Page 121 of A Soul to Steal

It took him a long while to notice his dark surroundings.

Night had crept in, and it brought a chill and the threat of nightmarish monsters. A black and glittering dome seemed to be covering him, but he was unsure if that was just a trick of his eyes due to his cloudy vision.

Utter disappointment filled his entire being.He didn’t come back for me.

Why should Aleron have come back after how he’d acted, treated him, what he’d said to him? All because a fragmented memory came to him, and he clung to it because he was apparently undeniablystupid.

Guilt slithered around his essence like a venomous snake, and he covered his mouth to trap his groan of dismay within.

Back in Tenebris... I really did say that I was falling in love with him.

Staring at himself through the gaze of another had been disorientating, but his toothy and beaming grin had been evident. If a passing stranger were to see him in that moment, they would have been able to correctly surmisehowhappyhe’d been.

I’ve been such a fucking prick.He slid his hand up to massage his aching eyes while he silently cursed at himself. He wished he could split his being into two so he could beat the shit out of himself.Aleron hasn’t deserved any of this.

What Weldir had shown him... it had been damning. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t experienced it, or his emotions, nor did he remember a single thing from his own perspective. The big guy had been sweet, honest, andvulnerable, with broken, crying orbs.

To have gone from that euphoria to their current miserable situation, with a broken and desolate Gideon being the cause of all their suffering...He’s been so strong for me.

Feelings of overwhelming love hadn’t suddenly sprouted for Aleron, but it did bring on a deep appreciation for him. In a timewhere Gideon had been unbearably weak – mentally, physically, and emotionally – Aleron had stayed by his side.

He’d needed someone to wade through the tempestuous oceans of his mind and reach their hand to him. He’d needed them to find him below the surface, already drowning and fading into the dark abyss, and yank him back up, where there was the beauty of light and warmth.

He’d needed someone to force him to take a breath, by sacrificing a little of their own.

He’d needed Aleron to remind him to live, by being his big, goofy, yet sweet self.

Even if most of it had gone unnoticed at the time, he recalled how patient he’d been with Gideon. He winced at much of his own actions and curled up tighter while clutching his head.

Fuck. I shouldn’t have called him that.He wasn’t a monster, and the damn word shouldn’t have fallen from his lips.

Gideon closed his eyes, hoping night would pass quicker if he went back to sleep. He wanted to apologise, to make itright.The least he could do wastryto like Aleron.

If I fell for him once, maybe I can do it a second time.

He just hoped Aleron could forgive him.

Why is it so different this time we met?Was it because Gideon had woken up alive, on Earth, naked as the day he was born? He’d been so embarrassed, having to cover his dick while worrying Aleron would choose to bite that part of him off first, that his mind hadn’t truly stopped reeling since.

Everything else was just more and more piled onto his plate.

In the afterlife, had he been calm when he met Aleron? Had the realisation that his existence didn’t matter – and there was no point in being upset about the living when he was dead – meant he’d been able to lean on the Duskwalker? He figured the stars had just aligned for them in a way that didn’t make sense, but must have felt right for his heart in the end.

Unable to fall asleep, his headache refusing to dissipate and his whirling thoughts worsening it, he peeked open his eyes. He stared out at the sea that gently lapped at the sand. The crescent moon reflecting against the inky water sparkled amongst the ripples, and it was so pretty he felt undeserving of witnessing it.

Groaning in pain, Gideon rolled over to give it his back.

Red eyes illuminated by the white light from above caught his attention. Just before the tree line, he held the stare of the Demon that had been silently watching him. The grass just beyond the protective dome was torn up, as if the creature had tried to get to Gideon while he was vulnerable in sleep.

He tried to take in its features, but the dark of night allowed only the barest of details. The moon made its eyes glow, casting just enough light to reveal it was small, barely humanoid, and had a boorish snout.

“Hasn’t anyone told you it’s creepy to watch someone while they’re sleeping?” Gideon sneered as he rose onto his hip to sit.

That, apparently, was its cue to leap to its hands and feet, and bolt for his protective ward. It clawed at the dome, head-butted it. Squealing and snarls burst from it rapidly, and it just all around sounded like a horrible little cretin.

It was too loud with his headache, too fast for his aching vision.

The rage that had been building and building inside of Gideon finally exploded. Self-loathing and general hatred for everything and anything around him mixed together. He directed every acidic drop of it at the Demon.

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