Page 222 of The Ascended
"Only you," he said, shaking his head in wonderment. "Only you would face down a god of death at his most unhinged and complain about his emotional unavailability."
I grinned. "I contain multitudes."
"That you do, starling. That you absolutely do."
We fell into comfortable silence then, his hands resuming their gentle work. When he finished with the balm, he didn't stoptouching me—his fingers continued to trace lines across my skin, as if memorizing every curve and plane.
"Are you hungry?" he asked eventually. "I could have something brought up."
I shook my head, burrowing deeper against his chest. "Just tired."
His arms wrapped around me, secure and warm. This was a different kind of possession than before.
I twisted in his arms to face him, taking in the relaxed set of his features, so different from his usual guarded expression.
"There you are," I murmured, reaching up to touch his face.
His brow furrowed slightly. "What do you mean?"
"This is you," I said simply. "Not the Prince. Not the Warden. Just... Xül."
Uncertainty flickered in his eyes. Then he took my hand and pressed a kiss to my palm.
"I've spent so long being what others needed me to be," he said quietly. "What my father needed. What the domain needed. Sometimes I forget who I am without all of that."
"You contain multitudes too," I told him with a soft smile.
He stared at me for a long moment, wonder flickering across his eyes.
As I reached up to touch his face, my fingers brushed against his neck, finding the thin silver scar I knew was there—the one he'd mentioned during our conversation in the garden.
My fingertip traced the mark, but as I followed its path, I realized it didn't end at his neck. It continued downward.
"May I?" I asked, my hand hovering on his bare shoulder.
After a moment's hesitation, he nodded once.
I sat up, allowing him to turn over. My eyes followed the silvery line as it traced a jagged path across his shoulder blade and down his back. The scar was far more extensive than I'd imagined—not just a thin line but slash that had been cruelly carved. I'd heard the story from his own lips, but seeing the physical evidenceof what Nyvora had done to him as a child made it horrifyingly real.
“You told me she hurt you," I said quietly, my fingers following the raised ridge of tissue. "But I never realized..."
His silence was heavy.
"Why hasn't it healed?" I asked as my fingers continued to trace the mark. "You're a god now."
"Some wounds follow us, even into immortality," he said quietly. "Especially those inflicted when we were young.”
I nodded, kissing his shoulder.
Then a thought struck me with such force that I bolted upright, my heart suddenly hammering in my chest.
"What is it?" Xul was immediately alert, his body tensing beside mine.
I turned to face him, eyes wide. "We didn't—I didn't think about—" I pressed a hand to my lower abdomen, the implications hitting me all at once.
He sat up beside me, his expression softening.
"Thais," he said, reaching for my hand. "You don't need to worry about that."
