Page 22 of Hex
I don’t know why she’s grateful. I didn’t save her, she saved herself. I know this because our bond is stronger than it has ever been. Not only did our souls blend together the night we finally made love, only accentuated by Hekate’s magic, but it’s Hallow’s Eve, the night the veil between us is at its weakest.
“Zelos, I lost her. She…” Her breath stutters mid-sob before she continues. “I had to lose her to find you.”
The agony behind her words has the power to reach inside my stomach and twist the organ to the point of convincing me it’ll be ripped right out. Instead of doubling over with the pain she’s sharing with me, I hold her tighter, squeeze her harder, and whisper her name over and over again.
I don’t know who Saffron is, but if she’s the reason Sage is safe, then I’ll spend the rest of my life honoring her memory. Hell, I’ll erect a fucking statue in her name so that every fucking body will know she’s the hero in this story.
“Hack, we need to go.” Pierce speaks low but Sage hears him anyway.
“We have to save her. She could still be alive and you all can kill that thing—” As if on cue, the wall shakes with the fall of a few unsteady rocks and every single one of us gets into fighting position with our weapons of choice.
My eyes locked on the cave entrance and I pick Sage up with one arm—she weighs absolutely nothing at this point—placing her behind me. If something wants her, it’ll have to get through me first.
Nothing more happens though, and as much as I want to fight and kill her enemies, who are by default mine too, the best outcome is to have Sage somewhere far away from danger. Her birthday is…fuck, what time is it? The endless weeks travelling all over the fucking place has skewed my internal clock and since finding her, I don’t know if minutes or hours have passed. It doesn’t help that Mita has no set day and night. Here, daylight is as daylight wants. It’s a wonder plants and shit can even grow.
“It must have been a loose rock.” Slay’s right, and when I look over at him, he must see the determination in my eyes to get Sage as far away from this hell hole as possible. “Let’s move out.”
The metallic hiss of our blades sliding back into our scabbards echoes in the otherwise deafening silence. At this point, Sage is no longer sobbing, but her quiet demeanor is somehow even more alarming.
Everyone follows Slay’s lead, but Sage and I hang back a bit, and when my chosen finally looks up at me, the sight before my eyes is devastating.
She’s lost too much weight, her cheeks are prominent and her lips are chapped, clearly dehydrated. The usual velvety curtain of her long black hair that falls like a heavy weight around her shoulders is now scraggly, dirty, full of knots that I vow to comb out with gentle fingers.
“You found me.” Fuck, finally.
“Yes, Satapti. There was no other possible outcome.” Carefully, I bring my own dirty hands to her face, cradling her jaw and watching with an aching heart as tears form in her eyes. The moment she closes her lids, her body leaning into mine as though seeking the comfort of my love for her, the tears free fall down her cheeks.
It’s devastating. It physically hurts me to know she’s suffered in any way.
And suffer she has if those cuts and slashes across her skin are any indication. The clothing on her body is barely there, ripped to the point of unnecessary and caked in dried blood.
There will be consequences for this. Maybe not now because I need to take her far away from here, but soon.
Very fucking soon.
With tentative movements, I reach for my water bottle and bring it to her lips, forcing her to drink slowly and to take breaths between each swallow.
My gaze darts to the others. They’re walking ahead, giving us time to find our bearings again.
Allowing us time to reunite as the chosen soulmates.
“Do you know who took you?” The sound of more falling rocks has us both jumping and turning to the entrance of the cave. Every time she hears it, her hope grows, and it’s breaking my heart to watch it die when nothing more happens.
“Um, at first it was the harpies and it sucked but it was manageable. It’s the gorgon and the fenrir that really fucked usup.” The noise that crawls out from my chest is more my demon than it is my anthros.
“We’ll get all the details once I get you home and cleaned up.” I press my forehead to hers, a gentle reminder that we’re finally together again. “They’ll suffer for this, I promise you.”
“I know.” The strong, confident way in which she believes in my words only makes me fall in love with her all the more.
“You know.” Because it’s simple, unfiltered truth.
“I really need you to kiss me, Zelos.”
Sliding my hands across her jaw and burying my fingers into her hair, I pull her mouth into mine and lick her dry lips, dampening them, loving them, before seeking entry into her mouth.
Our moans are weeks overdue. The warm touch of her tongue as it dances against mine is an overwhelming comfort. The moment is perfect, the kiss is fucking beautiful as she presses against my body, seeking warmth and love. I don’t know how long it lasts but it’s not fucking long enough.
Just as I’m about to pull away, a guttural howl loud enough to shake the rocks behind me forces us to freeze. There’s a second where we just stare at each other as we try to figure out what the actual fuck we just heard.
