Page 141 of Remnants: Disruption
“Every time I think I have a measure of your bravery and honor, I am proven the fool,” I say, studying her tearful eyes. “I will have to thank Marla and her wife for doing what I was too cowardly to do.”
“What?” she asks, platinum brows scrunching.
“I had no idea how to tell you everything without alerting Darkrend’s spies and the revolutionaries,” I say, squeezing myeyes tight. I don’t wish to watch the way she reacts to my admissions. “I wasn’t ever going to reveal my affections. But—”
She shifts, and I let her pull me into her lap, reveling in the way we fit so perfectly.
“But?” she prompts, and I huff out a laugh at the reversal now.
“But I was wrong, and I cannot begin to express how thankful I am that you’ve found your place here.”
She grins a little, but it’s still watery. Still upset.
“Cass—” She begins and I nod quickly, wrapping my arms around her neck.
“I trust you to do what is right,” I whisper, and press my lips to hers.
She lets out a soft groan, and I cannot help the way my hips shift against hers.
“If you decide it is time to bathe the earth in their blood,” I say into the infinitesimally small space between our lips. “I will be there to ensure no magic can bring them back.”
I feel the way her spine loosens at my words.
“And then I will wash the blood from your skin and hold you while you recover,” I continue, and she grins brighter this time, cheeks pink.
“Can I ask you something?” she says after studying me for a long moment.
I nod, pressing my lips to her forehead. Her scent is almost nauseating in how intoxicating it is.
“What exactly are your powers?”
Panic settles low in my chest, threatening to unravel the progress I’ve already made. I knew this would be an inevitable question, but yet it feels like a stone thrown into a calm lake.
“That’s a difficult question to answer,” I say, and already see her mind working.
“Fine,” she says, not unkindly, but as though she’s trying to work out a way to ask indirectly. “Why are there revolutionaries?”
“I will explain my powers to you,” I say, and watch her forehead loosen slightly. “It will just take a lot of explaining and I wish to do that in a more comfortable place.”
She frowns, but I press on.
“And as for the revolutionaries,” I blow out a short breath. “Gareth is working with Darkrend. That much I know. Varun is a Dhampir, and they’ve never liked me.”
“A damn what?”
I let out a bark of surprised laughter, and her grey eyes crinkle.
“They are the human-hybrid cousins of the vampire,” I say, cringing a little at the word, but Arya’s contemplative expression doesn’t seem to catch it. “And they have not cared for my leadership.”
She nods slowly, and I can tell she wants to ask more.
But more leads to things I do not wish to explain. Not tonight, at least. It feels like a lie by omission, and it sickens me.
“Will you stay the night?” I ask, and her jaw sags for a moment before she nods quickly.
“I don’t have anything to wear,” she says, and I roll my eyes.
“I will happily get you anything you desire. And, tomorrow, we can talk about my powers.”
