His entire body convulsed.
Arabella whispered, “I thought it was a dream.”
I squeezed my arms with all my might and tried to hold all three of us together before we shattered into irreparable pieces.
We were fragile, jagged edges and broken promises.
For people brimming with power and strength, we all shared one thing in common: we were terrifyingly flawed.
“Prove it to me,” she said. “Please prove that you care. Prove that this isn’t all some toxic power trip.”
Scorpius pressed my back painfully against the tile wall.
I squeezed us together until I lost circulation in my fingertips and my muscles ached from exertion.
We squeezed her between our arms.
“We’re your hounds to command,” I whispered reverently, the words a prayer across my lips. “We have no purpose other than to serve you. I promise.”
“I don’t want that.” Her voice cracked. “I want to be more than your Revered. I want to be a person to you. I’ll never be your perfect, ideal mate. I’ll never be him.”
Scorpius staggered back and pulled away at her purposeful use of the male gender.
My stomach dropped to my feet, and I swayed like I was going to collapse. She wrapped her arms around me and kept me from falling.
“We don’t want a male devil,” Scorpius rasped loudly. “I-I used to think I wanted one, but I was a fool—I don’t want anyone but you. You’re the only person I’ve ever sat in a shower with fully clothed for hours talking. You’re the only person I don’t like seeing in pain.”
She squeezed me tighter, fingers pulling my sweatshirt taut as she clung to me.
Scorpius pulled the wet hair off her nape and softly kissed the exposed skin. “You’re the only person I’ve ever wanted, Arabella,” he said fiercely like he was proving something.
She exhaled against my chest.
Her heart raced with such force that it pounded against my sternum, and I could feel it through our clothes.
“You’re the only person I’ve ever spoken to without fear,” I whispered down to her. “And you always listen. You see me for who I really am, and I want to provide that same solace to you. I want to be your person because you are mine. No one can ever compare, and you deserve to be treated like the treasure you are.”
She sighed loudly. “You know, you guys aren’t as hopeless as you think you are. You’re different from the fronts you present to the rest of the world. Even Malum.”
Scorpius wrapped his arms around both of us and resumed pinning us against the wall of the shower. “We don’t deserve you,” he said.
I agreed, “No, we don’t.”
Time slipped around us under the warm spray.
No more words were spoken.
There was nothing left to be said because words couldn’t fix our mistakes. Only we could.
Chapter 35
Aran
STRATEGY
Dreich （adjective）： dreary.
DAY 25, HOUR 16
“What is wrong with you people?” Rina asked, her pretty features contorted in a sneer as she leaned against the desk.
No one answered her.
The strategy room was colder than usual, and the small lamp that illuminated the space glowed golden. The red rug that covered the room was reminiscent of freshly spilled blood. I’d never noticed its intense hue.
Jinx and I stood on one end of the blackboard, and Malum stood at the other. The kings had found crutches for Jinx at the shifter mall.
Although, “found” was a generous term because they’d dragged a shifter with a broken leg into an alcove, punched him in the stomach, and forcibly stolen his crutches.
Jax had scowled at their methods, Cobra had patted Malum on the back and taken the crutches with a grin, while Ascher and Xerxes had bemoaned that they should have thought of attacking an injured person sooner.
Men.
The kings had smirked at me like they’d proven something.
They weren’t smirking anymore.
None of us were.
Four angels crowded around the table, frowning. Rina was their ringleader. The two angels that were best at navigating were away finding the next location.
A headache throbbed in my temples.
The shifters sat with the rest of our legion in the leather chairs and watched the conflict awkwardly.
John was sitting next to Scorpius, and Luka was sitting next to Orion. All four of them were whispering among themselves like they were friends.
When did that happen?
Rina made a loud noise of agitation, and I grudgingly turned my attention back to the irate angels.
At first, the others had tried to step in and stop the angels from yelling at us, but ice swords had materialized, and Jinx had ordered everyone but the angels to sit down.