Page 32 of At The End There Was You

Their breaths misted as they waited in the half-broken station seats for the next train to arrive. The only sound between them was the creaking time sign that was being blown by the autumnal winds.

He took her hand and put it between his before bringing it to his lips and blowing warm air on them.

Chills erupted all over her body, she felt that to the tip of her hairs. And when he kissed all of her fingers, she couldn’t help but squirm in her seat and smile to herself, hiding deeper inside her hood.

Tucking her hand under his coat jacket to keep it warm, he said, “You must be tired from the mass.”

“I was tired waiting for it to end and come see you.”

He let out a noncommittal sound as a response, which prompted Winter to throw a little glance at Azriel. His profile was harsh, as if cut by a knife, his stubble had grown a little and gave him a darker look. He was the most handsome creature she’d seen. “W-what is it?” she asked.

He was looking ahead at nothing, but his face broke into a smile and she quickly looked away. “Oh, nothing,” he said, throwing back her words.

Before she would say something, the rails rattled, signalling the train’s arrival, and they both stood, approaching the platform.

She followed him inside along the small brown seat corridor filled with a lingering scent of mints and cigarettes, still holding onto his hand. He stopped and pointed to a few empty seats. “Take the window.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “The view is amazing, you can even see the sea in a small fraction.”

“I don’t want to look out of the window, Winter, I have something better to look at.”

She turned to the seat to hide her smile, but stopped when he tugged at her cloak and pulled her against his chest. Azriel wrapped his arms around her body and rested his head on her shoulder, kissing her neck. “Why are you hiding from me under that cloak?”

She spun in his arms and wrapped hers around his neck before going on her tiptoes and kissing him. The way he kissed her back almost turned inappropriate, so she pulled away and he let out a frustrated groan, trying to pull her back to his body.

“People will see, and I am still in my religious robes,” she quietly said, blushing down almost to her toes.

He frowned. “I should have just kept you in that dark and dingy library and had my fun with you on every single surface of it.”

She quickly looked around them, sighing when she only noticed an elderly woman loudly snoring a few seats away. Tugging on his hand, she pulled them both down to sit and then kissed him again in the small privacy their seat offered.

She felt his smile against her lips and stopped, cracking her eyes open and pulling back a little. “What?”

“I like that you want me just how I want you,” he said, kissing her again breathless for long—so long that her lips had swollen and his had about a bunch of bite marks on them from Winter’s attempt to break it off and stop him from ravaging her in the public.

They’d been forced apart after an older gentleman had sat on the seats across from them, reading a newspaper and randomly throwing curious glances at Winter and her robes, and then at their hands linked together on her lap. Winter had tried to pull apart from him, but he’d only held her tighter. “Az,” she harshly whispered, throwing a corner of her cloak over their joined hands to cover them.

“What, my sun?” he sternly asked, not tearing his eyes off from the man who was now minding his business. Azriel, on the other hand, had not stopped one moment from glaring at him. Winter feared a rain cloud would appear above the man’s head to suddenly drench him in cold rain and strike him dead with lightning.

Thankfully, their stop came next and Winter pushed Azriel to his feet before the train hadn’t even come to a halt.

Even though the skies were entirely too grey to even blame the dreich autumn, the city was alive with colour and movement. Sophisticated shops lined the streets, painted in all shades of the rainbow and taller than any buildings she’d usually seen in the small villages around Urvalis Sanctum. People dressed in the latest trends and fashion paced rapidly towards their destination, a few others hovering in front of the store windows while some sat in the cafes and restaurants enjoying their meals with a family, or with a newspaper or a book before them.

“Where are we heading first?”

He brought out a piece of paper with some sort of hand drawn map on it. “Your little friend said you’d sell your soul for something called marshmallows. I can’t allow that, so I thought I could buy some for you. She told me where the shop was,” he said, linking their hands together and pulling her in the middle of the walking crowd.

“We came to Fessas for marshmallows?” Winter asked incredulously.

“If you’d sell your soul for them, I supposed they were important enough.”

She blinked up at him. “You do know what they are, right?”

“Your little friend said they are small, white, soft and sweet, so I suppose it is some sort of animal. Perhaps a small cat?”

Winter threw her head back and laughed. “No, it is something you eat.”

“If you think they taste good, I don’t see why it should stop us.”