Page 227 of Ruins
“But Scytheenjoysin it!”
“Youenjoy it.” Vasilisa replies plainly. “You talk about Scythe as if you aren’t him, but you are.”
I freeze. Her words land like a punch to the ribs, knocking the air from my lungs. Simple. True. Unforgiving. For a moment, silence hangs heavily between us as our eyes lock in unspoken understanding; she sees me for what I truly am and accepts it unabashedly and I don’t deserve it.
I stare at the ceiling, exhaling slowly. “I became him because I had to. To do what needed to be done. To avenge my mother.”
Her fingers move again, slow, grounding, as if pulling me back from that place. She presses tighter against my side, her warmth seeping into me. “We all do things we never imagined to survive. This lifedemandsit. And I support you, Santo.”
“You do?”
“Yes,” she admits quietly. “Because I know that underneath all that ruthlessness and violence is a man who loves deeply and ardently. A man who’s afraid of hurting the one he loves.”
Her hand slides up to my cheek and she turns my head to look at her. “I love that man; Santo and I understand the darkness he carries within him. It doesn’t scare me.”
Her confession steals the breath from my lungs. I’d always feared my darkness would be too much, too heavy,too cruel. But seeing her compassion and understanding now makes me realize how wrong I was to think she couldn’t handle it.
“I don’t ever want to hurt you, Vasilisa,” I sigh, lifting her hand to my lips, pressing a kiss to her palm like a vow.
“You won’t and you didn’t,” she replies with certainty in her eyes.
Relief washes over me as I pull her close, planting soft kisses on her forehead.
Chapter 44
Santo
Sheisrestingnow,curled up on the couch, the afternoon sunlight spilling over her like a golden halo. I stand by the doorway, barely breathing as I watch her.
How did she do this to me?
One look, one smile, and my chest tightens with something I can’t quite describe—but I know it is hers.
I’m hers.
She is my reason, my anchor, my everything, and yet, I can’t shake the fear that I might ruin her.
Vasilisa doesn’t just accept me—she said she accepts all of me. Even Scythe.
“I’ve known about Scythe.”
Her voice echoes through my thoughts, her eyes were filled with something I don’t deserve. How could she not be afraid? Scythe is nothing but darkness and destruction, and she is light.
Mylight.
She is warmth. She is… perfect.
Too perfect for a man like me, with a life made on blood and violence, I don’t deserve her.
But damn it, I want to. She isn’t afraid, and that both terrifies me and breaks something loose in my chest. For the first time in my life, I feelseen—completely seen.
But I should keep Scythe away from her.
Iwillkeep Scythe away from her.
One wrong move could tarnish her, stain this thing we were building together. The thought alone makes me want to lock her away, keep her safe.
From me.
