Page 106 of Damned and Broken Gods
“Ah, now that is the question, isn’t it? What if I told you that I was you…Or that you were me? That we were one and the same?”
The first flicker of panic lights my chest, and I take a step away from him, instinctively wanting to put distance between us.
The homestead melts away, and I’m left standing on red earth beneath a red sky, and the man stands taller. Broader. Power radiating off his form in waves.
“You can’t run from this, Araz,” he says.
Laughter, high and slightly unhinged echoes around us, and a second figure appears. Male also, but athletic and slender where the first is muscle-bound and large.
“Oh please. ‘You can’t run from this, Araz.’” He mimics the first figure’s voice.
“For the love of all things holy, will you please leave.”
“Really? Really you want me to leave now? After everything we’ve been through?” The second figure strolls over to the first and bumps shoulders with him. “Don’t you love me anymore?”
Their faces are blurry, but I swear I sense a frown. The tightening of a jaw. I’m sure I feel the larger figure’s irritationbefore he speaks. “Araz, a choice must be made soon. One that could doom us or save us, and you will be the ignition to it all. When the time comes, choose wisely as there will only be one opportunity.”
The second figure moves so fast toward me that I have no time to flinch before he’s standing right in front of me. For a moment, the blur on his face clears, and I see sharp edged features and eyes like moonlight.
“Time to wake up, Boy.”
Chapter 39
A Song To Be Remembered
LEELA
“Hey, wake up, sleepyhead.”
A whiskery kiss jolted me out of sleep. A smile tugged at my lips as gentle warmth bloomed below my ribs. “Blue…” I reached up to cup his body, holding him against my cheek as tears gathered behind my eyes. “I missed you so much.”
“Liar.” He sniffed.
I pulled back to look at his sweet furry face. “Am I lying, though?”
He peered at me with dark eyes glistening with tears. “Fine, ya missed me, an’ I missed you, and now we’re back together again.”
“You are indeed,” Araz groaned from his side of the room. “But maybe be together a little quieter. It’s barely dawn.”
“Oooh, who’s a grumpy Adonis?” Blue teased.
Araz didn’t reply, but I could feel he was wide awake now.
He’d been different since the attack. Quieter, more reserved. Still present but I could feel him holding back. Staying firmly in a friendly lane. Never crossing the line. Not even with a touch or a look, and it was frankly annoying as hell.
“How was the trip?” Blue asked. “Tell me everythin’.” His bright-eyed, twitchy-tailed demeanor told me that he hadn’t heard the news about Priti yet.
A lump formed in my throat. “We lost Priti.”
“You lost ’er? How in the heck…” He trailed off, his eyes going wide, and then he staggered back, his hand on his chest. “Priti…”
My vision blurred, and I dashed away the tears. “She saved my life.”
“Course she did. Course she did.” He lowered his head, fat tears falling onto the bed.
I picked him up and hugged him to my chest. “She was brave. She was so fucking brave.”
Blue cried for a little while, and my eyes burned with the threat of tears that I held back. I’d cried so much. For Nani, for Pashim, and then for Priti. There’d been too much death, and I was so done with it. I wouldn’t lose anyone else.
