Page 19 (1/2)
Ash stands up,his head up to the sky, he lets out a long, lol So howls back at him Then he sits down
"What did you say to them?" I ask
"It’s hard to translate--it’sthe so close to thehs "I’m used to it"
"I’m sorry," I say
"What for? It’s not your fault"
I propfamily?"
"I’ve never met them I’m not even sure they’re alive"
"Maybe the ill coet to meet them," I say
"I doubt it Besides, even if it did, I’m not sure they’d want to see me My mom’s family didn’t approve of me"
"Because you’re a twin-blood?" I say
He nods "A lot of them turned their back on Mo up in a hbors were mostly tolerant of us, and we had a lot of friends My dad was one of the fewsermons, so my parents were very active in both coation started"
He doesn’t need to say any an, I remember how quickly friends turned on each other just because they weren’t of the same race
"Youhis conversation with Martha at themy eye
I anxiously play with
"Isn’t that a man’s watch?" he asks
I nod "My father’s"
"I’m sorry about your loss," he says sincerely "It ht talking aboutthe Darklings to the Barren Lands to die during the war He was a faithful follower of Purian Rose until he saw the horrors of the concentration ca point forabout it on the news It was a Darkling attack, wasn’t it?" he continues
"Yes," I say, although that’s not the whole story My voice is raith pain, even after all this time "Some would call it poetic justice, I suppose"
"I suppose How come you’re so nice to me, then?"
"What do you"
"I hadn’t noticed," I joke, but it falls flat
Ash puts an ar the copper band around his wrist Sha similar e moved here He covers the bracelet with his sleeve
We’re silent for aSuddenly he tilts his face toward me and the mood between us shifts The air becomes still The time has come to discuss what’s really on our minds We don’t talk immediately; we just wait for the other to speak first
"I’m sorry I ran off earlier," I say
"Why did you leave?"
"I was startled"
"Why?" he asks
I’m suddenly afraid to tell him, in case he thinks I’m crazy, that what I felt wasn’t real
He props hi"
"What?" Exciteht maybe it was just me"
"What did you feel?"
"Another heartbeat," I say, realizing the words sound ridiculous as soon as they escapeelse?
But he doesn’t laugh Instead he lies back down and runs a hand over his face
"That’s what I felt too"
"But how? You don’tI mean, twin-bloods" I don’t kno to put this delicately
"Don’t have a heartbeat?" he finishes
"Yeah"
"I don’t know"
In the distance the two Darklings continue to sing their beautiful Blood Vow duet, and we quietly listen, enjoying theto know they’ve found soht
"I can’t believe I’ve been so dense!" he says
"What? What is it?"
"Have you ever heard of the story of Aegus and Zanthina?" he says
"No," I say
Ash points up at the full oddess Lune and sun god Solis fell in love with each other, but because she was the Night and he was the Day, they weren’t able to have children So to please his wife, Solis sculpted a boy--Aegus--from the stars" He points to a constellationto find a pattern in it "Lune loved Aegus so much, she carved a second heart for her son to h I’us was happy at first, but as he got older, he became very lonely He didn’t want to live forever if italone in the dark, so he tore out his second heart and cast it down to Earth"
I watch Ash’s entle curve of his lips Concentrate, Natalie!
"As Aegus wept, his tears fell upon the Earth, for the first oceans He watched in amazement as a beautiful fe inside her chest He named her Zanthina, ‘my eternal love’ Overjoyed, they danced across the stars, their us and Zanthina ensured that every Darkling was born with a dual heart, which triggered whenever they met their Blood Mate as a reminder of their love"
My eyes open wide "That’s why a Darkling’s second heart activates? That’s so beautiful I had no idea"
Ash cups htly runs his thumb over my lips "There’s a reason why I want you to know that story"
"Why?" I whisper, barely able to concentrate on anything other than his fingers against my skin