Page 80 of A Heart Of Bitter Poison
Ashen says nothing as he rolls his eyes, but I feel his grip tighten on my hand nonetheless. As much as he doesn’t like it, I know he’s relieved to keep me close.
“Thank you,” I say to Aloros. I look at him for a long moment before dropping Ashen’s hand to wrap my arms around the angel in an unexpected hug. To my surprise, he returns the gesture, and it feels warm despite being a little stiff.
“Safe travels, lesser being,” he says as he pulls away. I huff a laugh before turning to step onto the dais with Eryx and Ashen. With a last final look, we are absorbed by light and transported to the Living Realm.
The cavern is cold and dark when we return. There are no more glyphs shedding warm light on the walls. But Eryx illuminates our way with his glowing skin, and we walk silently into the late afternoon sun.
“I’ll fly to Valentina’s and take one of the vehicles back,” Eryx says.
“We will wait in that cabin,” Ashen replies, pointing toward a cottage nestled in the snow-covered trees. It looks in decent shape from the outside, even though there’s a board nailed across the door.
Eryx nods with a smile before taking off into the sky, heading north over the forest. Ashen and I continue up the hill toward the cabin. Though he seems relieved without the burn of the Realm of Light in his veins, Ashen still clutches his ribs and our progress is slow.
It doesn’t take much to break into the old cabin, which seems in good condition despite the musty smell of dust and moth balls. There’s a scuffed blue table in the small kitchen, and an armchair and couch next to a stone fireplace. I place some kindling into the hearth and Ashen lights it with his sword before he settles into the chair with a heavy sigh of pain.
I fiddle with the fire for a while as I steal long glances at the weary demon. He sits with his eyes closed and his head tipped back. His arm is wrapped across his middle. Every breath looks painful but he seems more at ease somehow, as though the pain replaces a weight that was becoming too heavy to bear.
There’s so much I need to say to him and everything I think of feels lame or underwhelming. ‘I’m sorry’is woefully insufficient. ‘I love you’feels like the timing is off. ‘Hey, now that I know for sure you’re not an asshole, guess what? I do actually love you but I did before too and I just think now is a good time to tell you’…holy fuck that just sounds so dumb.
“Are you going to come over here, vampire, or are you going to war with yourself all evening?” Ashen says. His eyes are still closed as he speaks but he cracks one open to gauge my reaction. I feel a traitorous blush burn in my cheeks. “I can nearly hear your thoughts.”
I rise to my feet, the ridiculous dress fanning out and engulfing my body. I glide toward him like a giant marshmallow. “Oh yeah? And what do you think you hear?”
Ashen extends his free hand in an invitation to sit on his lap. I straddle one of his legs and he wraps his warm palm around my arm. “Probably something like ‘I was wrong about you,Reaper’, versus‘I won’t tell him that because I’m a vampire and vampires are never wrong’,” he says, mimicking my voice.
I scoff as I run my hands across Ashen’s chest, following the lines of muscle beneath his shirt. He shivers at the contact and closes his eyes. “What else?”
“Hmm… ‘I adore you, Reaper’, versus ‘You’re an asshole for not telling me about my sister’.”
I pause the motion of my hands and wait until he opens his eyes. “Why didn’t you?” I ask.
Ashen’s gaze flows across my features and I feel the tingle in my skin everywhere it touches. “I wanted you to choose what was best for you, not because of something you thought I held over you. I had no intention of manipulating your actions with someone you loved.”
I look at Ashen for a long moment before leaning down to press a lingering kiss to his cheek. “Thank you,” I whisper. “I saw how you suffered, swimming in the Bay of Souls. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted you to have someone with you. I couldn’t bear the thought of you being alone,” he says as his hand slowly drifts down my arm and up again.
I rest my face against Ashen’s neck and sigh, feeling his steady pulse against my skin. I know I haven’t said enough of what I should, but somehow just touching one another means more than words ever could.
“Do you love me yet, vampire?” Ashen asks, his tone both playful and serious. I push up to look at him and he winces at the sudden movement, gripping his side as he tries to shift to a more comfortable position.
I ignore his question and grasp the edge of his shirt, starting to pull it up his body. “Let me see.”
“It will be fine.”
“Sure sounds like it, yeah. Stop being a baby and let me see.”
Ashen glares at me and then rolls his eyes, leaning forward so I can take the shirt off. I run my hands across his side and press the tips of my fingers into the flesh that’s already covered in dark bruises. I can feel the shattered points of bone and count five broken ribs.
“Ashen,” I say, drawing out his name as I lay a hand to his face.
“It will be fine in a few days. It will heal in Reaper speed.”
I scoff. “Maybe, but vampire speed is better. I can help.”
He shifts again, unable to alleviate the discomfort. He doesn’t answer, just looks at me with a furrowed brow.
“You’re not the only one with magic in their veins.” I push up my billowing sleeve and draw my wrist to my lips as my fangs descend. I keep my eyes fused to Ashen’s as I bite down. There’s curiosity in the look he gives me, and a little worry for the unknown, and a lot of pain. I hold my arm out for him as a long thread of thick blood curls down my skin. He looks from the twin punctures to my face and back again. “Drink, Ashen.”
