Page 69 of Revenant

“Explain what?”

“Don’t play coy. How do you keep doing that? Responding or making comments about things I know I didn’t say out loud.”

“Elias told you we all have…abilities, right?” I stare at him. Either Elias told them what we talked about that night, or…I nod in agreement.

“Well, in simple terms, I can read your mind.” My mouth hangs open, and his eyes move from mine to my mouth. Only for a second, but I noticed it.

“So you can hear…everything?”

“Anything you think in that pretty little head of yours is fair game,” he admits, turning me around in my shocked state to rinse out the rest of the shampoo.

I’d like to say it’s impossible. But the truth of the matter is, all of this shouldn’t be possible.

“It is indeed.”

“That’s an invasion of privacy, no?”

“Something you’re trying to keep from me?” he inquires.

“Guess it doesn’t matter. Couldn’t stop you if I tried.” I mutter the last part under my breath, my thoughts spiraling back through every time he made me question my own sanity.

“Is there a way for me to…to keep you out?” He laughs, grabbing the conditioner and smoothing it over my ends. He’s strangely good at this, and it makes me wonder how many other girls he’s done this for.

“Don’t start.” His voice is harsher than it’s been, as if he’s offended I would say such a thing. I guess think is the correct term. “You would drive yourself mad with ‘what-ifs.’ I’m old, spawn, very old.” That makes me curious. I’ve never stopped to think, or ask how old they actually are. But before I can voice it, he beats me to it.

“One: I’ve never done this for anyone else. Two: why would I tell you how to keep me out when I’m having so much fun.” So there is a way. Interesting. “And finally, I’m afraid it’s rude to ask someone their age.” That pulls another smile free and I suddenly feel the events from today slowly slipping down the drain. Not entirely. But Bastian makes it all an easier pill to swallow.

I finish rinsing off and stay in the shower until there’s no more hot water. Shutting it off, Bastian reaches out and grabs my towel, drying me off with the same tender touch he had when he was washing me. This side is so different to how I normally see him. It’s slightly jarring to see that underneath all of that carefree, bad boy attitude, there’s a sensitive side—someone who cares.

“Don’t give me too much credit,” he comments, drying my ends before wrapping the towel around me. He picks me up, cradling me in his arms while his soaked jeans drip along the bathroom floor.

His smell mixes with Koen’s like a drug, and I lean in closer, resting my head against his shoulder until he places me on the bed. Bastian walks over to the armoire, grabbing sweats and a t-shirt before walking back into the bathroom. The smack of his jeans landing on the tile echoes throughout the silent room until it’s filled with his footsteps growing closer.

My eyes feel heavy, as though weights are strapped to my lids, forcing them to close. Bastian pulls the covers back, enough for me to slip under, and he gets in behind me, covering us both up. “Sleep,” he tells me, placing his arm around me and pulling me closer.

“You don’t have to stay.”

“By now you have to know, I don’t do anything I don’t want to.”

“I know, but given the circumstances, I don’t want you to feel obligated—”

He leans up on his arm, brushing a strand of hair from my face with the other. “Nothing about you feels like an obligation. Now stop acting like this is an issue for me. If it’s one for you, that’s another story.” He pauses, waiting to see if I’ll object to the arrangement. “Good, now lie down and get some sleep. We could both use it.” He places a chaste kiss on my forehead before lying back down and assuming our previous position.

It doesn’t take long before I sink into him, the weight of his arm around me doesn’t feel suffocating, but comforting. The slow rise and fall of his chest mimics mine before I slowly start drifting off. The feeling of safety begins to take root over everything else, pulling me deeper into denial, causing me to question everything I’ve thought so far. Because right now, in Bastian’s arms, it doesn’t feel like impending doom is pressing against my soul and everything just might be okay.

22: Alicent

The bed dips slightly, waking me from the sleep I desperately needed. I don’t know what these sheets are made of, but I could stay here forever. Turning over, I pull the blanket tighter under my chin, noticing very quickly my towel is no longer covering anything.

Sunlight peaks through the curtain, illuminating the room in a soft, yellow glow. I look around, noticing Bastian’s no longer here. He left me?

Panic seizes me. “Bastian?”

He’s in front of me before I can blink. “What’s wrong?” He looks over my covered form as if he’ll be able to spot an injury with just the sheer will to do so.

My body deflates at the sight of him. “Nothing, I—I thought you left.”

His shoulders sink with relief. “I just had to get something to eat.” It rolls off the tongue effortlessly, and had I been none the wiser what his diet entails, I’d never second-guess it.