Page 118 of Galen
“Would you rather take a shower?”
“No.” He relaxed even more, eyes closing. “I just want to sit here with you.”
I wanted the same. In the hours I’d spent worrying about whether he was okay, I realized how much I truly cared about him. How much I needed him beside me.
I glided my fingers through his hair before washing it for him. He fell asleep sometime during it, and I smiled when I heard him snoring. I finished washing the blood and dirt off us before wrapping him in a towel and carrying him to my bed. He snuggled into the pillows before settling once more.
I slid in beside him and rested my cheek on his hair. When I closed my eyes, I saw Simon in front of me, face dirty and eyes filled with tears.
“Let’s go home.”
As the scent of rain hit me, my body relaxed and sleep took hold. My home was with him.
***
“This place is a goddamn mess,” Alastair said, straightening an upturned side table in his study. “And I just cleaned it too.”
I picked up a broken lamp and tossed it into a trash bag. “So the ring belonged to the son of Lucifer?”
Since I was consumed by Wrath at the time, the details of the night were fuzzy.
“Yes. And fuck, Galen. He looks just like Lucifer. I thought itwashim at first.”
“But he’s weak right now?”
Alastair nodded. “For now.” He grabbed the broken box the ring had been in before shoving it into the trash. “Lazarus isn’t pleased by the turn of events. He risked his life to keep the ring from Ramiel and the others.”
“We risked ours too. Shit happens. We lost the battle, but the war is far from over.”
“I wouldn’t say we lost. Not really. They got the ring and awoke the son of Lucifer, which isn’t ideal, I admit. But we dealt major damage and made them retreat. That sounds like a win to me.”
“Or maybe Pride just won’t let you accept otherwise.”
“Maybe.”
I helped him clean shards of glass from the busted windows and the puddle of blood from where I’d been stabbed—a wound that had healed not long after it was made. Even in the silence, I felt him poking at my mind.
“If you want to know something, just ask.”
Alastair sighed and slumped against his desk. “How did he do it? I saw how strongly Wrath had a hold of you, Galen. Stronger than the last time in Rome. I was determined to save you… but I had my sword drawn. Just in case. Then Simon approached you. At first I thought you were going to kill him. Castor thought so too. But Simon told him to stay back.”
I had a vague recollection from when Wrath had control, broken fragments of memory.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Alastair continued. “When Gray brought you back last time, your eyes instantly changed back to normal. But not last night. Wrath still had a hold of you when you took Simon to the portal, and even for a while after. Your eyes were pitch-black, and I sensed your animosity. But instead of impulsively attacking everyone, you cradled him to your chest.”
“Wrath loves him,” I said, my heart aching from the truth of it. “And so do I.”
Alastair fixed the crooked photos on the wall beside the fireplace, his blue eyes fixated on one picture in particular. “What do you plan on doing about it?”
“About what?”
“Your love for Simon. I won’t tell you what to do, but I can offer you a word of advice.” He turned to me. “Don’t make the same mistake I did, Galen. Because a day will come, much sooner than you think it will, when you’ll realize the one you love is long past saving. And as you watch him die, you’ll wish more than anything that you could follow him.”
As his meaning became clear, I dropped down in one of the cushioned armchairs. Of course I wanted to fully make Simon mine. To bind our life forces so I’d never have to know a day without him. He would never grow old. Never get sick. But…
“We’re too important,” I said, my voice thick with emotion. “If I bind his soul to mine and he dies, I’ll die too. Just like Kallias died. The world needs us. It’s our duty to protect it.”
“I think the world has taken enough from us, brother.” Alastair turned back to the framed photo of Joseph. “It’s time you took something for yourself. We didn’t choose the life of a warrior. It was forced upon us. Be selfish for once. Fuck knows you’ve earned it.”
