Page 210 of Venom Sweeter than Honey
The sight of his balled fist eclipses his bloody grin. Repeatedly. Our combined blood and sweat make his forearms impossibly slippery, but thanks to my new claws, I’m able to grasp them and lift my hips to sweep him beneath me again.
Azrael hisses in pain. “Ow, you fucking cunt!”
With my hips between his, we continue to scramble and throw punches while hurling just as many insults and threats.
“I’m going to fuckingkill you—again!”
“I should tear your head off—see how you fucking like it!”
“Iwelcomeyou?—”
THWACK.
“—to try.”
CRUNCH.
“Maybe I?—”
OOMPH.
“—will! And then.”
WHEEZE.
“—I’ll dance on your fucking corpse.”
His hands close around my neck just as mine close around his.
My words come out a wet rasp.“I fucking... hate you.”
Pain felt more deeply than anything I’ve physically inflicted on him shudders his swollen, bloodshot eyes. His grip on my throat loosens.
“I’msorry.”
Remorse and heartbreak are quick to overcome me. My grip loosens. His falls. Mine follows. We separate, coughing and wheezing, as we roll over and struggle to replenish our lungs.
Lying flat on my back, I stare up at the partly cloudy morning sky. Tears burn my eyes despite nearly being swollen shut.
The first tear slips out, sliding down my temple and into my hairline. I can only pray it blends in with the blood, but I’m beyond holding them back. I feel like these tears have been building for the last twenty years. And who am I to deny them relief?
Azrael’s voice is rough. “I’m sorry, Levi…”
My chin wobbles, but I manage to keep my voice steady. “Tell that to Violette.”
A few moments of silence pass. Drawing in a deep breath, I close my eyes as tears continue to slip through the gates, and I focus on the chill late-fall winds passing over us.
“May I explain? Please?”
Heaving a sigh, I give an absent shake of my head. “Life is painful. I get it. I cannot fathom living as long as you have, nor all of the heartbreak you’ve endured because of it. The responsibility of being a god of death. Having to watch everyone you love die. Before Violette, the only two people I’ve ever loved died, followed by numerous friends and colleagues in the military, and I swore to myself I would never allow myself to be as vulnerable. So after experiencing it in perpetuity... I cannot blame you for wanting to die. It only took me two decades.”
My eyes have finally stopped leaking, and the swelling around my eyes has lessened. I turn my head to look over at him.
“But it only took a moment for me to find a reason not to.”
Violette.
You.
