You’ll live,” I tell him. “I don’t care how many scars you get. You will live. For me.”

“Ah, Minnie, have I told you how much I love you?” he whispers as he turns his face so that our lips are mere inches apart.

I blink and stare into his eyes.

“You…do?”

“I love you,” he states quietly. “More today and even more tomorrow. Every day, I’ll love you more.”

I pull back, my heart racing in my chest. He’s talked about love before, but this is the first time he’s said the words so clearly, so directly.

“I…”

Do I love him, too? I don’t know, but I think I do. If these feelings growing every day in my chest are any indication, then I’d say I’m well on my way to loving him too, if I already don’t. But because there is so much standing between us, so much that is outside of my control, I find it hard to say the words aloud and give him my confirmation.

“I…”

He waits expectantly as I stammer and stutter in an attempt to find my words.

“I think you’re not too bad,” I end up saying, though I mentally beat myself over it.

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