Page 43 of The Demon God's Desire
“Guilri?” I ask, leaning our packs against the cave wall.
He turns to look over his shoulder at me, raising a brow as I shift to sit down on one of the mats.
I pat the spot next to me. “Come relax for a while. We’ve got all tomorrow to play lookout.”
He sighs but moves away from the mouth of the cave reluctantly, dragging his feet along the way. I appreciate him being in protective mode, but he needs to rest after what happened. Not to mention, the more he’s up and moving, the less effective that salve will be.
It always works better on stationary skin, giving it time to soak down deep and work its magic.
He lowers himself down next to me carefully, turning to lounge on his side to keep from smearing the salve around. I smile at him and lay down next to him, cuddling against his body to soak up his warmth.
Despite everything that’s gone on with our journey so far, I do enjoy these quiet moments with him. I don’t know how long I’ll get to revel in them before the next attack or something else equally terrible happens, but until then, I’m completely content.
“Tell me something,” I say after a while, tracing a finger over his pecs.
“What?”
“How does it work? Your powers, I mean.”
“That’s… a complicated question.”
I had a feeling it might be, but that doesn’t stop my curiosity from piquing. “When did it start?”
He cards his hand through my hair gently. I’ve come to realize he does this while he’s thinking, like it’s a thoughtful gesture that helps ground him back down to reality. My chest aches with want for him. I can’t imagine where I would be if Guilri didn’t enter my life.
“I was young when they began manifesting. Around eight or so. My parents always took it as a sign that the gods that had long ago forsaken us were bestowing favors once again. They were incredibly proud to have me as their child. A warrior for the Hearthkeeper in the making.”
He talks about it fondly. It makes me wonder where his parents are now and if they’re still alive or gone like mine.
Though, instead I ask, “What’s it like? When you use them.”
“Hm… it feels like a warm trickling feeling coming over my body. That’s how I’ve always known that the Hearthkeeper is there whenever I use my powers. I can feel her presence whenever I go into battle. It used to comfort me, actually.”
“Really?” I lift my eyes to look into his.
He nods. “That’s why it feels so strange to be on her bad side. For so long she’d granted me this incredible gift. Yet now, it seems that I’m being punished for it.”
“I’m sorry, Guilri. It’s—”
“It’s not,” he cuts me off immediately. “Don’t say such things.”
I frown. “But.”
He shakes his head, his fingers pulling away from my hair to cup my face instead. “You’ve done nothing wrong, do you hear me? None of this is your fault. How were either of us to know the anger that would come from us being together?”
I sigh. “Still…”
“Bridget, I mean it. None of this is your fault. If anyone is to blame, it’s me.”
My eyes widen. “You? How so?”
“It’s not a secret that the Hearthkeeper is prejudiced against humans. In fact, she quite hates any race that aren’t dark elves.”
Just when I thought she couldn’t get more heinous.
“Guess we really pushed that button.”
He chuckles. “I’d say we more than smashed it a few times.”