Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 161535 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 808(@200wpm)___ 646(@250wpm)___ 538(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 161535 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 808(@200wpm)___ 646(@250wpm)___ 538(@300wpm)
“Am I dreaming again?” I whisper.
“No.” Kalos hands me a napkin. His face is exceedingly gentle as he watches me. “You’re all right, Elsie.”
“Lies,” Belara hisses.
I look over at the goddess, startled. Gone are the tears and shy weakness. She’s all anger now, her lip curling in disgust as she regards me and Kalos.
“Ignore her,” Kalos says to me. He holds the napkin to my nose, the fabric soaking with my nosebleed.
“When are you going to tell her the truth, my love?” Belara asks, gloating. She leans back in her chair, all confidence now. “When will you admit what’s really going on? I can keep your secrets, but you know my price.”
“Silence.”
“Buy my silence,” she counters. “But I suppose it’s too late now, isn’t it?” She clicks her tongue and gives me a pitying look. “Too late for everything, alas.”
What is she talking about? I look over at Kalos for answers, but he jerks to his feet. He holds a hand out to me, indicating I should join him.
I put my hand in his and stand, and I’m immediately dizzy. I pitch forward, and Kalos catches me. He cradles me against him, reassuring me with whispers that everything is fine.
Belara just laughs, the sound low and cruel and yet somehow lovely.
My head spins as Kalos leads me away. I want to help, but my nose keeps dripping and so I clutch the napkin to it as he hauls me alongside him. We get back to our quarters and he eases me onto the bed, propping pillows up underneath my neck. “Keep this elevated, Elsie. The bleeding will stop eventually.”
“What’s going on?” I ask as he pushes more pillows underneath my head, until I’m practically sitting up. “What are you not telling me?”
His expression becomes so sad that it makes my heart ache. He studies me, tenderly brushing his fingers over my cheek. For a long moment, he says nothing at all. “Elsie…”
He trails off, then falls silent.
“Were you using your powers? Is that why my nose is bleeding and I’m so tired?”
I hate that he still won’t look at me. He reaches for my hand, twining my free one with his. “I’ve fought this for as long as possible. It’s getting to the point that I can’t do much more for you. I’m sorry. My powers are very limited on the mortal plane.”
Fought this…? I stare at him, and it takes a moment for me to realize what’s going on.
Weren’t the nosebleeds an indicator that David’s cancer was returning? Something about getting anemic or lack of minerals or something along those lines. He’d get nosebleeds, and intense fatigue…and headaches.
Oh god. I think about all the times I’ve had a headache, only to dismiss it as Kalos using his powers. The times he’s reached over and touched me, brushing the headache away with a wisp of his magic. “I have cancer, don’t I? Just like David.”
“I don’t know David, but there’s something in you, aye. Something in your brain. I can’t stop it. It’s not the same as cold, or the plague. It keeps coming back, stronger than ever. All I can do is push it down for a day or two, but then it returns, over and over again.” His expression grows stricken. “I suspect being around me makes it worse, not better.”
I should have known. Should have guessed. There’s a knot forming in my throat, but a strange sort of peace is floating through my veins. I was expecting this, I realized. My dreams kept trying to warn me. Every time I was too happy, or filled with hope, they tried to tell me that something was going on. Maybe I’ve known on some subconscious level all along. “I see.”
“I can keep you comfortable, but your strength is not going to return. The nosebleeds will continue to happen. The sickness inside you is only growing with time.”
I swallow the knot in my throat, nodding. “I want to complain that it’s not fair, but none of this is about being fair. It is what it is. I’ve been on borrowed time all along. What happens next, Kalos?”
The bleakness in his expression wounds me to my soul. “I should be thrilled, Elsie. I don’t want to be here in the mortal realm any longer. If you knew what it was like in the aether, in my realm, you’d hate it here, too. But I know how much you don’t want to die. I know how much every breath means to you. I hate this.”
My mouth flattens. I have no words. Just a vague, aching sorrow. Is this all I get? A few months with him and an eternity without him? Somehow, I thought we’d have more time. I lift our joined hands to his cheek, wanting to comfort him. I can see him sagging, as if the weight of my mortality is too much to bear.