AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That was what Gabby’s note had said, and I was so sorry I hadn’t been able to provide her with this. But more than anything, I was heartbroken she wasn’t here to share this with me tonight.
We made food and watched another movie, and by the time the credits rolled, Neverra and Imogen were curled up on the couch, sleeping like babes. I was exhausted, but my mind was noisy trying to process all the emotions from the day, my thoughts yipping at me. The living room was dark and quiet, the sound of Imogen’s and Neverra’s soft snores comforting. I propped my head on my hand, watching the stars dance across the night sky.
Neverra’s phone buzzed, startling me. I slid from the couch to sit on the floor, careful not to wake them. Several messages flashed across the screen as I picked up the phone.
Logan
Very funny, Nev.
That was right after she sent the picture of us. The next message came thirty minutes later.
Logan
I love you. I hope you guys are having a good night
Logan
Call me before you go to bed if you can
Logan
I’m glad you are home, baby
Logan
I can come get you first thing in the morning. I assume you are asleep, but I wanted to tell you I love you.
I closed the phone and placed it face down on the table between us, a hint of jealousy making my chest ache. Samkiel hadn’t checked in on me today. He seemed to be back to avoiding me. Not that I blamed him after everything. Maybe he’d changed his mind and only wanted to help me but didn’t want anything more. I shouldn’t care. He didn’t owe me anything. We weren’t together, and he had done more for me than anyone ever had. We had never officially been anything, really. But my heart whispered that I wanted us to be something. I wanted that more than I cared to admit.
I stood and padded to the window on silent feet, curling up on the bench in front of it. Neverra shifted on the couch, pulling the covers up and turning before settling again. Imogen had an arm thrown over her head on the opposite end, her mouth slightly open. Her eyes danced behind her lids, and I wondered what she was dreaming. Watching her reminded me of when Gabby and I would stay up as late as we could when I visited. We would eat and drink as much sugar as we could stomach, trying to stay awake until the sun came up just to spend time together. Ultimately, we would fail, fall asleep, and wake up laughing at the mess we’d made.
A small smile tugged at my lips. The memories were not crippling this time. Instead, they brought a bittersweet warmth to my heart. I had missed the comfort thoughts of Gabby had always brought me, and I had feared it was one more thing Kaden had stolen from me. I leaned my head against the windowsill, my gaze falling on the same star that had twinkled at me the night before.
“In my head, you’re up there watching me, watching this. Every time I smile, I feel guilty, so I lash out at everything and everyone. It hurts because you are gone, and I can’t share any of this with you. I read your note, and I know you wanted me to just move on, but it’s so hard, Gabs. It’s very hard, but they do help. They do. He does. And it makes me feel worse because being happy without you here is….” My eyes stung, and I closed them to hold back the tears. “I guess what I am saying is I want to be happy again too, and it doesn’t mean I have forgotten about you or anything we have been through. It just means it will hurt a little less when I think about the life I used to have. He makes me happy, and I don’t feel so alone when I am with them, and I’m… I’m sorry.”
And a lock on a door in a house… quieted.
I opened my eyes to see my star wink back at me.
Sixty-Seven
Samkiel
The empty council hall echoed with silence. I sat at the helm and flexed my hands against the table, my silver rings gleaming in the rays of the rising sun. I returned from Onuna mere hours ago, leaving Vincent to attend to the mortal affairs. Someone had reported suspicious activity from a ship off the coast of the Dead Ocean, but it turned out to be nothing other than a yacht filled with celebrating mortals. Otherwise, it had been quiet, no Otherworld activity since the attack on Dianna. Vincent had covered that up with technology I did not understand nor care for.
Even though I had made it back earlier than expected, I came straight here. Logan had gotten bored and showed up on Onuna. Neverra and Imogen were with Dianna, and I didn’t want to bother her, especially after the photograph Logan had shown me of the three of them. They were all making funny faces at the camera, and her smile reached her eyes for once. But it was more than that. We needed to have a conversation that I was just not ready for. So, instead, I came here, letting her enjoy a somewhat normal day of normal fun while I worked.
I flexed my hands again. There was no hint of the grayish tint to my skin I had seen in my nightmares the last few nights. I leaned back, taking the small journal from the breast pocket inside my council garbs. I flipped it open and scanned the few pages I’d filled with events from those dreams. So many damn dreams. I studied the sketch I had drawn on the nights Dianna slept above me, not even her presence able to chase away the nightmares.
The rough lines formed an image of me stretched across a stone altar. Three figures stood over me, two of the same height, one slightly shorter. All dark and malevolent, all with a crown of horns upon their heads.
Death.
I felt it when my father ran his blade through me in that dream. I felt it when my power erupted from me, scalding my eyes and mouth, my entire being burning as the realms ripped open.
“Have you told her?”
“No.”
