Page 59 of Wolf Queen Ruin
My jaw dropped.“Wow.Thank you, Mr.Doom and Gloom.”
His expression shifted instantly, genuine regret crossing his features.“I… That was callous of me.”He searched my face, his mouth tightening.“I’m sorry.But you know the dangers.We might not survive either.”
I sighed.“But doing nothing guarantees failure, for them and for us.Sometimes hope is all you’ve got, despite the odds.”
He fell quiet for a moment, looking off into the darkening jungle.When he spoke again, his voice softened.“Is that why you won’t stop until you find a cure?Hope, despite the odds?”
The question felt too personal, too close to vulnerabilities I preferred to keep armored.But deflection seemed petty after all we’d been through together to get to this point.
“It’s well beyond hope,” I admitted, my eyes stinging.“I’ve rewired myself over all the broken bits just to cope.I pretend I can talk to my best friend, Jade, through an earpiece even though she’s in the same magical coma as my daughter.”
I’d never told anyone that before.Not even Dr.Felix when he checked in about my mental health.
“I imagine she’s on quests without me, raiding tombs, having adventures.”I shrugged.“Some might call me talking to her and her talking back a hallucination.I call it survival.”
Damien held perfectly still, his eyes reflecting something more than mere curiosity, but a recognition that felt too intimate.
“Jade gave up her pack, her family, her future—all to help me raise my daughter.She’s the G.O.A.T.of best friends.”I bowed my head.“I’d do anything to save them.Both of them.”
“It’s well beyond hope for me too,” he said, so softly I barely heard him.He stared into the growing darkness, his profile sharp against the fading light.“Elliot gave me a life when I should have died.Taught me control when I would have become a monster.”His hands tightened into fists.“I’ve watched him suffer for months while I searched for answers.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Me too.”He cleared his throat then reached into his pack and withdrew a small, wrapped package.“You should eat something more substantial than trail rations.”
He handed it to me.Inside the package was a carefully preserved sandwich—not the squashed mess I would have expected after a few days in a backpack, but something that looked almost fresh.
I stared at it in surprise.“You packed real food?”
“Felix told me you eat like a bird.”He shrugged.“He says you don’t eat enough to sustain yourself, so I packed some for you.”
The consideration behind the gesture caught me off guard.Did he make it for me himself?The thought of Damien in the kitchen frying up some—
“Holy shit, is that bacon?”I snatched it from him without even meaning to, tore into it, and tried not to moan too loudly at the salty, savory, still crunchy heaven between two pieces of bread, along with tomato, lettuce, and mayo.
He watched me eat with undisguised amusement, his eyes crinkling at the corners.“I take it you approve.”
“Mmph,” I said eloquently, my mouth full.
As night fully claimed the jungle, we established the same watch rotation as before, though I insisted on taking first shift this time.Damien didn’t argue, which might be another sign of his continued weakening in the Wolf Queen’s domain.
“I’ll wake you in four hours,” I promised as he settled against the rock wall.
He nodded, already closing his eyes.The sharp edges of his features softened slightly, making him appear almost human, vulnerable in a way that conflicted with everything I thought I knew about vampires generally and Damien specifically.
“You’re staring,” he murmured without opening his eyes.
“Just making sure you’re not already dead,” I said, looking away.“Hard to tell with vampires.”
A smile touched his lips.“I’m not dead yet.Though the Wolf Queen is certainly trying her best.”
As he drifted into whatever passed for vampire sleep, I realized with mild alarm that I was staring again.
At Damien, who had packed a (bacon!) sandwich because Felix had suggested it.
Whose touch ignited an inferno in my blood and caused my heart to misfire.
Who pushed through apparent agony to cross a magical barrier rather than admit defeat.
