“He might need longer than three minutes, son,” Pops says, placing his arm around me and pulling me close.
He took having Lark taken almost harder than the rest of us, sending all the Tailors out to help find her as well as making arrangements to get us over here to come and find Tarl as soon as it became apparent that’s where he was. It also looks like he’s aged about ten years in the day and a half they’ve been gone. We’re lucky in some ways that they were together, otherwise, we were at a dead-fucking-end in trying to figure out who took them both.
“When has Tarl ever been late, Dad?” Aeron asks, checking his watch again as we look out towards the dirt road that leads to this particular stable. Pops laughs, sounding tired, so I wrap my arms around him and pull him into a tight hug. He hugs me back because he’s just that fucking awesome and never shied away from showing all of us affection, even his adopted sons.
“As long as they get here soon, I don’t give a fuck,” Knox growls, his arms folded across his broad chest, his eyes not having left the horizon the whole time we’ve been here, as if hecould get them to arrive faster by sheer will alone. I wish that were the case.
We hear the faint rumble of an engine, and I let go of Pops, stepping towards where Aeron and Knox are waiting; by the only road to lead to these stables. My heart beats faster, sounding like a drum in my head as I watch the road so hard my eyes fucking water.
What feels like for-fucking-ever later, but is probably only ten minutes or so, a beat-up van turns the corner, headlights off and making a fucking racket as it trundles down the winding road towards us. It’s too dark to see inside but I know in my gut it’s them. This time, my eyes do fully fill and I have to dash the tears away as the vehicle gets closer.
“It’s them,” Aeron whispers as the van pulls to a stop, and before I can blink, he’s running over to it and yanking the passenger door open. I watch as he reaches inside, clearly intending to pull our beautiful bird out, but a shout from Tarl stops him. “What the fuck do you mean she’s been stabbed?”
His words spur Knox and I into action, going over to where Aeron stands by the open door, his face dark and full of thunder.
“She was stabbed with a knife through the shoulder and has been patched up and had a blood transfusion, but she’s still weak and sore,” Tarl says, and I look up to see his beautiful face set into a hard line, the edge of guilt making his brows dip low and his jaw clench tightly.
“You fucking bastard!” Knox roars, somehow making it to Tarl’s side of the van, ripping the door clean off its hinges, yanking him out, and punching him straight in his gorgeous face.Oh shit, this could get messy.I’m frozen, part of me wanting to stop Knox and part of me feeling like Tarl deserves every blow.
“Stop!” Her soft voice washes over me, tearing my gaze away from Knox beating the shit out of Tarl who is just lying thereand taking it. I was right to see the guilt in him then, it’s what I would let happen if it were me who’d caused such an injury to our precious bird. “Please, Jude, Aeron, make him stop. Tarl is hurt too.” Tears make her blue eyes sparkle in the moonlight, rivaling the fucking carpet of stars above us. Aeron growls but moves towards the pair just as my father does, both of them pulling Knox off Tarl.
“Knox! Knock it off!” I hear my Pops yell, but I feel like I can’t move away from her. I need to make sure she’s real, that she’s here.
“Are you really here?” I ask, taking a step towards her, then another until I’m standing in the open doorway. She’s paler than usual, but she still looks fucking exquisite, and my hand moves of its own accord, reaching out. A sigh falls from both our lips when I make contact, her skin softer than I remember.
“I–I’m here Jude,” she whimpers, but my lips swallow the last of her words as I press them against hers, moaning when she tangles a hand in my hair and draws me closer. I demand entrance with my tongue and she willingly gives it to me, and at the first touch of our tongues, it feels like I’ve swallowed an entire galaxy, my whole body lighting up like the fourth of July.
“I–I thought you were gone,” I choke out between kisses. “T–the darkness came back, and you weren’t here to help make it go away again.” I can taste salt, the tears falling down both our cheeks, mingling together as I keep kissing her.
“It’s okay, Devil Prince, I’m here now,” she murmurs when we come up for air, and she’s so fucking beautiful, even pale and hurting—maybe more so—that I can’t fucking breathe for a second. Instead, I just stand there, holding her face in my hands and drinking her in. “Help me out?”
Taking her arm, I help her out of the van; her hissed breaths making anger flare hot in my veins.
“Dove? Are you okay?” Aeron says, suddenly in front of us, his eyes tracing over every part of her, lingering on the arm that’s in a sling, and I can see his beast howl at the fact that she’s injured.
“Better now,” she answers, giving my arm a squeeze and then stepping into him, wrapping her good arm around his waist and laying her cheek on his chest. His arms go around her, careful of her wounded shoulder, and I see his eyes glisten as he looks down at her.
“Fuck, Dove, I was so fucking worried about you. I thought we’d lost you, I—” His words choke off and his shoulders shake as he buries his head into her hair. It’s with a start that I realize he’s crying, and I can count on one hand the few times that my brother has cried.
“It’s okay, Devil Man, I’m here now,” she coos, her voice soft and like a balm that we didn’t know we needed.
After a time, his relief subsides, and he straightens up, taking one arm from around her and using his hand to tilt her chin upwards, his cheeks glistening in the starlight. “I would never have stopped looking, Dove,” he tells her, his voice thick yet firm. “I wouldn’t have given up, my love.”
Watching my brother kiss my soulmate fills me with an almost painful joy, knowing that they both bring each other a happiness that can’t be replicated makes my heart want to burst inside my chest. And who the fuck cares if our love and relationship isn’t considered normal. Fuck society and their bullshit rules and normality.
Knox walks over, barely waiting until Aeron has finished before he spins her around, a growl sounding in Aeron’s chest when she cries out as Knox jostles her shoulder.
“Fuck you, Aeron,” Knox snarls, wasting no time in claiming her mouth with a hunger that makes my mouth salivate and mycock pulse. She gives in to him, so fucking pliable in his arms as he devours her, Aeron at her back.
“I’m glad you boys found someone who clearly loves you all as much as you do her,” Pops comments from beside me, and I cut a glance to see him look away from Knox and Lark, his cheeks a little darker than usual. A smile pulls my lips up at his blush. “You should talk to him, son.” My brows shoot up and he just chuckles, clapping me on the back. “I’ve known about your relationship for years, boy. You’re not exactly a subtle person, Jude.”
“True,” I reply with a laugh. “I’m mad at him, Pops. He left us to die without even a goodbye.” My throat almost closes as the words tumble from my mouth, and it takes a moment before I make the connection between what Tarl did and what happened to my sister eight years ago. I didn’t get to say goodbye to her either.
“He made a mistake, thinking that he had to do this alone,” Pops says gently, squeezing my shoulder. “But look at him, Jude. He feels like shit about it. Especially as his actions caused Lark to be hurt. There’s a reason he didn’t fight back.”
He uses his grip to turn me so that I can see Tarl leaning against the horse box, staring at Lark, Aeron, and Knox like a starving man looking in the window of a bakery. I blow out a puff of air, stepping away from my Pops and walking over to my lover. His gaze snaps up to mine, and I can see all the pain and anguish swirling like a maelstrom in his eyes, the different colors clear even in the moonlight.
“I don’t fucking forgive you,” I state, stepping right into his body, pressing our hard chests together as I look him dead in the eyes. “But I still fucking love you, Tarl.”
