She gazed up at me, and I could see the exhaustion there, in her eyes.Perhaps I was not the only one who needed rest.
But I had started to think not even sleep could cure what truly ailed Valory and I.
“Maybe,” she said as she scooted a little closer, her thigh brushing mine.Her gaze fell to my mouth and she bit her lip.And then I saw it.
The wet streak glistening on her cheek.
A trail of tears.
And that chased all the bitterness away, purged forth something so unknown, so terrifying.New.
I reached out with one hand, brushing my thumb over her soft flesh, wiping away the wetness.
Valory’s gaze flashed up at me with surprise, her cerulean pupils sparkling from the moisture there.“But there’s no one to blame now, is there?”she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
There was a heavy pause between us as Mercy shifted, and silence fell between us.I didn’t move my hand, and she didn’t push me away, and that felt monumental.
Like a mountain had moved, or a volcano had awakened.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Hmmm?”I murmured, unable to stop staring at her.The way her thick eyelashes stood out against her bright eyes, the fullness of her pouty, bottom lip.
But there was also a sort of glow to her that had nothing to do with angelic grace.
“If you’re bound to hell, what happens whenyousin?”
Her words were inquisitive, but there was also something else there, waiting just behind the curiosity.
Hope.
I didn’t want to answer her.But there was a strangedesireto be honest.To tell her the truth.
“I think your definition ofsinand mine vary greatly, Val,” I told her.
Before she could protest, I stopped her with one finger on her lips.She didn’t look away.
“To give in to your desire is a sin, right?That’s what the big man in the clouds preaches?”I licked my lips.“Desire isn’t the sin, angel.We alldesirethings.Even us demons.”
I dropped my finger, and she remained quiet.
“The sin is what you would give up to have what you desire.”
The softest touch on my cheek pulled me from my trance, and I realized she was touching me.
My eyes were blurry, and the pad of her finger smeared wetness along my cheek.
Tears.
I’d never felt them before.My voice caught in my throat and suddenly breathing was much more difficult than it was moments ago.
“What would you give to have money?Success?Love?”I heard the fear in my voice, and I hated it.
I hated it so fucking much.Without thinking, I nuzzled against her palm, wiping the unsavory wetness that came without warning on her skin.
Tainting her with my fear, my desire.
“What do you desire, Endor?”she asked.
