Page 36 of Insurrection
My breath hitched as he said, "I'll continue to protect you, beauty. I can tell there is something special about you that needs to be shared with the world. It'd be a shame if you were obliterated at any point, I think.” The wink he ended with did dirty things to me.
My heart fluttered in my chest as I once again found myself wondering how the hell every single prince had managed to inspire such intense emotional responses within minutes of meeting each of them. What was it about them that drew me to them like a moth to a flame?
Whatever it was…it was absolutely lethal.
Chapter Sixteen
Adrien
When I had told Ama that I could tell she had something special that needed to be shared with the world, I truly meant it. She was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise polluted environment full of venomous people. Every political event I had been forced to attend in my life had felt like nails on a chalkboard, and that feeling only got more agitating as I grew older and became more aware of my surroundings.
Every time I glanced into Ama’s eyes, it was like being transported to another world. A world in which integrity, loyalty, and happiness were the foundations. There was so much strength in her, it left me speechless—not that I was much of a talker to begin with.
The only people I truly spoke with and let in were my parents and my little sister. Well, I guess I had let Damien in some, as he was probably the only friend I had. But even then, I kept a wall between us out of my natural instinct to stick to the shadows alone.
However, meeting and speaking with Ama had made me realize one glaringly obvious hole in my life. I lacked true companionship and was fearful of it. It was like the well within me that wanted love and affection had dried up, but damn if I wasn't thirsty for her to fill it.
I wanted to have those needs within me satisfied by her until I was overflowing with so much gratitude and happiness that it was impossible for me to deny or hide.
Why did she inspire such a change in my attitude and such an intense longing for these feelings that I had buried so deeply? I felt like I was having a fucking spiritual awakening.
Blowing out a deep breath, I gazed at the sky that was hazy with wispy clouds amidst shades of pink and orange as the sun began its descent for the day. Just because we were in Hell didn't mean we didn't have the typical day and night cycle like the topside world. It was rumored that Heaven, Hell, and the human world were actually all on the same time schedule in different dimensions that lay on top of one another, never crossing unless you had the power—like the Reaper’s who collected souls from the human realm.
I was curious about the workings of other worlds and possible dimensions, and I wished I could approach the House of Fallen to confirm whether Heaven had been on the same time as ours in Hell. They were a broody and prideful group, though, and they weren't keen on relations of any kind with other species—not even platonic friendships.
Also, it might be a touchy subject to bring up the topic of them falling from Heaven and being disgraced.
A tapping on my shoulder brought me back to the present, and Ama’s sweet voice inquired, "Where did you go? It's like you were in a whole other world for a moment."
I couldn't help but chuckle at how close she had come to the train of my thoughts. "I was actually contemplating the existence of different dimensions and how the inner workings of that concept revolve around one another."
This was exactly why I didn’t date, for the record. I nearly face palmed, realizing that I had just told this stunning woman that I’d zoned out for a moment, despite her presence…to think about interdimensional realm travel and time.
Expecting her to find that odd, I prepared myself for her to brush it off, move on to the next topic, and never want to converse with me again. I wouldn’t have blamed her. I had never had many friends for this exact reason. Many wanted to have surface level conversations, while I wanted to have deep, intellectual conversations that forced people to expand concepts of life as we knew it. I didn’t have the best social skills because I spent most of my time with my family or buried in the library back at our house, but I would like to think that I was somewhat easy to talk to. It was more the topics that I chose that were the issue. I didn’t share the same interests as most.
“You mean Earth?” She frowned softly, “Or Heaven?”
I nodded, “Both, I suppose...and how the three revolve around each other. What the other two are like compared to Hell. I envy people who have gotten to travel out of this realm. I’m jealous of those who are on the journey to finding their…” I paused, not really having the right word.
“Purpose?” Ama whispered softly. “What’s our purpose in life?”
There was longing in her tone as she rested her forearms on the balcony and stared at the sunset. Her skin practically glowed with the colors reflecting off her, and her pink-red highlights truly shone. She was mesmerizing.
My gaze was glued to her beautiful face as I answered her. I wasn’t positive whether she was really looking for an answer, but I had to give this woman something instead of just staring at her. Because I knew I was incapable of looking away.
“Maybe our purpose is to figure out the answer to that exact question. To figure out where we fit into the systems in place and how we will alter the world we live in. How our decisions affect destiny's purpose for us. I think…I think that is the purpose of life.”
A small nod came from her as she nibbled on her lower lip, almost as if she was truly chewing on my answer in her mind. I was both surprised and not, that she was taking our conversation so seriously. I was almost damn positive that this woman had been handcrafted by the devil for me. I could feel it resonating in my soul that there was a connection between us that was both comforting and electric.
It would have been completely reasonable for her to be afraid when I had whisked her away with my shadows to shield her from Celorn’s temper. After all, I’d all but kidnapped the woman. Instead, she’d melted against me and, instead of trying to leave my company, we’d fallen into one of the most meaningful conversations I’d ever had. Of course, I’d talked about the purpose of life with my parents before, but this was different. This felt unique to us. To our destiny. To our future. I felt like this woman was imprinted on my soul—like we’d known one another our entire lives.
There was no other explanation.She was mine.
As if hearing my thoughts, she peeked at me out of the corner of her eye and immediately tried to hide her smile, her cheeks tinted a shade of pink.
Curious. Whatwasshe thinking about? What thoughts could turn her cheeks pink, and what else could I do to turn the rest of her body the same delicate shade that had me wanting to kiss and lick every part of her.
It was the first time I’d ever found myself wanting to do that. I wasn’t one to do casual flings, and I’d certainly never had a relationship. No one had ever drawn my attention enough to warrant me not being focused on my family, my house, and my studies.
