I’d obviously meant for them to take me to you, but instead they presented me with my bloodborn body, posed on a suspended altar with its arms outstretched like the Vitruvian man. Or maybe it was meant to look like a crucifixion. My body was even more magnificent than I remembered. Oh, Orlando. You’d never stood a chance against Lena’s schemes. A lamb led to slaughter.
“He gave up eternal life for you without even a thought for his own welfare,” my brother recounted as if still marveling at it. He tilted his head thoughtfully. “Perhaps when you are being punished in a Shade Vale, I will be allowed to keep him.”
His grotesque smile spoke volumes.
I foundyou sitting quietly at the edge of a palatial bed in one of my mother’s many bedrooms.
“Orlando.”
And just like that, the dazed look on your face lifted, and your gaze slowly settled on mine.
“Henri?” you said with a worried expression. Surely you thought I must be upset with you, but you were an innocent. And the price you’d paid…
I did what came naturally to me. I opened my arms, and within seconds you were nestled inside them again, clutching me. I buried my nose in your hair and inhaled that familiar scent. My most precious possession.
You pulled back to admire me, running your fingertips over the planes of my face, cheeks, nose, and lips. Then your hands were on my shoulders, caressing my muscles. I wore only a pair of loose trousers. I waited patiently while your fingers had their fill of my form. Despite our dire circumstances and the events that had led us to this moment, I was glad to know my bloodborn body pleased you.
“You’reyou,” you said, and I understood completely. This gift you’d given me was a debt I’d never be able to repay. Still, I wished you’d never made the trade. I’d rather be disembodied than have your soul eternally forsaken and at the mercy of my misanthropic mother.
“Are you mad at me?” you asked with a look of trepidation. I was enraged at Lena for misleading you and at my brother for not intervening on my behalf. But towards you, I felt only tenderness and remorse.
“I’m not mad at you,” I said calmly and palmed the back of your head, “but we do need to talk.”
You nodded. I sat down in a large, throne-like chair and you climbed onto my lap where you grabbed my hands and kissed them reverently. I’d been foolish to think you’d give me up without a fight. You’d always managed to outsmart me.
Only this time, you’d gone too far.
“You shouldn’t have called for my mother.” I spoke to you with seduction because I didn’t want you to be nervous or flighty. Your heart was already racing and your breathing shallow. Our actions over the next few days would determine our eternities, and we needed to proceed with caution.
“I didn’t know what else to do,” you said hopelessly.
I should never have left you, Azrael’s prophesy be damned. I should have stayed by your side and protected you from Lena’s machinations. I’d left you vulnerable, and you went seeking answers from the only person you thought might have them.
“I know, darling, and there’s nothing we can do to change what is done, but I need for you to do exactly as I say while we’re here.”
You nodded with abject adoration in your eyes.
“I need your blind trust and obedience.”
“You have it,” you said adamantly, and I gave you a look because that obviously wasn’t the case, or we wouldn’t be where we were—prisoners for all intents and purposes, and bound to my mother’s design. “You have it, now,” you amended.
“This means there are things I cannot tell you and actions I must take that you might object to wholeheartedly, but I need you to trust me to know what’s best for both of us. You must follow my orders precisely, without argument or delay. Can you do that?”
“Yes, I can do that.”
I rubbed your back to calm you. I wasn’t sure how much I should reveal, but at the same time, I needed you to be prepared.
“In the next few days, you will witness several blood crimes, and by that, I mean murder and all manner of unsavory demonic behaviors, and I can’t have you falling apart on me. I need for you to take these things in stride and focus on the tasks I give you.”
Your brow furrowed and you glanced down at our hands intertwined. Your fingers were long and graceful with an aesthetic meant to enchant, while mine were callused and thick-jointed, scarred from battle despite my advanced healing abilities. Hands that had maimed and killed. No matter my tenderness toward you, I’d always be a monster.
“I won’t fall apart as long as you stay with me.” You glanced up at me, begging my pardon. “That’s why I did it, Henri. So we could be together.”
I was your god, guardian, and lover. And for the next few days, I’d be your assassin.
“I forgive you,” I said. “Of course I do.”
Your arms wrapped around my neck and you buried your head into my chest. Your relief was palpable as I gently stroked your back.
