Page 36 of These Eternal Bones
My forehead slams against his, making a tiny pinch of pain bloom there, but I don’t care, because it’s all thanks to him. The terrifying monster who has given me everything and asked for nothing but my time in return. Who has told me stories of faraway places and taught me how to read.
“Nothing will hurt you as long as I am around, my sweet Molly. I would lay waste to anyone who tried.”
“I know. Thank–” my words die on my tongue when his lips brush mine. It’s not a kiss, but I feel it in the very depths of me. The last of my latest monthly has passed days ago. A bone-deep…longing erupts in me, one that’s been building for months. For all our time together, I realize I have rarely felt anything but the desire to be had by him. To be so close that we meld together. From the very beginning, perhaps I recognized him, or my heart at least did. Like meeting an old friend.
“Elric…”
I gasp as the coach pulls to an abrupt halt. His hands snapping out to steady me, even as I shove away from him as if I’ve been burned, embarrassment flooding my cheeks. My hands are shaky as I wipe feverishly at my tears, wetting the outside of my warm leather gloves. “You must think I’m a mess. I’m so sorry.”
“I think you’re amazing, Molly. Never believe less.”
I sniffle as Cartiel calls out to us. “There’s a downed tree from the last storm.”
“Save the rest of your tears for when I return, yes?”
I huff out a laugh before sniffling. “I’d rather not.”
“Suit yourself. I won’t lie, I’m quite disappointed, though.”
“To not see me cry?!”
His smirk hits me deep, that same place it always does. “Only that I missed an opportunity to taste them.”
My lips part in a tiny “O” as he leaves the coach, letting in a billow of cold air before the door shuts behind him. It takes precious seconds for me to wiggle to the window, watching him exchange words with Cartiel, who is no more friendly but slightly less rude these days. Elric regards the thick tree for mere seconds before his hands brace the underside. There’s no straining, huffing, or struggle in the way he lifts it out of the way. Like one would pick up a dirty garment from the floor. A gasp leaves my throat as he braces his palm on the underside beforeshoving. The wide tree flings forward, disappearing from my sight with a deafening crash, my eyes widen, the earlier sniffling forgotten.
When he turns, I’m not surprised when his eyes immediately seek me out the way they always do. Like he taught me, the north and south sides of a magnet will always find each other. It looked every bit as magical as what Péal does around the cottage. How Tien blips in and out, never failing to make me scream. So much so, he’s started walking into rooms. Loudly.
I lean back in my seat, resting my hands in my lap, hoping we gather what Péal called my human necessities quickly… feeling oddly excited to get back home when I’d woken this morning itching to leave.
The morose, tiny ghost town is mostly the same as it was before. Like it had been paused until our return, only this time covered in blankets of white and far more lively. My brows furrow as we pass a woman, her husband hugging her and her child closer, as if Elric would suddenly snap out and devour them both before they veer wildly to the opposite side of the pathway that runs in front of all the shops. Anxiety prickles faintly beneath the bodice of my dress, but the press of the man beside me soothes most of it away. My eyes still make a pass or two searching for a plum-colored flag and the dark aged wood of the Tabot, but she and her crew are long gone. Just as Elric assured me they were.
The more shops we visit, the more wary I become. Open stares of horror and unbridled disgust not only dampen my spirit but make me…angry. The coming storm has brought everyone into town. While everyone keeps their hateful thoughts to themselves, their eyes hide nothing of their feelings. By the time we’re nearing the end of our list, my head stays to the ground, my hood pulled high while my eyes avoid theirs. When Elric approaches another filled storefront, my hands grip his wrist, halting him from walking inside.
“Can I stay out here, please?”
The tone of his veins has been deepening by the day lately. I suspect his hunger is riding him hard by now, but he’s still yet to “tend to his needs” as he called it before. His dark eyes find a way to darken further, his voice a deep rumble. “Why?”
The intensity of his gaze turns molten, and for now…it’s too much, so I turn away, going to stand by Cartiel. Not missing the way his undercoat shifts, his tendrils threatening to burst free and snag me. The damned things are always pulling and pushing me around. Always tugging, holding, and stroking. It doesn't help that there seems to be no limits to their length or shape. They can be liquid, solid, hard, or soft. The liquid had been quite a shock in the moment. Especially when my shriek had disrupted Elric’s work, making him dismiss them suddenly, sending a splatter of obsidian colored blood across me. He’d whisked the blood away seconds after, but those few seconds had been plenty.
A shrug of my shoulders is all I offer him before Cartiel speaks up. “The humans don’t seem comfortable around their Lord. It's making everyone testy.”
I cast him a weak glare before Elric walks to my side. “Nephilim, get the rest of the list. We will–”
“Have you forgotten what happened last time?” The golden man says with a shudder that looks bone deep.
“What happened last time?” I ask. No surprise it’s Elric who answers me.
“They tried to cut some locks of his hair.”
“I suppose they thought I was made of actual gold. Stupid fucking humans.”
Part of me wants to take offense on behalf of mankind, but he’s not wrong. I haven’t known humans to be any less vile, even to one of their own… especially to one of their own.
Elric hesitates in front of me before casting a warning look at Cartiel. “If anything–”
“Yes, if anything happens, something incredibly painful and violent will befall me. Noted.”
The giggle bursts from my lips before I can stop it. Halting something no doubt painful and violent on Elric’s lips as he brushes a hand through my hair, assuring me he’ll be quick. The townspeople part for him like he’s on fire, and the wind kicks up, making a harsh shiver run down my spine. As much as I am still thrilled about the snow, the wind I could do without. For the past few days, it’s been so bad that the cottage has rattled at night. My bed is piled with blankets to ward off the drafts. Not even painting outside has been any fun. It’s part of why we’rehere. The wind blew over my cart, leaving a huge rainbow-colored patch of snow in front of the cottage.
