Page 116 of Of Vows and War: Special Edition
I felt his presence like blood rushing through the body, threatening to distract me from my fight.
Just to increase the probability of my victory, I stopped myself from holding back. Bellamy had noticed it more than once, my seemingly ever-growing strength. Now, I hoped to speed up the fight with it. To give myself more time with him today. That, and I desperately wished to win in front of him. Grunting, I swung my sword faster and harder than before.
Adbeel heaved out a breath when my next blow struck his sword, rattling his arms. Again and again I came at him, his prompts fading out as the fight stole away his focus. We fought far longer than I had with any of the others, but it was good to be reminded that I was not notably exceptional without my magic. I used it so often that I forgot the importance of training without it.
That was why, when Adbeel finally got a hold of the cloth on my chest and used it to lift me before throwing me to the ground back first, I was not necessarily surprised by my loss.
Definitely disappointed though.
Breathing heavily and smiling wider than I had ever seen him, Adbeel chuckled. “Great fight. We will work on magicless training. I want you to beat me by week’s end.”
“Deal,” I said, smiling too. Adbeel’s eyes crinkled at the corners as he beamed. All I could do was bask in our shared joy. That and make a joke. “Grandpa.”
“Hey now!” he shouted, standing and offering me his hand. I took it, letting him lift me until we were both up and placing our crossed forearms on our heads to catch our breath. “I am not some decrepit old male!”
“I am not so sure, you were rather slow on some of those moves.” Bellamy’s deep and raspy voice was a balm to my system, slowing and soothing it. He was a bright light that made my cold darkness feel like half of a whole rather than an all-encompassing force. Strong arms wrapped around me from theback, something pointy digging into the top of my head. His chin probably. “I missed you.”
“Awe, and I missed you. How lovely to have a ward that so deeply cares for me,” Adbeel crooned, his voice coated in sarcasm. Bellamy groaned. What fun it was to watch him receive a taste of his own medicine. In fact, it was wonderful getting to see where Bellamy’s humor came from.
“Anyways, I call dibs on Ash’s next match.” While I knew he was being tame for Adbeel’s sake, Bellamy still got close to my ear, his breath hot on my skin, and whispered, “Unless you would rather we have a different sort of match up in our room, fiancé of mine.”
Blushing furiously, I took his arm and ripped it down just as I bent my knees and arched my back. He flew over me, landing even harder on his back than I had on mine earlier. A grunt escaped his lips, the wind completely knocked out of him. Bending low, I let my lips just graze his ear as I challenged him. “Beat me out here and you can have me up there in any way you want me.”
“Sounds like our cue to leave,” Farai said, Ranbir patting him on the shoulder with a blood-stained hand. The others nodded, all but Henry leaving quickly.
The orange-haired demon looked reluctant to go, but eventually he shrugged and said, “I guess I was bound to doom if I kept going anyways.”
“Time for me to go too, this old male needs a nap,” Adbeel added, kissing my forehead and kicking Bellamy in the side where he lay. Bellamy hissed at the pain. I watched with a snort as he grabbed Adbeel’s ankle and made him stumble.
“I must warn you,” Bellamy said as he stood, “when I win I am going to do absolutely horrible things to you in that bed.”
“Impossible, because when I win I am going to do heinous—potentially illegal—things toyou.”
“Well, you better not hold back right now then. Give me all you have, beautiful creature.”
We squared off, readying to fight, and I could have sworn my fingertips heated as if being kissed by flames.
***
Nightmares had been plaguing me every night. Incessant, unyielding retellings of my time being physically and psychologically tortured by Mia and Xavier. This was not a nightmare though. No, this darkness—this unending emptiness—was far from the horrid things that normally tormented me.
It was worse.
“Padon, you son of a—”
“Oh, my love! I missed you!” he said, cutting me off. He was on me in seconds, his large arms wrapping around me so tight I thought he might accidentally kill me. Would I really die if he killed me in this odd dream world? What a thought.
Quickly, I jabbed him in the gut with my elbow, smiling with wicked glee as he grunted.
“You are like a child seeing ice cream. Trust me, I know, I snuck three children ice cream behind the back of their caretaker just today,” I said, dusting off my clothes to rid them of Padon’s wretched germs. Nasty.
“Apologies for having the gall to miss you,” he growled, standing straight once more. It was then that I realized it had beenhisvoice whispering to me randomly during the day. I squared my shoulders, ready to fight if I had to. But I knew better now. This was my head, I was in charge if I wanted to be. “I think it’s time you come back to me.”
“I think it is time that I rip out your lousy heart and eat it for dinner!” I yelled, pointing at him like that might really emphasize my words. He frowned, his nearly translucent skintinted blue from his blood and his slightly longer hair a mess from what seemed like sleep. He wore those same thick cotton pants he had months ago, his torso covered by a thin black top with short sleeves.
“Please, Asher?” he asked with wide eyes. When I did not respond, choosing to instead cross my arms and begin tapping my foot, Padon surprised me by falling to his knees. “I’ll give you anything you want. I will let your mortal boy live. I will never step foot on Alemthian again. I will let you rule. I will kill anyone who opposes you. Please, just come to me. Be mine.”
I almost felt bad for him as he crawled forward slightly to kiss the tops of my bare feet. Almost.
