AllFreeNovel
Share Us
In my ear she whispered, “Dancing souls.”
FIVE
WATER THAT BURNS
Humans can be beautiful and soulful creatures. They can also be heartless and as cold as the Arctic. Influences, whether in the shape of other humans or some sort of substance, make us vulnerable for the picking. My foundation was my influence. I’d been taught, by example, to lead with an iron fist. I’d been taught that the club was vital for my survival, hence why I killed for it. No questions asked. Yet I had allowed Rosa past the powerful barriers no one had ever successfully hurdled. Not that anyone other than club sluts had tried, their reasons never sincere.
With Rosa, there had been nothing but sincerity. Overwhelmingly so, creating a tightrope for me to walk since I was so far beneath her noble ways.
Such negative thoughts would be used against me. Against her.
At first, there were so many special moments with Rosa that her love felt like an impenetrable safe zone, not a sinker weight threatening to drown me in her righteousness. At first, every vulnerable part of me was sheltered in her affections and kindness, not a reminder of what I wasn’t.
In those few days, we brought balance to the other. However, the seduction of the dark side continued.
Once my soul was awakened, I thought Rhea could save me from my destiny, just like she had saved me from death. What I, nor she, understood was her saving me was part of my destiny.
Due to my parents’ and my own wrongdoings, I’d been promised to the devil long ago. I suspected he didn’t appreciate the courageous light, trying to draw me from his grasp. I was to be a useful soldier he preferred to keep. There was no changing that. Even for a wonderful being like my Little Hellion.
I will always be thankful for the precious moments and days she blessed me with.
And … I will always regret how I ‘thanked’ her for them.
But … play with fire?
Get ready to burn. Even if you have wings.
In the morning, back in bed, I was alarmed to wake and see Rosa quite pale again. Her being asleep didn’t stop me from snatching her into my arms and touching her clammy face. “Rosa, speak to me.”
Tired eyes briefly fluttered open only to shut again. Her frail voice said, “You mean much to him.”
She looked awful. Not at all like my fighting divinity.
“Let him have me, babe. I’m not worth it.” The guilt her sacrifice was putting me through was starting to wear thin. The constant clash of good versus evil—Rhea verses Onus—was a powerful force against my battle to be … good.
In a whisper, she said, “Keep burning, my sun.”
Not willing to listen to another word, knowing her suffering was on my behalf, I growled, “Take back whatever you put in me. Whatever you…” I glanced at my palm, only to be reminded that the cut had healed unnaturally fast. “Take it back, and heal yourself, right now.”
Even though that meant losing her forever, I meant every word.
Dead weight on my chest, she quietly said, “My choice has been made.”
Wrong answer. “Fuck this.” When I leaped out of bed, Rosa collapsed to her stomach on the mattress, but she was still able to watch me.
Naked, I raced to a kitchen drawer and grabbed a sharp knife.
“No,” she faintly cried.
Facing her, I showed my palm to her then sliced it open. As my blood dripped down my forearm and to the floor, I demanded, “Take. It. Back.”
Barely able to summon the strength, she covered her mouth. “Onus—”
I ran back to the bed. “No. No more ‘dancing souls’ or you dealing with the devil. Save yourself.” I pulled her hand from her mouth and laid it on the bed, ready to strike, but the knife didn’t move. In my hand, pointing down to her soft skin, it just hung there, suspended in the air. “What the fuck is happening?”
Acting like this was an everyday occurrence for her, she casually stared at her hand. “Vows being kept.” As though her eyelids were weighed down, they drifted shut, seemingly beyond her control. “You can’t physically hurt me until the vows are complete.”
“Fine, I’ll kill my dad, rush you to Miami, then free you of me—”
