Page 82 of Bitten & Burned
“Not enough, if I accidentally bonded with the whole coven,” I said, laughing softly. “Maybe he didn’t know about… the feelings.”
“I don’t think he knows about his own feelings, let alone the feelings of others,” Anton ruminated.
“Even Quil?” I asked. When he frowned in confusion, I rephrased. “Quil had feelings, too?”
Anton chuckled. “Oh,mon cher,you truly are a refreshingly naive little mouse, aren’t you?”
I rolled my eyes. “Sorry, I don’t accept that he had feelings for me and simply… pushed me away. That’s immature and asinine.”
“So is Quil,” he replied. “He cares about you. He’s just too deep in his own melancholy to realize that he’s allowed to.”
I laughed and reached for his hand, still on my cheek, and I laced our fingers. “Well, if I didn’t know it, I’m not surprised Vael didn’t know it either. I just… wish I had so I could have prepared better.”
“You didn’t break anything,” he murmured. “Vael did.”
I swallowed hard. My throat ached.
“You really believe that?”
“I do,” Anton said. “And one day, you will too.”
I sat in the silence for a long moment.
“I love him.”
Anton didn’t have to ask who ‘him’ was.
“I know you do.”
“I didn’t want to hurt him.”
“Vael is someone who has a talent for feeling wounded. His aura, his entire being… It’s not bad until it is.”
“It’s bad now.”
Anton nodded. “It is.”
“I never meant to break him,” I whispered, my voice harsh and sharp in my throat.
“He’s not broken. He’s unravelling. It’s not your fault he’s too dramatic to hold himself together.”
“We held each other together,” I said softly.
“You can’t keep bleeding yourself dry to keep him whole,” Anton whispered. “You’re one human person, Rowena. And Vael’s an immortal vampire, over a century old. He should be holdingyoutogether.”
“I don’t expect him to. I don’t expect any of you to do that,” I said.
“Oh, believe me, we all know.” He leaned over to kiss the top of my head as he rose. “I hope that you’ll at least try to let us sometimes. Let us feel useful, Rowena. We desperately want to be.”
I laughed softly.
“You should sleep now,” he said, reaching to tuck the blankets around me.
“Anton?”
“Hmm?”
“Tell Quil… when he’s ready, he can come in. I don’t care if I’m sleeping or whatever. Just tell him to come in.”
