Page 27 of Azure Mania

Yvonne rolls her eyes, her hand pulling me away from the scene of the crime. “Stop with that nonsense. Aside from tossing me a bit, he didn’t do anything.”

“He fucking tossed you?!”

“Look, it’s not a big deal. He was just… desperate.”

My mouth opens, then closes. Yeah, I know that Darius is rather desperate. It’s been too long since he was able to be with his beloved freely. After such a long time has passed, he’s becoming sloppy, desperate and too angry to hold back.

“It doesn’t excuse what he did.”

“It doesn’t,” Yvonne nods. “And you did beat him up pretty nicely for it. I’d say that makes up for it.”

“That’s just your opinion,” I scoff. “And it’s getting late, where are we going now?”

“I’m thinking of choosing a gift.”

“A gift? What for?”

Yvonne deadpans. “Faith’s wedding!”

“Who’s Faith?”

She groans. “Okay, Faith and Ophelia’s wedding.”

“Oh,” I mumble. “You should’ve started with that. What are you getting them?”

“Faith is pretty simple,” Yvonne smiles. “She likes everything shiny. I might even pay for a trip for the two of them.”

“Perhaps mountains? I doubt they’d like seaside.”

Yvonne chuckles, and then pauses. She stops walking, and I look at her, lifting a brow. She bites the inside of her mouth, and avoids eye contact. It’s silent for a while, then she looks at me, with something akin to regret.

“You know… I stole that locket from you.”

My blood runs cold. Of course, she took it. I know exactly which locket she’s referring to and the guilt in her eyes is enough to force me to stay quiet, listening to her speak.

“It’s the only thing I had of yours to connect with the curse. That’s how I knew you were awake. Uh, I kept it safe. It’s a a bit stained with blood,” she reaches into her purse, rummaging for a while, before pulling the silver piece of jewelry out. “Here. I’m returning it.”

She puts it in my palm, and I trace my thumb over it. It brings too many memories back, some of which I thought were buried so deeply that they would never resurface. My throat starts closing and when I open the locket, there is Martha, her soft, warm face smiling at me.

I would lie if I said that I never thought of Martha again, after everything went down with Yvonne. The truth is, she’s always in the back of my mind, and the guilt that I’ve been feeling only intensifies as the locket stares back at me.

Martha was one of the kindest people I have ever known. She never would’ve hated me for moving on, for loving someone again. However, since the person I’m now tied with, the person I want to spend the rest of eternity with, is the woman who had a helping hand in her death, I imagine she wouldn’t be the happiest to see or hear that.

“Hey,” Yvonne speaks, and my eyes snap to hers. “I know that I’m not her and it’s okay to feel guilty.”

I swallow thickly. “Do you ever feel guilty?”

She frowns. “What do you mean?”

“Well, given how many years you’ve been roaming the Earth, I’m assuming you’ve had your share of lovers.”

“Yes, the people I’ve been with. I’ve never been in love before.”

It takes me by surprise. I slowly tuck the locket in my pocket, forgetting my moral dilemma for a moment. I quirk an amused brow, looking up and down at her. There’s a flush on her cheeks, almost as if she’s embarrassed.

“Never? Never in your thousand years?”

She scoffs. “I’ve had my fair share of people I’ve been with casually. I’ve never had a man I’ve loved, because I was always otherwise preoccupied.”