Page 107 of Incubus
Schuester's eyes widened as if to say he would have preferred to be left unmentioned, and smiled weakly when Shiarra’s eyesmoved to him. “Yes, well...I could tell Sasha was a good boy from the start. He was just a kid when we first met."
“Oh, I don’t doubt you,” Shiarra said, "but that doesn’t mean I trust anyone easily. Humans see different and they fear it, you can’t deny that.”
“No, I can't," Nathan said, "but sounds to me like fae are exactly the same. Do you know the real difference between you and me? At least I knew when to admit I was wrong. Excuse me.” Suddenly, coffee and conversation didn’t sound all that appealing.
Nathan left the living room and headed for Sasha. He didn’t need to be talked down to. He knew where he stood. He knew how he felt and how difficult it had been to get where he was. Sasha had become a part of his life so quickly, so completely, that it had to be thicker and stronger than friendship.
Nathan had almost made it into Sasha’s room when he heard Shiarra behind him.
“I see why he likes you,” she said, softly and close at his back.
Turning to her, Nathan saw that she was alone, but he wasn't about to let her have the last word just so she could prove her own point. “Say whatever you want. I know who I am.”
A grin grew on Shiarra’s pale, beautiful face. She was tall for a woman, tall enough that she could probably look Nathan in the eyes without her heels. “You’re bold," she said. "You’re confident. You’re obviously vain.”
Nathan laughed.Keep it coming, Sister, he thought; he could take it.
“You’re also very much in love with my nephew and I would have to be a fool not to see that.”
Nathan gaped, not knowing how to respond.
“I don’t want the same mistake made again,” Shiarra said, her tone no longer cool but frighteningly serious. “I won’t lose Sashathe way I lost his mother, do you understand? Not the same way. Not again.”
Not again, God damn it, not again.
Nathan felt like he was choking, his throat was so tight. He knew those feelings, those hot, vibrant feelings that called to him from inside her eyes. He had felt the same way so many times.
“I swear, if you bring that fate upon my child, I will destroy every inch of you,” Shiarra growled, and Nathan couldn’t blame her, he really couldn’t. He knew just how it felt to be that angry and that scared at the same time. “I’ve heard and seen and felt all the feelings Sasha has for you…Nathan Grier. I can only hope,praythat he isn’t blindly following the same path as his parents. You promise me he isn’t. You promise me rightnow!”
“I can't...promise anything," Nathan said. "I can't promise I can keep Sasha safe, not any more than you can. But if you think I’d ever let anyone hurt him, even me, if there wasn’t something, anything I could do to prevent it, then you didn't listen when Sasha told you about me, because that isnot me. I'd give anything for him to be okay right now.Anything.”
As Nathan finished, he looked up past Shiarra and saw Jim and Schuester sneaking up the stairs from the living room, having heard at least some of what he said.
When Nathan looked back into the deep blue of Shiarra’s eyes, so much like Sasha’s but so unlike him too, he couldn’t read them at all. He could only imagine that she somehow understood since she didn’t say anything to counter him.
“Hey…” came a voice, gentle and ragged from behind Nathan.
But there couldn’t be anyone behind Nathan. Everyone was in front of him.
Slowly, Nathan turned around, his heart caught up in his windpipe, and amazingly, he saw red, and blue, and pale skin with a teasing black tattoo that peaked up over the top of loose jeans.
Sasha was leaning weakly against the doorframe of the guest room, human looking and very tired despite his large smile. “Any…food around this place?” he said, breathless but still breathing, still standing,alive. “I’m starving.”
Chapter 42
Nathanwokeuptosunlight streaming in through Schuester’s living room windows. He was curled up in a sleeping bag below where Jim was lying on the sofa. Nathan remembered vaguely that he had asked for the floor, not wanting to be restricted by couch ends the way Jim would be with his somewhat longer legs. Despite the plush sleeping bag, Nathan felt even more exhausted now that his body had tasted rest.
Tasted. Nathan was so hungry. His stomach felt completely hollow. He hadn’t eaten anything since the night of Sasha’s birthday.
Sasha.
The coffee table had been pushed over to give Nathan more room on the floor. As he rolled over to reach for his watch and check the time, he was understandably surprised when his hand came down on soft flesh instead of glass. Nathan tried to focus his tired eyes on what was in front of him, but what he saw wasstill jarring since it came with sparkling blue eyes and a large, mischievous smile.
“Hey,” Sasha whispered, lying on the floor next to Nathan’s sleeping bag.
Deep down Nathan remembered—knew—Sasha was alive, that everything was okay now, but the last two days had become a blur. It made all the difference just to see Sasha there and feel Sasha’s warm shoulder beneath his hand. Nathan prayed to the god he didn’t believe in that he wasn’t dreaming. Not this time.
Nathan had gone over so many things he wanted to say to Sasha while Jim was driving them across the country toward Schuester’s.I don’t think I can live without you, idiot, so don’t do that to me again,was definitely on the list. But as Nathan looked into those beautifulopenblue eyes, he couldn’t remember a single one of his rehearsed lines.
