Page 66 of A Kiss From Death
“Why?” he says with an edge to his tone. “Because hefailedyou. His only job was to keep eyes on you, and he failed miserably, almost resulting in yourdeath.You should know by now that I’m never too busy when it comes to you.” He sighs, the pain from today’s events lingering under his eyes. “Now rest for me please.”
I nod softly, words feeling foreign to me after what he just admitted. He bends down, brushing his soft lips against my forehead, then saunters over to the chair nestled in the corner. He lets out a deep sigh as he plops down and opens a book hidden under the cushion.
“Thank you, Hade,” I whisper as sleep takes hold of my body, dragging me under.
Age 13
Mama took me on a walk to the edge of Lunaria today. I’ve never traveled that far away from the castle before, and it was fascinating. She took me through the heart of the city, and we stopped by one of my favorite bakeries for a sweet treat on the way. We traveled on until there was no more land to travel. She gripped my hand, leading me up to the edge of the giant rock we call home, and let out a deep sigh. She told me this was her favorite part of Lunaria to visit when she was feeling like the walls of the castle were closing in on her. Through the clouds in the distance, I spotted buildings far below, circling what looked to be a giantlake in the center. Confused, I asked Mama who lived down there. She told me sometimes in life, we come across bad people who want to hurt others. She said the place below was created a long time ago for the bad people to live because they have fallen out with the good people who live up here. She said it’s like being put in timeout—permanently. She said it’s an old practice that doesn’t happen anymore, but the people decided to stay down there and start families and grow communities. I snuggled into Mama’s side and prayed I never got sent down there to timeout with the bad people.
Life has been positively boring recently. Hade let me return to my room, but he hasn’t graced me with the ability to leave my bed yet, besides using the bathroom. He says it’s “healer’s orders”, but not once has Trina told me I couldn’t get out of bed. She is actually impressed with how fast I’m recovering and assured me I should be almost fully back to normal by the next trial.
Hade has been weird and distant since the accident. He checks on me each morning, bringing me breakfast, but he doesn’t stay to chat. He’s been avoiding me like the plague, looking pained to be around me. As promised, he has taken over as my guard, but he spends most of the time on the other side of my door, as if I carry some deadly contagion.
After arguing with him about Winston, he decided to give back some of his guard duties. Winston apologized with big, tear filled eyes, swearing he would lay his life down before anyone came close to touching me again. I gave him a big hug and assured himit wasn’t his fault. He gifted me a citrus candle to try and make things right, which made me laugh until tears ran down my face.
Not being able to train or run has been making me want to pull my hair out. In the interim, I’ve grown fond of reading entries in Theo’s journal and thumbing through the one I stole from the hidden library, switching back and forth to fill my time.
Today, I reached reason 1,724 why Theo loved me. It read, “Those damn eyes. She is like a siren, calling me beyond my free will. Those eyes make me want to do good, make me want to dive in and get lost in them. I would be content drowning in their stormy gray depths for the rest of my life. She is my religion, who I devote my life to each night. Her stormy eyes are the clouds that call to my sunshine.”
Des has made it her life’s mission to spend any second she isn’t working being glued to my side. After she found out I was hurt, she swore she was never leaving my side again. She even went as far as sharing my pillow so she could “be closer to me”. If death by cuddles was a thing, I would be long gone by now.
Nuzzling down into the pillow fortress Des built around our heads for “protection from intruders”, I slide Theo’s journal out from under the pillow we share, content on spending the rest of my night peacefully reading. Des is reading some fluffy romance book next to me, but she keeps trying to sneak peeks at Theo’s journal, thinking I won’t notice. Digging my elbow into her side, she lets out a deep huff and pretends to be severely wounded.
“Snooping again?” I question.
Rolling her eyes, she responds, “Why should I be interested in a book about made up love when I can read about a beautifully raw andreallove story in front of me?”
I’m about to make fun of her for being a hopeless romantic when two solid knocks echo from the other side of my door. Quickly stashing the journal under my pillow, I yell for them to come in. The door swings open, and a very serious looking Hade stomps in, fully dedicated to his Cardinal title.
Clearing his throat, he looks between me and Des until his eyes finally settle on me.
“How are you feeling?” he asks in a monotone voice.
“Same as the last time you so dutifully checked on me,sir,” I respond snidely.
He grunts in response, but honestly, I couldn’t care less. If he wants to be cold and distant, two can play that game. I’m not sure what crawled up his ass, but if it isn’t swiftly removed, I’m not against removing it myself. I’m not a woman afraid to get her hands dirty if it comes to it.
He turns to walk out, leaving just as fast as he swooped in. He reaches for the handle of my door, but something inside me yearns for just a drink longer of his presence, so I falter in a moment of weakness, my pride nowhere to be seen.
“That all?” I mutter on a soft breath, full of hope.
He lets out a deep sigh, sounding as if he’s at war with himself. He turns to face me, and he looks downright tormented, his jaw locked tight. He goes to say something, but then he shakes his head, thinking better of it, and his knuckles turn white from gripping my door handle. His eyes look pained, deep crescents swooping under them, letting me know just how little sleep he’s been getting.
I wish he would let me in, let me dive under his skin to see the darkest parts of him, so I may come to understand them like he has mine. I thought we got past this barrier between us, but it seems the wall has been fortified twice as thick and tall.
He gathers himself, building his walls back up so instead of Hade standing before me, it’s the Cardinal, devoid of any emotion. “That is all,” he says sternly before spinning on his heels and storming out my door.
I relax back into my pillow, letting out a deep breath I didn’t realize I was holding, my mind left more scrambled than the eggs I ate this morning.
“What was that all about?” Des questions with a raised eyebrow.
“How should I know?” I say with a scoff, trying to look unaffected and clueless. Des smirks at me, her face all-knowing and her smile growing by the second.
“Seems to me you know something I don’t. Care to share, Sparkles?”
“He’s being an ass, per usual,” I say defensively. “I’d hardly call that something to write home about.”
Des raises her hands in surrender. “Woah. No need to get your biscuit in a buttery mess. It just seemed tense between you is all.” She plays with her hands in her lap, pretending to let it go, but I can see the wheels spinning in her head.
