Memory
“Kaiden. I don’t understand… What does this mean?”
We both sat together quietly for longer than I would have liked. “It means nothing,” he sneered, clutching a scroll in his hand until it crumbled in his palm. “They can’t decide our future like that. They can’t just stop us from choosing a wife… From loving…”
His eyes lifted to meet mine, anguish filling every speck of darkness that lingered there.
“Do you think… Will they keep us apart? What if she’s chosen soon? What if Ryuk discovers us and he—”
“I won’t let him touch you. You know that. I won’t let you get hurt.”
“He’s a god, Kaiden!” My chest felt tight with nerves, my stomach twisting and turning. We had only just begun to move past two years of death and war. It felt like the biggest slight from the gods. Why couldn’t they just leave us alone? Why couldn’t we be happy? We deserved to be happy.
Kaiden took my hand in his, pulling me so that I had to face him. “I love you. I won’t let them take that away. We’ll figure it out.”
“Is that not what Ryuk told Rosina when they fell in love?”
The words pained him, and he grimaced in response. “I am not Ryuk. I would never…” He pressed his lips together. “I love you. I will only ever love you.”
While my heart warmed, I couldn’t help but picture Ryuk in Kaiden’s place, speaking the same affirming promises to her. Had she believed them?
Did I?