Page 76 of The Song of the Void

He pulled me to sit on my knees like him and hugged me, completely disregarding the mud caked all over me that transferred to his skin and clothes. “Zephra…I’m real sorry. I didn’t know about any of this, I swear,” he whispered, tightening his grip.

“Do…do you think Reiven is going to kill me to lift his curse?” My voice sounded pathetically small.

He stroked my muddy hair, his touch light and gentle as he shook his head with certainty. “No. I wouldn’t let him, anyway.” He wiped mud out of my eyes so I could see his sunny grin. I had never thought of Ash as more than a boy, even if he had ambitions large enough to encompass the whole world…but in that moment, he was my hero. The little brother the world blessed me with, who effortlessly saved me. He muttered something about using his last ring as he helped me to stand and picked up his crutch out of the mud, though he didn’t use it.

“Ash, I love you.”

His eyes widened, but an embarrassed smile soon cracked his surprise. “I love you, too. Come on now, let’s get you inside.”

I felt terrible for leaning on him. He made me carry his crutch so he could keep one arm around me and his pistol in the other hand, in case of more pirates. But the only people we ran into on our way to the tower where our guest rooms were located were Mourner guards. Luckily, they didn’t comment on all the mud we tracked inside.

Ash paused outside an ebony door and knocked, then let himself in without waiting for a response. I followed him cautiously, into a bedroom that appeared nearly identical to the one I had stayed in, but with the addition of a despondent Mourner prince sitting on the fancy bed, fingers dug into his hair.

He looked up and shot to his feet. “Ash! What happened to you two—oh…” It took him a moment to come to a conclusion after glancing between us, eyeing the mud that clung to my skin and clothing. His hands tightened into fists. “If she wanted to leave, you should have just let her!”

“Zephra wasn’t tryin’ to leave, you idiot. That creepy aunt of yours tried to kill her usin’ Vaetrik’s crew. You’re lucky I was lookin’ around outside and heard,” Ash said, snatching his crutch from me.

Awkward silence settled over us as Reiven and I stared at each other, until Ash tapped his crutch with a muted thunk against the plush maroon carpeting.

He swiveled to leave. “’Kay, see ya.”

I snatched his wrist. “W-wait, don’t go anywhere!”

“Trust me, I don’t think I wanna be here while you two talk and—whatever else you do.” Ash shivered. “After y’all work things out, come fill me in on what the plan is for tomorrow.” He slipped out of my grasp and out the door faster than I could open my mouth to beg him to stay.

More silence hung over us like the clouds of smog drifting outside the rain-spattered window.

Reiven inched towards me. “Are…you alright? I’m sorry. I didn’t think she’d try to attack you since you’re under the Fire Spirit’s protection.”

I stayed still, so he tried again after a nervous swallow.

“Zephra…I know there’s a lot that I couldn’t tell you, and I’m so sorry for that. Please…Please don’t look at me like I’m a monster.”

Unfamiliar red eyes. White shirt with sleeves rolled up to reveal the dark coloration creeping up his forearms. Pointed ears peeking out of jet-black hair that was usually messy, but now was combed and neat, perfect for some golden crown to be placed on. Maybe not a monster, but definitely different from the man I knew.

A damn Mourner prince.

“You should have told me.”

“I couldn’t.”

“You should have told me!”

“I couldn’t!” Even though he raised his voice, there was no anger there. Only regret. “I looked like a Human because Tamayo put a glamor on me before I was banished. She tried to make it sound like she wanted to protect me, to keep me from being targeted out in the world for being a Mourner. But her glamor also prevented me from telling anyone what I was—I couldn’t even say the word ‘Mourner’ until she removed it. I tried, over and over, to tell you and Ash. I tried to write it down or trick the glamor by saying it backwards, but every single time, my body would lock up and the words would die. Tamayo wanted to make sure I couldn’t reveal myself and further sully our family name.”

I took a shuddering breath of warm air to keep myself grounded. “So…is it true? That if you kill me, it will break the curse?”

“Yes.” He gave me a bitter smile. “Do you think I’m going to do it, Blue?”

I squeezed my eyes shut. From the moment we met, he’d known that killing me would save him from his curse. If Ash didn’t receive my message and desire to help, if Reiven and I hadn’t been bound together—I would have been dead, and Rei would have his power back already. My story could have ended then and there, and I would never have known what it felt like to trust someone again. To love again. But my story didn’t end, and I found that love and trust I convinced myself was unattainable. I found it with him.

My whirlpool of thoughts had me so distracted that I hadn't even realized he had closed the distance between us.

He furrowed his dark brows, eyes glowing with fire. “I became a pirate to hunt Sirens, you know. Searched for years on the high seas. Never found one. But one day ashore in Arvensis, I overheard a wealthy Human merchant boasting about the amount of money he had paid to kiss a Siren at some awful curiosity parlor in the capital. If I hadn’t run into Ashkade on the way and gotten absorbed with protecting him…I would have tracked you down and killed you without even learning your name. All my power back, the pain gone, in one instant after watching the life leave a pair of beautiful blue eyes.”

He seized my knife from its sheath, shoved the handle into my palm, and made me wrap my fingers around it. He yanked my hand up towards his neck, forcing me to press the sharp edge against his throat. A few drops of blood slipped down the blade. “I know you don’t trust me. Maybe you should take the opportunity and kill me first. Right now.” His gaze softened a bit, and so did his grip on my hand. “Make it easier on both of us and end whatever this is in a shower of blood.”

Apparently, he had taken my silence as a “Yes, I do think you’re going to kill me, Rei.” What an idiot.