Page 47 of Stolen By The Beast
“Will you ever die?” she blurted out in a rush.
Her question took me aback. “Yes… but not for a very long time.”
Juniper’s brow wrinkled. “How long?”
“I cannot say. Like you, I don’t know the time of my demise, but I do know it will not be for many moons.”
“Like seventy years’ worth of moons?”
I rubbed at my forehead. “I’m not sure how long that is—”
“Karvik, will you outlive me?”
A quiet heaviness descended around us, nearly choking me before I answered. “Yes, Juniper, I will. By many, many eons.”
Tears welled up, clouding her forest green gaze. “Oh.”
Moving to the floor, I pulled her into my lap, nuzzling my jaw in the juncture where her neck met her shoulder. She shuddered in my arms, her sobs growing stronger.
“Don’t cry, little one.”
“How can I not cry?! I’m going to die soon, and you’re going to be all alone!”
A chuckle bubbled up inside of me that I tamped back. “Juniper, I don’t think you’re dying soon, but I’m touched that you’re more worried about me than yourself.”
“I would be devastated if you died, Karvik.”
“Yes. You’re highly emotional. I can see you being very upset.”
Juniper frowned. “You’re supposed to say that you’ll be devastated if I die!”
“I am?”
“Duh.”
“Hmmm, I do not know this ‘duh,’ but if it soothes you, I will be eviscerated—utterly gutted—when you die.”
More tears pooled in her eyes, and her voice wobbled. “You didn’t say it like you meant it… Karvik, won’t you care when I pass on?”
“No—but only because I have a plan.” I cut her off before she could cry—or yell at me—some more.
My words gave her pause, and she perked up in my lap. “A plan? What plan?”
“I’ll tell you another night.” Juniper’s mouth puckered together. I had no idea what she was doing. It looked like a kiss, but not quite. In a word, it was adorable. “What do you call this expression?”
“I dunno. A pout, maybe?”
“What does ‘pout’ mean?”
“It’s kinda hard to explain, but it’s what someone does when they don’t get their way.”
“Ah, that explains why I’ve never seen it—I always give you your way.”
Juniper snorted. “Apparently, not tonight.”
“It’s not good to always get your way. It makes life dull.”
Her pout deepened, and I distracted her with the delightful pastime she taught me of kissing. Who knows how long we sat like that in front of the fireplace before Juniper pulled back.
