Page 12 of Hell's Storm

“You should just carry me,” I tease, half joking.

He lets out a massive sigh before scooping me into his arms and following Persephone. I have no strength to resist him.

“I like it better when you tease me,” I mutter, trying to hold onto his shirt instead of his body. I’m sure he will hate me more if I touch his body more than I need to.

The living room is full of men who all look at me and pretend I don’t exist. I roll my eyes at them. In the guest bedroom, Inarian drops me into the bathroom and quickly leaves with Persephone. He doesn’t even give me a chance to ask him a question.

Ozias is bending over, agitating the water with bubbles. His hair hangs down towards the bathtub, and it’s almost long enough to reach the water. A slight smirk runs across my lips, watching the lean muscles as he does this. It makes me wonder how he is as a Soul Reaper or how he was in the academy. “Do you have hellhounds, Ozzy?” I finally ask.

He stands, flicking his wet hands into the water. “Not yet.”

“I’m sorry.”

He chuckles, looking over. “I’m not a gorgeous female that gets all the men in the end.”

I snort, catching on that he is joking and means nothing by it. Moving to him, I reach up and run my fingers through his hair, like I’ve always done. “Are you sure? This hair says differently.”

But he’s not smiling anymore. His lips are in a thin frown while his black eyes darken. “Uh, do you need anything else, Asura?”

I glance around the vast, black bathroom. I have cups of ice water on a tray and a hot bubble bath.What more did I need?But being in this vast bathroom felt lonely. The silence would kill me, and the thought of being alone right now terrifies me. The rage and fire inside me are gone now, and I don’t need to break down alone. “Are… you leaving?”

“I can... I also won’t leave if you want,” he offers.

“Yeah, just stay in here with me.”

Ozias moves and turns off the water before turning away, so I can get in.

I drop the blanket before stepping inside the hot water. I submerge myself into the water, making sure the bubbles cover my naked body. Although it’s steaming, it feels like nothing compared to the Flame and what I felt. “Okay, you can look if you want.”

He pulls a chair against the wall and sits, averting his gaze from me.

I glance at him, trying to catch his eyes, but he refuses. It wasn’t the first time he had seen me bathe or bathed me. “Why are all of you men acting weird?”

His dark eyes finally meet mine. “You almost died, Asura. There could be a million reasons why they are acting like this.”

“Why areyou?”

His leg starts bouncing. “I’m not.”

I roll my eyes.

He sucks on his teeth. “Stop rolling your eyes at me.”

“Stoplyingto me.”

“You just went through the most traumatic thing you will ever—”

I sit up. “You don’t think I know that?”

“—and I doubt you need us acting like the fucking children we are acting like.”

My mouth shuts, but not for long. “Better than having you all acting weird around me like I can’t protect my family and it’s my fault they are dead.”

He sucks on his teeth. “We would never think that.”

I swallow. I don’t even know where those words came from. They don’t even feel like my own. None of my men have made me feel like this or said it to me. “I am trying so hard to keep everything together, and I can’t when you guys are pissed at me. Agnus said I would feel less alone, yet I feel worse.”

“No one is pissed at you.”

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