Page 80 of Killer of the Bells
Vale gathered both of my hands in his. “Stop that. And I don’t know when he’ll come out of it. It could be seconds or weeks.”
“How does he survive like that? We should protect him, Vale. What if someone hurts him when he’s like this?”
Vale snorted. “You don’t need to worry about him.”
“But he’s defenseless!”
“He’s really not. Let me show you.” Vale picked up a snow-covered rock and took a few steps back.
“What are you doing?”
“Just watch.” Vale wound up and threw the rock at full strength, and I cringed in anticipation of experiencing what it felt like to have a rock fly through my brain.
There was a flash, and the rock snuffed out of existence. A full meter in diameter around Wraith had become snow-free, blackened earth, and my trap lay exposed and in ruins.
“Oops,” Vale said, shrugging sheepishly.
“My trap!” I got on my knees and sifted through the remains of the trap Vix and I had spent hours bonding over. “All that work…”
“I’m sorry, my love. I wasn’t thinking.”
“You have to help us remake it,” I sniffed.
“It’s not my field of expertise, but I promise I’ll do my best,” Vale said solemnly.
“You’re adorable with our new husband, Vale," Wraith commented.
“Don’t call him that,” Vale snapped.
“You’re back!” I said happily, all upset forgotten. “You have to help with the next trap too, okay? I want to figure out how to make my traps minmaxer-proof, and you’re going to be my ticket to success next year.”
“I’m starting to like our new husband, Vale.”
“I told you to stop calling him that.”
“Um… are we both really married to Wraith now?” I asked, not entirely certain I wanted to hear the answer. The Cody hadn’t mentioned the possibility, and it hadn’t occurred to me. If so, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.
Wraith shrugged enigmatically.
“No, we’re not. Not even a little. Wraith is just fucking with you,” Vale said.
“You’re a lot calmer about this than I thought you’d be,” I mused. “You’ve been pretty possessive since we met.”
Like,reallypossessive. He’d thrown Baz in a perfect, rainbow-style arch across the yard the other day for suggesting a three-way.
“Wraith isn’t interested in you, Echo. He lost his heart over a decade ago, literally. He gave it away to some little nobody?—”
Wraith gave a snarl like a feral wolf, and his eyes burned with green flames. “You take that back right now, Vale.”
I was nearly startled out of my socks, but Vale rolled his eyes and said, “The green is a new look for you, Wraith. I’m curious to see what else you got from Echo.” Without skipping a beat, Vale switched smoothly to me, saying, “A few years ago, he gave his heart away to a tiny human who some people don’t appreciate as much as Wraith thinks they should.”
“So, he’s only teasing you?” I asked cautiously.
“After giving his heart away, Wraith will never be able to fuck or fall in love with anyone but the owner of his heart.”
“So, fae bullshit?” I asked.
Vale nodded. “Fae bullshit.”
