Chapter 33 Cedar
Cedar
“You burned it all down?!”
“Did I forget to mention that?” I said with a hum and dunked my head under the warm water.
Vesper and Aurelia were behind me, their silence causing me to turn around.
It hadn’t been long since the events in the throne room, so there was still a lot left to be said, but I didn’t think the thing they would freak out about was me burning down the coven.
“Yeah, you forgot to mention it. And releasing Max? That’s not just something you forget about.”
Vesper looked at me with her arms crossed. Aurelia was leaning into her, pouting.
“Well, at least I didn’t have a whole fucking vampire battle hidden up my sleeve the entire time.”
Aurelia let out a huff.
“The Underground and the shifters are kind of important too,” Vesper said, lightly elbowing Aurelia.
“Hey! The shifters were new to me too.”
Aurelia came to help me wash my body. I smiled and turned around so she could get my back.
We were inseparable since the battle. There was no one to keep us apart anymore, so nothing would stop us from spending every single moment together.
Including showering.
“You’re getting thirsty. Do you want—"
“I’m okay,” I said quickly.
Becoming a vampire after a lifetime of being a witch was something that would take some time getting used to. Though with them, and especially with Vesper sharing her newborn experience, I was slowly getting the hang of it.
Speaking of Vesper, her fingers were lightly trailing my back.
“If there are any other secrets, we should share them right here and now.”
I knew she was talking about my scars. After I turned into a vampire, they all but disappeared—maybe because I killed the coven leader who gave them to me in the first place—but that didn’t mean they were totally gone.
With their vampire sight, they had no doubt seen them, but this was the first time they were mentioning them point-blank.
It was definitely easier to talk about it when I wasn’t looking at them.
“The White Lotus…” I trailed off. Their fingers were warm, and so were the feelings in the bond.
Right. They won’t care about this. Because it’s me. And they love me.
“Witch covens like to act like they’re superior to hunters because they don’t kill people,” I said with a shaky breath.
“But that’s not exactly right. The White Lotus acts like a hunter organization.
Each coven has their own special dedicated group, though after what I learned about mine, I’m not sure all others are that brutal. ”
They were silent, but the feelings coming through the bond didn’t change. They weren’t judging me.
Vesper’s fingers were tracing my scars, and Aurelia had leaned closer, giving me comfort.
“When I went to visit the other coven, I was scared they would turn me away because of what I had done in service of the White Lotus. But Morgan, the leader, was the one who gave me an orb. The one I used to burn the coven down and rescue the seer.”
I finally turned to look at them.
“These scars are from how he punished us.”
Their eyes filled with understanding.
“This is a lot,” Vesper said. “They may be mostly gone now, but still… He abused you. I wish he were alive again so I could kill him myself.”
“You try to scrub these off in the shower sometimes, don’t you?” Aurelia asked.
I froze, not really knowing how I felt about being so seen. It was panic-inducing. I didn’t know how to admit it, but I knew I had to.
“Yes,” I said around the knot in my throat. “I hate them.”
“I heard you in the shower a couple of times too,” Vesper confessed.
“But regardless…” They both hugged me, with Vesper resting her head on my right shoulder and Aurelia placing her cheek against my left arm.
“These scars are a part of you. And no one will ever abuse you again. Not even yourself. We love every single part of you.”
“We do. Let’s be kind to ourselves going forward, yes?” Aurelia added, kissing my upper arm. “Nothing but love here.”
Bloodred tears filled my eyes, and I dunked my head in the water to wash them away.
How on this earth did the gods bless me with such perfect partners?
“Okay,” I whispered, letting them hold me. “Nothing but love.”