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“Yes.”
Silence again. If anything, they were all holding up well. Even Patty. I would have expected her to scream in horror and make a run for it. She was shaking visibly, her chin was trembling like she was about to cry, but her eyes were dry. Pazuzu was the one who broke the silence.
“And how do you know about all this? You said you stumbled into his secret. How does one stumble into blood sacrifice?”
I dragged in a breath. He wasn’t going to like this.
“The monster almost ate me.”
CHAPTER SIX
After the big reveal, it was hard to convince them to follow me and Francis down to the cavern. Not even Joel was excited about the prospect of secret doors and passageways anymore. Patty went silent, which was unnatural for her, and only meant she was in a state of shock, and Klaus let out a torrent of curses and wails. He’d almost lost me! And he hadn’t even known!
“You didn’t tell me that you almost died? How could you? I’m your friend, Mila, I care about you. This was so, so unfair.”
I shook my head in defeat. On the one hand, he was right. I should have told him. But there were so many people who’d almost lost me when the Great Old One wrapped its tentacles around me and dragged me into the well. I couldn’t possibly tell them all! My mom, my dad (as much of an asshole as he was, he probably deserved to know he’d almost gotten rid of me but not quite), my boyfriends, Patty… Corri? Not even Corri knew about what had happened in year one.
Oh, by the way, I didn’t tell them Sariel had been the one to lure me down there. There was no point in stirring shit from the past. Bygones. He’d stopped bullying me and trying to get me killed, and that was all that mattered. Plus, he’d saved my life once. Just because of that, I thought he deserved a break. If GC and Paz found out that Sariel had been behind all of it, they’d kill him. Not just threaten to kill him, but actually kill him. I didn’t need the drama right now.
Pazuzu was the one who decided he wanted to go down there and see the well. He wanted to see where he’d almost lost me forever, and GC was soon on board. When Klaus, Joel, and Patty realized they couldn’t stop us, they joined us. We sneaked out of the room, down the dark corridor, and into the old dorm with the piled-up furniture and the fake bookcase. As we closed the door behind us and climbed down the secret stairs, we took out our phones and used our flashlights. Klaus was kind enough to save our batteries by creating a magic ball of white light. Having a mage around had its perks, even if he wasn’t as powerful and well-trained as Lorna Chiaramonte, my number one rival.
We reached the bottom of the stairs, and I hesitated before stepping into the warm, rusty water. Francis led my friends forward, GC followed them, but Pazuzu sensed my anxiety and stayed behind. Damn him and his telepathic abilities! I couldn’t hide a thing from him these days…
“Mila, I need to tell you something.” He placed his hands on my shoulders, pulled me toward him, and forced me to look into his eyes. But when our eyes locked, he opened his mouth, yet not a sound came out.
“What is it?” I whispered in the darkness. Klaus had moved on with his ball of light. All we had was the flickering candlelight on the still water. I knew Francis went down there regularly to change the spent candles and keep the new ones lit. “I’m sorry. I’m not afraid, I promise. This isn’t the first time I’m coming down here after it happened. As long as Francis is around, everything is under control.”
“You’re not trying to convince me.” He smiled. “You’re trying to convince yourself.”
I nodded. He was right.
“I know you’re not afraid. You’re fearless,” he continued. “But that’s not what I wanted to tell you.” He took in a deep breath, released it with a heavy sigh, then took my chin between his fingers. “I almost lost you, and I didn’t even know. You’re human, you’re mortal, and you face danger every minute of every day. And night. I should’ve…” He shook his head. “But I didn’t.”
“Should’ve… what?”
“Should’ve told you how much I love you. I’ll do better, I promise. Starting right now, I will tell you every morning, and every night before you go to bed.” He leaned in, his lips just inches from mine. I could feel his minty breath on my face. “I’ll tell you that I love you every time I kiss you, every time I’m inside you, every time you come apart in my arms.”
“Paz…”
He wrapped his other arm around my waist and dived in for a kiss. I placed a firm hand on his chest. It was my turn to say something that I should’ve said a long time ago.
“I love you, too.”
His green eyes grew wide. For a second, he didn’t know how to react. He probably thought he hadn’t heard me right. I’d never said the three words before, not to him, and not to GC. He recovered quickly and smiled like a kid who’d just found out Disneyland was his for the taking.
“Mila…”
“I love you, and I love GC. Just so we’re clear. I’ll tell him the next chance I get.”
He chuckled. “That’s fine by me, goddess. You know I can share.”
“Only he calls me…”
“And he’s right. He’s been right all along.”
He pulled me against his chest, and I didn’t resist him this time. Our lips met, my fingers tangled in his long, dark hair, and I thrust my pelvis forward, eager to feel his hard cock, desperate to fuck him right then and there. But we had more important matters to attend to.
“Guys, what the fuck? Are you coming?” GC poked his head from under the low ceiling of the tunnel.
