\u201cCome to bed,\u201d I said after a few long moments of silence.\u00a0 \u201cJust for a few hours.\u00a0 I won\u2019t make you stay past midnight, since you\u2019re so sure they\u2019re still going to hit us.\u201d<\/p>\n
He winced.\u00a0 \u201cMar\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAm I really asking for that much, Thom?\u00a0 Really?\u201d<\/p>\n
He winced again but stayed silent, resting his chin against my temple.\u00a0 I swallowed a sigh.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m asking too much.\u00a0 He won\u2019t do it.\u00a0 I suppose I can\u2019t blame him, either.\u00a0 He\u2019s got the well-being of everyone on his mind.\u00a0 I\u2019ve just got my comfort and his on mine.<\/i>\u00a0 \u201cAll right,\u201d I murmured.\u00a0 \u201cI guess I\u2019m going to go get some sleep while I still can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thom nodded slightly.\u00a0 \u201cYou should.\u00a0 We\u2019ll need you when it starts.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a fighter or a symbol?<\/i>\u00a0 I swallowed the question and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll be there with that bow.\u201d<\/p>\n
The morning after the fight with the Dirae<\/i> and the Hecate, I\u2019d found a bow lain across the threshold of our cot\u2019s doorway.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t sure if Thordin or Phelan had put it there, but it had been a welcome gift all the same, acknowledging my apparently growing skill with the weapon.\u00a0 Every time it filled my hands, I felt a sense of rightness<\/i>, as if that was where it belonged\u2014as if this, not a sword or a staff, was the weapon I was meant to wield.<\/p>\n
I was almost afraid to consider what I might be like with a spear in my hands\u2014a weapon that Phelan kept quietly threatening to give me, if only to see what I\u2019d do with one.<\/p>\n
I started to pull away from Thom but his arm tightened as I did.\u00a0 He held me fast for a \u00a0long moment, wrapping both arms around me and hanging on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love you,\u201d he murmured into my hair.\u00a0 \u201cNever forget and never doubt that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never will and never could,\u201d I said, tilting my face up to his.\u00a0 I caught his face between my hands and kissed him hard enough that he sucked in a sharp breath in surprise, eyes popping wide.<\/p>\n
\u201cHell,\u201d he said after I pulled away.\u00a0 \u201cIs there something that you\u2019re not telling me, Mar?\u201d<\/p>\n
I smiled wryly.\u00a0 \u201cJust showing you what you\u2019ll be missing, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI already knew,\u201d he said, his expression abruptly sad.\u00a0 My brows knit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs there something you\u2019re not telling me?\u201d<\/p>\n
One corner of his mouth twitched toward a rueful smile.\u00a0 \u201cFor better or worse, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve seen anything about this encounter.\u00a0 That\u2019s terrifying and comforting all at once.\u201d<\/p>\n
I shivered slightly and hugged him close for another brief moment before I stepped away.\u00a0 \u201cWell, let\u2019s hope it\u2019s a good omen, not a bad one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHere\u2019s to hoping.\u201d\u00a0 His fingers brushed my face as I stepped back.\u00a0 \u201cSweet dreams, Mar.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll see you in the morning,\u201d I said, giving him one last smile before I turned and walked away, wishing he\u2019d agreed to come to bed.\u00a0 That had been all that I\u2019d actually wanted\u2014him to come to bed so I could curl up against his chest.\u00a0 I slept better that way.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t blame him for staying up, though.\u00a0 He had his reasons and they weren\u2019t bad ones.<\/p>\n
That didn\u2019t stop me from wanting him with me as I trudged back to our shared quarters and changed into something that wasn\u2019t quite pajamas but wasn\u2019t quite clothing, either.\u00a0 I wanted to sleep, after all, and I wasn\u2019t about to sleep in blue jeans when an attack wasn\u2019t guaranteed to happen that night.<\/p>\n
I fell into bed and buried my face in Thom\u2019s pillow, inhaling deeply.\u00a0 I\u2019d only left him a few minutes before, but my heart ached deeply for him.<\/p>\n
I wish he\u2019d come to bed,<\/i> I thought, biting my lip.<\/p>\n
Squeezing my eyes shut, I took another deep breath.\u00a0 I was asleep in minutes, curled in a ball under our shared blankets, all alone.<\/p>\n
And I dreamed.<\/p>\n
I remembered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cCome to bed,\u201d I said after a few long moments of silence.\u00a0 \u201cJust for a few hours.\u00a0 I won\u2019t make you stay past midnight, since you\u2019re so sure they\u2019re still going to hit us.\u201d He winced.\u00a0 \u201cMar\u2014\u201d \u201cAm I really … Continue reading