I raised a brow in question. “Stokers?”
“It’s a bar we frequent. Haven’t been able to go in a while, but it’s owned by two of our own, so it’s ok for us to be... ourselves.”
“Do we have time to celebrate? Shouldn’t we be training or out hunting darklings?” I asked, reaching for the straps anchoring my daggers to my hips.
Damien stopped me, firm hands grasping my own as he met my eyes with an intensity I couldn’t look away from. “There will be plenty of time to fight the darklings, Cas. There will come a time when we don’t have the luxury to celebrate the little victories. So, while we can, we celebrate. We bask in what little joys we find. We may live to regret it if we don’t savor the time we have left.”
His words were from experience—painful experience of wars he’d fought in the past, losses he’d suffered. How many of his friends had he laid to rest in this endless war? “Do you think it will be like The Fall of Kingdoms? When we face Melantha?”
His eyes wavered, and I didn’t invade the privacy of the memories I knew he was reliving. “I prayed we would never have to fight another war like that, never have to experience that pain again, but the signs are all the same: the darklings growing in numbers, the appearance of Melantha. I fear what the betrayal of our own kind will mean this time. I hate to think about fighting our own on the battlefield, not to mention the humans who may get caught in the crossfire.”
The humans whowouldget caught in the crossfire. My parents, Kat...
I took his face in my hands, forcing his gaze to meet mine, and I smiled, if only to comfort him. “I’m here with you,mea sol. We defeated her before, and we will do it again. Together.”
His smile didn’t reach his eyes, and I knew the fear haunting him, knew the one thing that was different from the last war with the darklings.
I was human, and I was weaker for it—an easy target for the darklings to take, to convert to one of their own to turn against them. He would never admit it, never say it, and I appreciated that. I knew my weaknesses, and no matter how hard I tried, no matter how hard I trained, I would never be what they truly needed—an immortal demigoddess fully capable of wielding her powers. I hadn’t had any serious issues with my heart lately, which I wasn’t sure if I should be relieved about... or worried.
“Can…” My eyes fell. “I know you said a lot of the stories humans share about immortals aren’t true.”
The question had lingered in the back of my mind for a while now, but I’d been too afraid to ask. Tonight’s hunt was a blaring reminder of my limitations as a human, though. It was a stupid question, wishful thinking that there may be some escape from death, but I needed to know. If there was a chance I might not only be able to remain at his side, but to fight on equal ground as him, I would take it.
“Can a human become immortal?”
He drew a breath, and his eyes shifted to my hair, raising his hand to tuck a stray curl behind my ears. “It’s...” He released a pained sigh. “It’s not possible to become an immortal if you’re not born one. It’s genetic. The stories of vampires turning humans are just more myth.”
A weight sank into the pit of my stomach, but I forced a smile. “It was just a question. It was stupid of me to even ask. I was just curious.”
Yeah, stupid. Stupid, wishful thinking.
His eyes lingered on me as I continued to remove my daggers from my hips. His breath stopped, as if he were going to say something, but no words came. I wished he would have said something more, given me some sort of hope that I could enjoy more than a few years at his side.
I looked back at him as I set my daggers down on the dresser, wanting him to say something, anything, but his distant eyes didn’t meet mine. He was slipping into whatever dark place haunted the corners of his mind—plagued by my deaths and the hollow, endless pain that always followed. I approached him, taking hold of his face once more, pressing my forehead against his as I captured his gaze.
Come back to me. “I love you,mea sol.”
He returned to me, light warming those amber and ashen eyes, and his arms wrapped around my waist. “I love you too,mea luna.”
“We will get through this. I believe in you,” I said.
“War won or lost... I won’t lose you again.”
His words sank into my chest, and suddenly I thought I might throw up.
You will, though, and there will be nothing you can do to stop it.
I didn’t allow myself the chance to dwell on the thought when my eyes began to burn.“God, I stink.”
His smile returned. “I’ll get the shower running. You got the rest of your clothes, or are you too sore?”
“I’m sore, Damien, not injured.” He almost looked disappointed, and I frowned. “Damien, I’m filthy, sweaty, and disgusting. Let me get clean before you try to get under my clothes.”
“Well, get to it then.” Oh yeah, he was back, a king of immortals who was impatient for what was his, but it was a relief to hear that tone in his voice. I would give anything to see him happy, to banish the sorrow clinging to him.
I bowed my head, lifting invisible hems of a gown I didn’t wear as I curtsied. “As you wish, Your Grace.”
His hand shot out to grab me and I ducked out of his grasp, running for the other side of the bed. When I glanced back at him, he didn’t approach, watching from the other side of the room with heated eyes. I cracked a cocky grin, sliding my shirt off before letting it fall to the floor, pushing back the urge to groan as my muscles protested the stretch.
