Chapter 22 #2
“Aww, shit.” It was still tender, but when she pulled her hand away, I could finally take a deep breath.
“Now the one on your head.” She grabbed my crown and pulled my head down to assess the damage. “Yikes.”
“Is it bad?” It felt like my skull had been split in two.
“Look at that! You’re as hard-headed as I thought,” she said with a snicker.
“Hah-hah.” I rolled my eyes. “Very funny.”
“You’ll survive,” she said before placing her hand over the wound and chanting in that same hypnotic rhythm. That, too, stitched itself back together, and suddenly, the roaring pain dulled to a minor throb. “There. Let me see the ones on your ankles.”
“No,” I said, grabbing her hands to stop her. “You’ve done enough. Don’t exert any more magic. You’ll need it to get us out of here.”
She glanced at me with her shimmering eyes, so intelligent and mesmerizing.
It was difficult to remember a time when I didn’t like her, couldn’t stand to be around her.
Ages had passed since then, even if it was only technically two months.
It felt like centuries. We had lived entire lifetimes here in the liminal together.
“Sit with me,” I said. “Talk to me.”
The glass windows tinkled as the demon pressed in on them, trying to get through, trying to break through the impenetrable force of this holy ground.
I ignored it because if I focused too much on it, I’d remember the way it felt with that demon’s tentacles wrapped around my legs, and I’d start panicking again.
“About what?” She sat next to me and spread her legs out parallel to mine.
“Anything.” I leaned my head on her shoulder, relishing the scent of her cherry soap and her sweat and the soft way her hair brushed against mine. “Everything. What are you going to do when we get out of here?”
She took a deep breath. “Eat a nice juicy steak without it being covered in barbecue sauce.”
I scoffed. “You love my cooking.”
Marta’s torso vibrated as she laughed. “I don’t know. Probably never deal with another demon again.”
“Oh, come on now,” I said, trying to be light-hearted. “This is a once in a million years event. How many demons have the Harlots sent to liminals? They’ve all gone fine before.”
“I think two months stuck in one is enough to make me never want anything else to do with it.”
I snorted, but then the silence fell on us, and the soft noises from the demon outside started to grate on my nerves like knives scraping on porcelain plates.
“Thank you,” I said, lifting my head so I could meet her eyes.
She furrowed her brows, her confusion seeping into my bones. “For what?”
“For healing me. For putting up with me. For…all of this. We’re stronger now because of what you’ve done.
” I took her hand and interlaced our fingers, bringing it to my lips so I could kiss her knuckles.
I didn’t know if it was the blood loss, the concussion, or the brush with death that turned me into a big giant sap, but I felt like if I didn’t tell her now, I never would.
“I think I’m in love with you, Marta. These two months have been…
fucking hell. And I’m sure there’s probably about a million other people you would have rather been stuck here with, but I wouldn’t have changed anything. ”
She stared at me with wide eyes, her mouth open, the sharp slice of her shock combining with the warmth of affection and adoration in our tether.
“Don’t talk like that,” she said, squeezing my hand. “We’re getting out of here.”
“No, I know,” I said. “I just wanted you to know. I thought my brother was the only person in the world I’d ever care about. And now…Now, I can’t imagine life without you in it.”
“Atlas—”
“I’m serious,” I said. “When we get home, when this is all over, I don’t want to forget what I felt while I was here. We said what happens in the liminal stays in the liminal, but I don’t know if I can commit to that.”
She blinked, and tears streamed down her cheeks.
I reached up with my free hand to wipe them away, and for the first time since we were stuck here, I leaned in to kiss her without the weight of magic or ritual or demonic influence bearing down on us.
It was real, and it was me and her, and God, her lips were so soft.
It was more than just attraction between us, and maybe it was the impending resolution wearing me down, but I meant everything I said.
Marta was endlessly selfless and brilliant and gorgeous. She was powerful; she’d put me on my ass more than once. When it came to her, I realized there was nothing I wouldn’t do to keep her safe, to keep both of them safe.
“Atlas,” she whispered when we broke apart. “I don’t know how I would have gotten through this without you…without you both.”
The sudden silence between us deafened me, and I realized it was quiet, truly quiet, for the first time since we got stuck here. I glanced up at the windows, at the bright sunshine shimmering in through the stained glass, painting the walls in rainbows of vibrant blues and reds.
She followed my line of sight, sickening alarm blasting through both of us.
“Where’s the demon?” she whispered.
“Where’s Wes?”
Marta shot to her feet. “Wes!”