20
Istand there, eyes wide with horror, too afraid to look down at the broken pieces. At all that remains of the man I love.
“Ace?”
I blink. I’m hearing things.
“Ace?”
Then someone grabs my ankle. Gasping, I look down and see Jac lying on the ground, blinking dust from his eyes.
“Jac!” I drop down and wrap my arms around him. “You’re alive!” He pulls me to him, holding me close as I slide my hands down his back, breathing in powder from the broken stone. It makes me cough, but I don’t care. “You’re alive!” And then I realize something else. My hands are on his back, feeling smooth skin.
“And you’re human.”
Jac gets up, helping me to my feet. I look him up and down. His wings are gone. His eyes are brighter than before, and he’s standing in the sunlight.
“The curse has been broken,” he mutters, pulling me close again. “You did it.”
“I didn’t do anything,” I say, too shocked to form a coherent thought. “But you’re…you’re really here.”
“I am. And so are you.” He tips my head up and kisses me. “And you’re hurt. Shit, Ace, you’re really hurt.”
“I’ve been worse.”
He cocks an eyebrow. “When?” His wings are gone, but he’s still the same Jacques I fell in love with.
“I can’t recall right now.” I let out a breath. “The others!”
“If the curse broke for me, I’d assume it broke for them too.”
“They’re alone. Maybe they don’t—”
“Ace,” Jac says, pulling me back to what’s really important, which is getting the fuck out of here. “They’re not alone. And if the curse woke them…they’ll be here soon.”
“But you’re…you’re human. So they will be too.”
“Human, but still warriors. We need to act fast.”
I nod and step back, wincing from the pain. I know Jac is right, but I can’t seem to take my hands off of him. “I thought you were dead.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry.” I rest my head on his chest again, needing to be sure that he’s actually here and I’m not imagining any of this. His heart is beating, slow and steady, and I listen to it for a few seconds before pulling myself away. “Fuck, my head hurts. They hit my car, Jac. My fucking car.”
“I know.”
“You do?”
He helps me to the ground, turning and looking at the sun for a quick second. He hasn’t seen daylight in nearly a thousand years. “That annoying teenage boy was jogging and saw your car being pulled from a ditch. He said you weren’t in it, but he had a bad feeling and recorded a three-minute-long video of the process.”
“Smart kid.” I lean against the wall and reach for Jacques’s hand. “Go look at the sun. I…I need to rest. When Trent comes back, I’ll play dead. He won’t be expecting this.” My eyes start to flutter shut.
“Stay with me, Ace.”
“I will.” I reach for him. “I always will.”
Jac kisses my forehead and moves away, picking through the crumbles of stone. He comes back with the biggest piece he can find and gives it to me. He keeps another big piece for himself.
