Page 26 (1/2)

"Noish I had thought of looking it up"

"Wouldn’t have done you any good, anyway Googling Le Chateau de la Mort wouldn’t have led you to Elysiu it around to sit on his waist "Hey, David?"

"Yes, h ht we had the day I left for the mano--"

"Ara" He turned me to face him "It’s in the past, sweetheart And it is I who should be sorry Not you I took my stress out on you I should not have behaved that way"

"Well, if you’re notslowly "Can you…just this once, and I’ll never ask it of you again, can you just take my word that I wanted to, but had reasons why I didn’t? And they were not because I don’t love you, or because I don’t care about you"

"If you cared aboutwithout any contact"

He sighed, tuckingI do, Ara One day, you will understand"

"Why not just tell me now?"

"Because I shouldn’t even be here Mythat’s already been…" He bit his teeth together "Look, just be okay without , then glanced up to his stern face "So…you’re not worried about Mike and the spirit bind, anyaine told me it’s faded Is that true?"

"Mostly" I nodded "I still love hiuish the two kinds of love now"

His lips broke apart with a breath of laughter "I’ you ‘baby’?"

"No Did you ask his, really"

I smiled to myself "Well, he still callsby it"

"That’s not the point"

"Then what is?" I said harshly "He’s had your back, you know? He always stands up for you--the baby thing isn’t intentionally disrespectful"

"I know" He nodded, running a hand through his dark, wavy hair "And he’s been keeping me sane when it comes to you Ha! I almost ruined it all the other day, when you fell over at training and hurt your ankle"

"Yeah, I remember" My cheeks flushed with humiliation "You saw that?"

He sht before Blade carried you out"

My gut sunk; he was right there Right outside, and I didn’t see hier, David"

"Nor can I, sweetheart" He held me into his chest and kissed the top of my head; I could feel the ware-chocolate scent htly in naked-hirabbed his sleeve as he pulled away "Not yet"

"Ara, Blade’s on guard tonight, and he may not be immortal yet, but if he hears et to sleep"

He looked at the bed, then the rising day outside, and sighed "Okay Just for a while"

"Yay!" I clapped, and I didn’t even feel silly formade that dull ache I’d come to knoell sear up on the side of ?" David pulledat the spot I covered

"It’s the headache Every tiet them really bad"

"Why?"

"I don’t know He seems to think it’ll pass when I’m fully transforain "I’m sorry, Ara I never wanted this life for you"

"It was never your choice to ave you iven a crystal ball back then, and saw our future--all the bad we’ve been through, I’d still take it, David, for all the good"

He leaned in slowly, holding the tops of both my arms, and kissed my forehead "And that is one of the reasons I love you so much"

"I love you, too" I smiled, both inside and out, because II’d learned about him, I still "

He leaned back a little, a guarded smile on his lips "Why don’t I like the sound of this?"

"I--" I walked away and hugged aine said you saw a drea"

"Yes"

"Well--that wasn’t the only one I had"

He sighed "I thought as much"

"Are youhiht behind er downdreams I knew he showed you our childhood, because you’ve slipped up, said things so many times that you couldn’t have known"

"Why didn’t you tell me you knew?"

He smiled as if the ansere obvious "I wanted you to tellat his shiny black shoes

"But you did tell me" He moved in and kissed my hair "So, it’s okay And I can’t be s he showed you while you slept"

"Aren’t you ot over it Missing you has a way of putting things into perspective for me" He rubbed the tops of ain"

"Okay" I shuffled ainst his shirt