Page 29 (1/2)

He bit back a quiet oath What she wason top of such hazardous forays into Dark sorcery, but he was pretty certain that "staying on top" didn’t h, he’d beaten the proble her sleep, and he had no easy answer of where to go with it

At least her battle with the soul-eaters hadn’t resulted in serious injury Miriaotten the worst of it; Ruby mostly had scrapes and bruises What would h-adrenaline ht of this intensity But it wasn’t the physical that concerned hi in the shower, that Dark spot in her soul had been like a stillborn fetus, a hard shell grown around it Even ht and clenched as she’d been the first tiin in her early twenties

He latched onto that, ato loosen the hard fist in his gut

In today’s modern world where the decision to have sex was treated as casually as the choice of candy in a vending machine, he’d been surprised and huin at twenty-two When he realized that, he’d made sure it was special He’d taken her to one of his favorite places, a s overlook in the Smoky Mountains The bedroom had a wall of s to watch the sunset, and an oversized king bed that could accoive his Maybe he did that; he couldn’t really remember that part What he s she showed hi before He’d been in love here and there, but never this all-consu need to bond he felt with her

She’d been tense, anxious But then he’d realized it was not because of the act, but because she was afraid she’d disappoint him The absurdity of that had broken his heart wide-open

He’d been gentle, patient, overwhelmed by her trust in him, the wonder in her eyes after the initial pain was out of the way He’d told her beforehand he could keep her fro it, but she’d taken hi silly, Derek Storlistened with passion and nant emotions at once "It’s just a moment, but it’s a really important moment I want to have it to hold, to reood stuff"

To have and to hold, until death do us part… He should have e had never crossed hishe would live, and she was ed past the appearance of a rugged forty-so down at her now, he knew, despite the craziness of the idea, he wanted to marry her Hell, he’d probably known it then He wanted that sacred bond, wanted to put a ring on her finger, give her another baby

He did a Rejuvenation Ritual every hundred years, an essential step to keep hisjaded, an unfortunate side effect of his kind of ie to ht it was because it was unrealistic, unfair, whatever But with Ruby, even when her bones were dust and the world had left herthat said she’d been his wife And he’d been her husband

Maybe in terms of his life span, he’d have her for only a moment, but it was as she said It’s a really important moment I want to have it to hold, to reood stuff Because that hat ht twisted in his heart Moving so slowly, not wanting to wake her, he cupped his palm over her abdomen That twist became a damn railroad spike

Oh, Ruby

When she’d sent hirief, but beyond that, a desperate desire not to feel anything, as if she couldn’t afford the emotions he raised in her He couldn’t penetrate or understand her pain, and so he’d ant fool, thinking he knew everything She was young, so her, he’d cohout, see if he could help ease it out of her, bullshit, bullshit, bullshit

It was often said that Fateabout what she’d endured without hiiven up of herself, he didn’t accept that He’d fucked up, and it just plain infuriated him that he hadn’t been with her when she needed him As Raina had said, it was Ruby’s time now And he sensed she needed himover in her dreaet to the bottom of this and help her, before she lost herself per and terrible she’d been today, no matter how it confirmed what he’d always suspected, that she had a reservoir of power that could eclipse the most capable witches he’d ever un-shop owner than sed by the brutal claws of the Underworld He’d love her as witch or woman And maybe somehow he’d finally help her learn to love herself the way she deserved The way he loved her Help her repair the da in the lonely shadows had done

For all the things he’d done to help the world, he thought he’d never been given anything so i on her one soul Given the things he’d seen in his long life, it wasn’t as far-fetched as it sounded