For the damned | ✓

15

HE PULLED BACK HIS hand so quickly it seemed like he had been burned, fingers clenching in a fist again by his side as he stepped back. She didn't know why she had told him the truth, but she had not wanted to lie either. Still, whatever Niccolo had told her, she wasn't fully sure she believed it yet. And even if she did, what did it matter? Wasn't she the master of her own fate?

Honestly, she hadn't expected him to react to it at all. With how level-headed he stayed most times a part of her had thought he would just shrug, like it all didn't matter. And yet here he was, looking at her like she had told him something terrible, like he felt guilty for cursing her with his presence now.

"I'm sorry," he said, evading his gaze," shit, I keep apologizing to you, but I am. It seems I've involved you in my mess."

"Why are you apologizing?" she said curiously," I'm the one who keeps looking for you and involving myself."

He shook his head, locking eyes with her then.

"But I should know better," he said," I've seen so much death and ruin, I should know better than to put you through something like that." He swallowed, the distance between them feeling like it was so much yet nothing at all. "You are so pure, you deserve better than me."

"Am I not the one who decides what I deserve?" she said.

When he didn't reply she took his wrist, surprising him as she tugged him along.

"Do you have an hour to spare?" she said.

"The answer is always no with my schedule," he said, before adding," what for?"

"I want to show you something," she said," can you make yourself visible?"

"How do you know I'm not visible right now?" he said," perhaps I enjoy humans seeing and harassing me."

"It's no wonder then you keep following me around," she teased.

She had expected him to deny it, but instead his cheeks tinted red as he scraped his throat.

"I am visible now," he said," what is it you wanted to show me?"

With a smile she pulled him along and he followed quietly, through the streets she knew by heart, until she reached the forest closeby. He frowned as she headed uphill a small path through the trees, but eventually dared to go on, until they reached the edge, a railing surrounding it. She stepped out from the trees, turning towards him and placing her hands in front of his eyes as he emerged from behind. The surprise at her sudden touch was clear, his hand shooting up to hers, but stopping by her wrist, softly enclosing it.

"Okay, you can only look when I tell you to," she said.

"I am usually the guide," he said," this feels wrong."

"Just trust me," she said.

He hesitated, but still stepped forward, walking blindly, but before she could remove her hands to show him she bumped against a protruding root and the next thing she knew the ground was slipping from underneath her feet. A yell escaped her lips, her arms around his neck in an attempt to grab something to hold onto. Quickly he placed his hand on the floor, turning them in time so he landed underneath, her head thumping against his chest.

Sheepishly she looked up at him, only then realizing his hand on the small of her back, her arms around his neck, the close proximity of their faces. His eyes were clouded silver, darkening for a brief second. She half-expected him to look away, but he didn't, instead holding her gaze. The silence between them felt electric, like she could burn herself on his presence alone. As if on cue she heard a soft rumbling come from the distance then, gray clouds spreading across it.