Page 353 of Flirting with Darkness

“Not up on your astronomy, huh? Well I suppose my moon was discovered forty years ago so that is a bit beyond you.”

“Okay, well no I’ve never knew the names of Pluto’s moons. And while I’d like to know how you got a moon named after you, I want to get back to the part about you being six hundred years old.”

Stepping back, I narrow my gaze. I’m pretty sure I know where this is going.

“You say you’re six hundred or so, but I know that the legend of the Ferryman has been around a lot longer. So how is that possible?”

“The easiest way to explain it is that I was born in the order, or better yet a race of Ferrymen. My father Erebus owed a debt to a powerful Changeling witch. When he didn’t pay his due, he promised the lives of his children. To protect us, my mother, Nyx, divided us, theKharon, or better known as the Ferrymen, between the Styx and Acheron Rivers, binding us there in servitude. Cloaking us from the Changeling until we reached maturity one by one, we serve at their behest until we die. I am the last one.”

Gasping, Rae covers her mouth with her petite hands. Thick glassy pools fill her eyes, and for the first time, she regards me with the one thing I never hoped to see. Pity.

“I am so sorry, Kharon!” Rae says, clasping her hands at her chin. “I know you wanted to tell me when you were ready. Please forgive me for pushing.” Reaching for my hand, Rae lifts a smile to cover the sadness marring her perfect face, and it makes me smile in return.

In fact, I don’t feel pitied. It’s quite the opposite. In my entire life, I have never received such benevolence. Not only has she completely forgiven my trespasses, but the fact she yet manages to have a modicum of empathy for my plight is still a marvel before my eyes.

“There’s nothing to forgive, beautiful. You asked a question, and I gave an answer. I promise you, as long as I live, I shall always answer you truthfully. I cannot promise you the things I have to share will always be easy to accept or understand, but I promise you the truth. Always.”

“Always,” she repeats in a whisper, leaning her head to my chest.

Kissing the crown of her head, I firm my hold around her. “Just promise me one thing.”

“Anything,” Rae says, looking up at me with the same earnest stare that melts my heart.

“Promise me despite how hard things may get from here, we’re in this together. Always.”

“Together.Always.I like the sound of that.”

“So do I, beautiful.”

19

RAE

Crushing his mouth to mine, Kharon’s lips caress me with a care I never knew I needed until now. Moving his mouth in a rhythmic motion so gentle yet commanding it’s like he’s steering a ship. Like water, his tongue glides effortlessly around my own, taming it in willful submission. And I am all too eager to reverently bow to his will.

I pant like an overindulgent child, relinquished of her popsicle, when he pulls his mouth from mine. I want his kiss that much.

“It’s Christmas morning. Your family will be looking for you. The last thing we need is to raise suspicion. At least not until we get matters straight with your family.” Kharon’s thumb etches the outline of my lip as he leans his forehead to mine. “But believe me when I tell you, letting you go now is harder than you can imagine.”

Sighing, I stifle my urge to kiss him yet again, knowing it will be that much harder to pull away a second time. “It’ll be tough for me too. But it’s also Win’s birthday. I’ve never missed it. The family will probably gather soon around the fireplace.”

“Well, we shouldn’t dally. I’ll take you there myself.”

Stepping back, I am surprised at Kharon’s suggestion. “I thought you were trying to keep a low profile.”

“That’s what the onyx sand is for.” He smiles, walking to the stone table and retrieving the velvet box he showed me last night. “Besides, with coyotes and bears roaming about, I hardly feel comfortable letting you go without me. It’s not safe.”

Kharon casts a cagey smile, but his eyes bounce around the cave a bit before landing back at mine. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen him avert his gaze from me. Usually, he seemed to do so in hopes I didn’t notice him watching me while we were around my family. But this time feels different.

“What is it, Kharon?” I ask, worried. “This seems to be about more than coyotes and bears.”

Shrugging his shoulder, Kharon plunges the velvet box in his pocket and swipes his hair from his face. All my life, twisting my fingers through my curly mane has been my go-to when I’m nervous. While I know Kharon is strong enough to face anything on his own, there’s a new vulnerability to him now that is all too familiar.

“Please, Kharon, you can tell me. The truth. Remember?” Circling the space where he stands, my eyes plead with him.

“Well I need to go there to look for my obol. I’m sure Lux still has it. But I need to reclaim it from him. It’s not safe for me to be apart from it for long.”

Panic bubbles within me as Kharon’s disquieting disposition troubles me just as it did last night. While I’m sure the kiss Winter shared with Lux to unbreak Melchior’s prison seemed like something out of a fairytale, for me, it was the most heart wrenching moment of my life. Seeing how grief-stricken Kharon became and knowing the pain he endured as a result, tortures parts of my heart I never knew existed.

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