Page 98 of A Kiss From Death
I have no idea how long I stand there, not until a familiar rough hand clasps around mine, gently pulling me into their side. I go willingly, like an animal being led around by its master. Smoke and sandalwood wrap around me in a comforting blanket, and I sigh heavily as I’m led back to the castle.
Isurvivedanother day.
I just had to bargain my soul in the process.
“Let me help you,” Hade says softly next to me.
I’m fumbling with my bodysuit, trying to rip it from my skin but failing miserably. My arms feel lead filled as I try to get my blood-soaked clothes as far away from me as possible. Each wet piece touching me feels like a brand of sin against my cold flesh.
My arms fall for the fourth time before I give up and let Hade take over for me. He gently drags the zipper farther down my chest, slipping one arm out at a time for me. Kneeling, he slowly drags the suit down my torso, revealing my black lace undergarments beneath.
His touch is soft, respectful and precise. Skillfully, he drags the material down each leg, bunching it as he goes, and then slips each foot out until I’m barely covered before him. My eyes are zoned out on the wall in front of me, shock holding a firmgrip over my body.
A soft touch to the side of my head breaks my trancelike state. Blinking a few times, I turn my neck to look at Hade prodding my head for injuries. Pain registers where he presses, but I remain still, letting it consume me. I use it as a reminder that I’m still alive.
“You have a nasty laceration on the side of your head, and between the bruising on your ribs and your shallow breathing, I assume you could have a broken rib or two,” he says while looking me over. “I’ve already called for a healer, and they should be here soon. Let’s get you cleaned up before they get here.”
Scooping me up, he walks me to the ensuite washroom and gently plops me down in the bath already full of steaming and bubbly water. It’s only now I register he brought me to his room and not my own.
I zone out as he washes my body, scrubbing all the blood and dirt from my skin. Unfortunately, no amount of scrubbing could clean my soul of today’s events. I relax back, letting him take care of me while my mind swirls like a vortex of survival and disgust.
Two wet hands grip my cheeks, dragging my face up to look at him. His scar glows in the dim lighting, and my eyes trace the jagged white line through his glowing eye from his temple across to his nose. I yearn to drag my finger across it, my pain calling to his, but I remain relaxed as I take him and all his lethal beauty in.
“Jade’s death is not on your hands. She chose to enter this game, and fate finally caught up to her.” He gently presses a kiss to my forehead, so at odds with his serious tone. “Do you understand me?” he whispers against my flesh.
I nod slowly in response before Jade’s lifeless eyes flicker back in my memory, making me tense in his hold.
“I keep seeing her face every time I close my eyes,” I admit defeatedly. “I see my dagger in the side of her neck and then her lifeless eyes staring back at me.” I choke the words. “I know I should be happy I beat her. I know she would have enjoyed seeing the light leave my eyes. But no matter how many times I try to remindmyself of those things, I can’t shake the uncomfortable feeling just beneath my skin. I cannot scrub away the blood I can no longer see on my skin but still feel all the same.”
“That is your humanity, love,” he says with a soft smile. He reaches forward, placing his palm on my skin just over my heart. “It may feel like a curse to harbor a bleeding heart, but to me, it just proves how nothing in this world could ever compare to the beauty you radiate.” Stroking his thumb across my flesh, he adds, “I fear too much time around you will eventually make me go blind from the radiance you exuberate.”
My breath hitches in my throat at his unguarded words. I mull them over in my head, committing them to memory and easing my heart slightly.
I look up at him as he continues to wash me of my sins. “How come you don’t call me nightmare anymore?”
Smiling down at me with the most genuine smile I’ve ever seen from him, he responds, “Because you’re more of adreamnow.”
Hade finished washing me just before the healer arrived. Trina, the healer who worked on me before, quickly mended my head and ribs with her magic while Hade watched. Of course Hade would order one of the best healers in Lunaria to tend to my wounds. It seems this man has no bounds or limits when it comes to me.
After finishing, Trina ordered me to take it easy for a couple days but informed me I should be good as new thanks to her magic. I can’t imagine the things she’s seen and had to heal. It must feel good to have magic that can make such a difference.
My thoughts wander to all the possibilities of the magic I could possess if I win the Crucible. I honestly haven’t taken a second to even think about the possibility of wielding magic. My sole focus has been on getting through each day at a time.
The thought of that leaves an uncomfortable feeling under my skin as I look over at Hade in conversation withTrina. He knows nothing of the reason I entered myself in the Crucible, and to my surprise, he’s never asked. It feels wrong to keep my motives to myself at this point, and if I can truly trust him with my secret like I think I can, then maybe he can help me.
Hade escorts Trina out his door then strides back to me while I stand next to his floating bed in one of his oversized t-shirts, nervously spinning my thumbs. Brushing past me, he pulls back his sheets and gestures for me to get in.
“You can sleep here tonight,” he says, patting the bed behind me. I jump in without hesitation, sinking into the abundance of giant fluffy pillows against the headboard. “I’ll just be right over there in my chair if you need anything,” he says before swiveling on his heels.
I quickly reach out, snagging his wrist before he can walk away. “Stay with me,” I whisper, an invitation floating between us. He just nods, dragging my hand up to place a soft kiss to my knuckles.
The floating bed dips slightly, bouncing softly after he slides in on the other side. There’s almost a full person’s length between us in his giant bed. Slowly, I inch closer to him, seeking out his warmth and comfort. Before I realize how far I’ve scooted, I’m nuzzled up against him. He happily scoops me under his arm and draws me into his warm body.
Melting into him, I tentatively rest my hand on his bare chest, lazily tracing circles on his skin. Chewing my lip, I finally gather my nerves to speak.
“I have to get something off my chest,” I admit.
“It would be my honor to burden the weight for you, dream,” he responds without hesitation. His hand connects with mine on his chest, weaving our fingers together like they yearned to touch me. His thumb lazily strokes the soft skin on top of my hand.
