Page 171 of Venom Sweeter than Honey
He was willing to sacrifice everyone and everything to be with hissoulbound.Perhaps I’m more unwell than I thought, because I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anything more romantic.
That, plus all the suffering that he’s experienced.The loneliness. The rejection. The heartbreak. I cannot even begin to fathom how many loved ones he has had to watch die.
Countless aeons of death and endings.
‘I think he has a death wish.’
Azrael frowns. ‘Don’t we all... ’
My gaze slides back to his as I am hit by the most obvious realization. “You want to die…”
The irony that death himself is apparently incapable of dying seems like a cosmic joke.
The glistening in Azrael’s eyes returns.
“I’m tired, seraphim... So very tired.”
I close the distance between us. If there’s one thing I am familiar with, it’s romanticizingthe end.
“I don’t blame you, darling.”
He sniffles, gaze dropping and looking so very human and even more vulnerable.
“Perhaps it's why Ourinessa is deteriorating.”
Fuck.
Before I can think better of it, I lift my hand to stroke his cheek. “Oh, angel…”
I’ve never called anyone in my life an angel, but I’m happy for him to be the first.
I’ve always had an affinity for death.
Even before I met him.
And if I’ve learned anything about Levi, it’s that he does too.
Perhaps this is Kismet.
My throat works around a knot of emotion as I hold his gaze.
“And if I wanted to give you a reason to live? Would you allow it?”
Perhaps then Ourinessa would stop... leaking souls.
Perhaps if you heal, your domain would heal.
Though I know nothing about these things, having rejected my father and his domain... the domain that I have spent my life refusing to claim. So I refrain from speaking what might be nothing more than naive foolishness.
Azrael’s expression tightens as his eyes slip shut and tears stream down his cheeks. The effort to swallow back his emotion is audible. His voice drops to a whisper. “I would like that very much.”
Azrael draws in a fortifying breath, shoving down his tears, before he bends and sweeps me off my feet. He carries me across the room to sit on the edge of the bed, holding me in his lap, where I burrow against his chest. Like a tiny rabbit with agoraphobia.
The sound of the bathroom door opening makes me go rigid, the tension in my body winding tighter and tighter with each of Levi’s soft padding footsteps.
He comes to a stop in front of us.
Azrael inhales, bracing himself.
