Page 8 of Finding Our Home

“Can I ask you a question that might be rude?”

“We don’t sleep in coffins.” I patted the bed beside me. “I sleep on a bed, just like you.”

He smiled and rolled his eyes. “I can see that. Although, I’ve been in a bedroll on the ground, not an actual bed.”

I frowned. “They didn’t give you a bed?”

“They ran out. They’re making more, but I let everyone else get theirs before me because I’m used to sleeping on the ground.”

“What does that mean?”

He shrugged and sipped his water. “My village was poor—really poor, and specifically, my family was. I had a brother and two sisters all living in the same house with our mother since my father died when I was young. It’s not like there have been mattress stores open in the last decade, so I got the floor.” He shrugged, but looked sad, and something inside of me squeezed tight.

“You lost your whole family?”

He nodded, then sent me a sad smile. “We tried to fight them, but we didn’t have the right weapons the—what are they called?”

“Holy Tree-infused.”

“Yeah, that. We didn’t have any, so nothing we did slowed them down. They just kept coming at us. I even…” He cleared his throat. “I even sliced one of the witch’s throats and she didn’t stop, she… she still killed my… my brother.”

I jumped from my seat in a flash and kneeled in front of him, cradling his head in my hands before pulling him into a hug. “Oh, my treasure, I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

He shook his head, but wrapped his arms around my waist. Even though I was squatting down, I still pulled him onto my lap and rubbed his back and kissed his hair, and after a few minutes, he muttered, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to cry on you… I’ll… I’ll understand if you don’t want me to come back.”

I gasped and pulled back to make eye contact with him. “Why would you say such a thing? I want you to come back. Nay, I don’t want you to leave at all.”

“Wh-what?”

I sighed and leaned my forehead on his. “I don’t want you to leave, Neo, but I’m afraid I can’t ask you to stay all day with me. But… perhaps you can stay for a little while and lay with me?”

“What?”

I leaned back again and took in his pretty, puffy face, then wiped his tears off his cheeks. “Would you stay in my bed for a few hours? I can ask someone to bring your meal here. I want you to stay all day, but the other bestowers will want to speak with you since last night was your first time.”

“I’m not hungry, so… laying down sounds nice.”

I kissed his forehead, then scooped him up and carried him to my bed where I laid us both down, our heads on mypillow, facing each other. After I brushed my fingers through his hair, I whispered, “What was it that you wanted to ask me?”

“Huh?”

“When we came inside, you said you had something to ask me that might be rude.”

He laughed a little. “Oh, right. Um… I feel kinda dumb asking now, but… I was gonna ask you if vampires really, like, explode in the sun or whatever?” He let out this adorable unsure laugh that made me kiss his nose as I chuckled.

“You can ask me anything you’d like, okay?” After he nodded, I answered his question, “Vampires don’t just burst in a puff of ash like the old movies used to show. It’s more like we’re allergic to it and with enough exposure, we’ll die. And it’s extremely painful. I’ve been burnt more than a few times over the years.”

“Oh wow. I’m glad you heal quickly.”

I smiled at that. “Me too, although sun exposure heals slower than other injuries, however, it’s not as long as it would take a human to heal from severe burns.”

He nodded, then suddenly slapped his hand over his mouth, trying to cover up a yawn. I laughed at that, then leaned in to kiss his lips again and whisper, “Go to sleep, my treasure, and when you wake up, I want you to find Remi so you can get some food and anything else he thinks you need.” He nodded, but I had to make sure he understood exactly what I meant. “I’ll likely still be asleep—my body will be still, like the dead.” He nodded, so he must’ve already known this. “But I don’t want you to wait for me, okay? I’m worried that you haven’t had anything to eat.”

“I’m fine.”

“Promise me you’ll leave to get food and find Remi.” I almost wanted to compel him, but I didn’t think he’d appreciate that afterwards if he realized what I’d done.

He searched my eyes for a few seconds before smiling softly and nodding. “I promise.”

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