Page 99 of Souls We Rip

We watched together as the rain poured outside, the sound filling the space between us.

“You were saying something about your brother,” I said, remembering the dark cloud over our happiness. “You needed to talk to me about something?” My brows knitted as I placed his hand over my stomach.

“Yes, that,” he grunted as he supported his back on the pile of our clothes. “His desire is to turn himself human, but only after he kills me.”

I squeezed his hand. “That won’t happen,” I said, my eyes hard on the dark sky.

If the Elk were to kill him, the master would become the sole heir. Only if the Elk were still alive.

“You’re so sure of that, inimă,” he chuckled, his fingers twirling my hair. “Why is that?”

“We can kill him before the last soul.”

It was so silent in the room that I could hear the wheels of his mind working. I snuggled closer to his body to feel his chest against mine. The droplets of water hit the window, resembling tears, but as soon as they hit the edge of the frame, they turned into ice.

“I knew you were smart,” he mumbled into my hair, after he planted a kiss on top of my head.

“Maybe now, but not at the beginning.”

“You will hold my selfish self against me every day for the rest of our lives, right?”

“Yes,” I admitted. But I couldn’t hide my smile. Not when my soul was filled. I thanked God for that feeling which was lost for me.

“Let’s plot our next move in the morning. I want this night to be ours,” he said, standing and offering his hand to me. “I have something to give you.”

“You have already given me a life beyond death, Tiberius.” I linked my fingers with his and rose to full height, raising my eyebrows.

He tugged my fingers, walking towards the place where we left our cloaks, draping them over our shoulders as we walked. He took a small dark box from his pocket, then, turning to me, he held it open.

I didn’t know if the house was shaking or his hands were the ones who continued to shudder. All of a sudden, the candles flickered harder.

“The jeweller told me that whoever wears this ring will have to wear it forever.” His sentence was more of a question than a proposition.

A ring. With a black diamond in which flames' reflection bobbed. The sophisticated rose carving was holding the diamond gracefully.

“Ana,” Tiberius said, taking a step towards me, my mind reeling, “with this ring, I mark my promise to get both of us out of this eternity. If you accept it, we will thrive in life and death. Because without you and your pure soul, even in the afterlife, I would not breathe.”

I stretched my hand to him, nodding once, words escaping me. He pushed slowly the ring on my finger, the immense feelings I had for the man in front of me, overwhelming me.

My eyes filled with tears, the newfound happiness setting heavy on my chest.

“I…if I hadn’t offered my soul to you, I wouldn’t have found the love I feel every day, every second. Yes, you dug my hole, but you jumped in it too. And somehow, my dear Tiberius, we will crawl back to the sun and air, and we will live the life we wrote with blood, screams and death.” I stepped closer to him, my eyes watching his own tears falling.

His hands captured my face, hunger crossing his eyes, his lips whispering on my lips, undying words. “I love you, Ana, my strong, beautiful woman.”

And the night was ours.

Where no one touched us with scythes or resentful words. Where there were no families, no skulls or masks.

It was only us.

The peasant and the Goat Man.

The Stag Woman and Eternity.

Ana and Tiberius.

The Goat Man