“Most of the world is,” I bit out, rambling without meaning to.
“That’s not entirely true,” he countered back. “You’ve just been exposed to the uglier side. I see the worst, but I know there are good things in life.”
I turned my head quickly, a breath away from him. His nose was a mere inch from mine. He was even dreamier up close, not one imperfection. “The Underworld is a terrible place. As a Reaper, how can you think there’s good when you’ve seen what goes on in the darkest of places?”
“The Underworld is a terrible place, that’s true.” He nodded. “But that doesn’t make every living creature in it bad. Same applies to the human world. The world is ugly, but people don’t live for the cruelty in the world.” His blue eyes traced the edges of my lips before going back to my eyes. “They live to love.”
I snorted in his face, then quickly covered my mouth with my hand. “Oh God, you’re a hopeless romantic, aren’t you?”
His gaze was severe despite his growing grin. “Love is beautiful, witch, don’t laugh about it. Love is strength. It’s the very thing we all need that makes life a little easier.”
I arched an eyebrow, pulling back some, so that I wasn’t so close to his face. “Then where’s your lady, huh?”
“Is this your way of asking if I’m single?” The darkness simmered just below the surface of his nearness, but it seemed to get worse when my stomach heated with an awareness of him.
“Would you stop?” Slightly uncomfortable with myself for enjoying his company, I found myself laughing. I feared him, myself, and the darkness I harnessed that wanted him as much as I wanted to stay away from his touch. Run, get out of here,I thought, but I couldn’t find it in me to leave. I wanted to understand this Reaper as much as I should get away from him.
He kept studying me, my body, as his gaze drifted down over me. “There’s more than one kind of love, Izzie. Just because I haven’t found my one and only doesn’t mean that I don’t experience what it means to love someone every single day.” He must have seen my confused expression because he shook his head at me and smiled. “You got any family?”
At the mention of family, I frowned. “Not anymore, not that I care,” I lied, images of their death haunting me as I remembered the night that was the turning point on how I saw Julius. “They’re the ones that handed me over to Julius.”
“Harvest?” Sebastian’s eyes darkened. “Why would they do that?”
“You don’t understand. The Wen family are ancient; our bloodline goes way back.”
“I am aware of how powerful you are,” he corrected me with a smile, but I didn’t return it.
“Then you should understand why he sought out our bloodline. With the right training, we’re capable of a lot of things…” I trailed off, self-conscious that he could reach out and touch me. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, just because my touch didn’t hurt him the first few times didn’t mean he would keep being so lucky. I placed my hands in my lap after putting the DVD back. “I showed the least potential as a kid, but it was me that Julius wanted, and my parents gave me away without a second thought.”
“How old were you?”
“Ten.”
“That’s fucked up.”
I nodded, turning my head, and looking back toward his collection of DVD’s. “He has a pull about him… It took a bit to wake me up from the hold he had on me and not without a lot of guilt.”
“What do you mean?” He shifted his weight behind me. The heat of his nearness slipped beneath my skin and made it warm.
“I mean, he made me into something that he could use for his own wants and I allowed it to happen. That’s why he’s never going to stop looking for me.”
He raised up, and I lifted my head, following his movements. “Are you okay with telling me this?”
I thought about it before I answered. “That’s why I’m telling you. If you’re truly offering to help me and there’s no secret agenda, then you should know what you’re getting yourself into.” And here I was telling someone I just met like it was the easiest thing in the world. Although I didn’t really know Sebastian, something felt almost right about confiding in him. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I had a clue about whatrightfelt like. Nothing I’ve been through had been normal, more like I’d walked through darkness, escaped still slightly twisted, and finally…there was light.
“It’s no big deal. Same ole, same ole down here in the Underworld, only a different demon getting too evil for their own good.”
“Really? Just like that, you go around saving people?” I muttered, deciding to stand up. I was careful not to touch him as I did.
He walked into the kitchen with a shrug and I followed. “I always kill people, ascend people to Heaven or descend them to Satan himself. All part of the job.” He opened the fridge and faced me. “Can you cook?”
“Can you?” I countered with an arched brow.
He grinned. “Can you hand me a glass? The cabinet to the left.” I moved around him and tiptoed to reach a cup for him. Just as I was handing it to him, I saw the way he eyed my hand and the sneaky way his eyes lifted.
“Nice try.” I placed it down on the counter for him to grab so he couldn’t sneak and touch my hand.
He breathed in and wiped his face casually. “I don’t know what you mean.”
