Chapter 25
Rami's POV
Electricity buzzes along my flesh, breaking me from the trance. Whatever that was in my dream managed to consume my thoughts until it was all I could think of.
But now that the darkness has receded, I feel safer and stronger than I ever have, despite the hum of power tickling uncomfortably along my entire body.
It takes me several moments to realize I’m in Adriel’s arms. A weak smile curls up his lips as he utters, “Amor,” just before his eyes roll back in his head.
Neither of us are wearing a shirt, leaving a lot of points for contact that he can’t stand.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Untangling myself from him, I jump just out of his reach, which unfortunately lays him out on the ground.
“Ludo!” Tears pour down my face, not sure what to do. I have no clue what a tiny little kangaroo rat can do, but he’s my only option right now. I can’t leave Adriel here like this.
And not just because he saved me.
But because he means more to me than I think I’m ready to dive into.
Ludo climbs onto Adriel’s arm and around to his chest. He sniffs along the markings there until I realize he’s tracing one of them.
“Holy fucking shit,” I mumble when I realize the clever little rodent is using magic.
Adriel shoots up with a loud gasp, making me squeak and jump back a foot.
He holds Ludo to his chest as if he innately knows where to find the little critter.
The two of them remain locked together, both breathing deeply but slowly.
I have no idea what they’re doing, but the air around them crackles with power.
And then I remember Adriel once explaining that animal familiars allow them to harness more energy. That it’s a give and take relationship between them, allowing them to be stronger and closer to Mother Earth.
“Adriel?” I whisper, hating how scared and weak I sound.
His head flies up and he turns to look deep into my eyes. I swear he’s looking beyond the surface, and I fidget in place under his scrutiny, feeling too exposed.
“Rami.” The way he says my name is like a prayer, both hopeful and desperate.
“Can you stand?” I ask, uncertain what else to say. I want to get him to the campsite so I can feed him and give him water. Care for him.
He dips his chin, but grumbles painfully as he pushes himself upright, taking Ludo with him.
I pick up his discarded shirt and hang it on a nearby branch he usually uses.
By the time he’s plopped down onto the stump, I have a whole platter of bread, dried fruit, and jerky laid out for him, and I’m just pouring the water into a cup.
“What happened?” he asks, picking apart the bread to eat.
“I don’t actually know,” I mumble, sitting on the ground amongst my stuff. “I had a dream that this shadowy figure was chasing me. I suppose the image lingered, and it was all I could think about.”
I grab hold of my necklace for strength. The stones are nearly scalding as they soothe me in a way that also strengthens me.
Adriel bobs his head up and down as if he understands.
Like what I just said is the most common thing in the world.
I open my mouth to ask if he’s seen this sort of thing before, but click my teeth together when I realize I don’t want to know the answer.
Instead, I cling onto Yasmine’s necklace even harder. Whatever it was, is gone now.
So, we both sit in a contented silence. Both of us in need of time to rebuild our energy after what just happened.
But it doesn’t take me long before I feel the urge to fill the silence. “Why Sabletown?” I pry.
In the time I’ve been here, he has always spoken so fondly of his travels and adventures from home to here. And then nothing. I know the curse prevents him from leaving this area, so I imagine that’s why the stories of those times are so limited. Or perhaps it’s too painful for him to bring up.
Right now, though, I can really use more of a distraction. With Adriel around, the image of the creature from my dream lingers just outside of my periphery. As if it’s afraid of Adriel and won’t come near.
Adriel sighs heavily. “Sabletown was like any other place back then, but the people were generous and the landscape was pretty. And in my experience, the more religious villages were in need of my services more than others. I was bringing in a lot of coin, even caught the eye of a handsome young man.”
Jealousy blooms hot in my chest thinking of Adriel with someone else. Though I feel silly for blaming him for something I wasn’t even alive for. It’s not like I’m some nubile virgin saving myself for him.
“He was enamored with me, though I didn’t return his affection. I knew better than to get involved with the preacher’s son.”
And that just took an unexpected turn.
“Was it the preacher who cursed you?” I ask, though that doesn’t sound right. I mean, I’m certain the preacher-man had some choice words against Adriel, but this doesn’t feel like God’s work.
Adriel sighs heavily and stares off into the evening.
I honestly think he’s going to ignore my question when his voice finally breaks the silence.
“No. Though he wasn’t too kind to me, leading his flock astray.
There was never anything between me and his son, so there was nothing left there to speak ill of.
The man was even worse to his son, telling him how despicable his errant desires were. ”
“Wasn’t that fairly common back then?”
His eyes eventually turn to me, showing them pinched tightly together. Pain blossoms in those saddened brown eyes. “Not terribly common, no. There were, of course, plenty like him who bastardized their beliefs to ostracize those different from them.”
I nod, knowing those words to be true based on my experiences. “I wish I could say that the world is more enlightened now. Honestly, it is in some places, but not everywhere. Sadly, those who are different still get treated unfairly.”
“Tell me about your life before,” Adriel asks, his eyes wide, hopeful.
I lean back on my hands and stare up at the stars overhead. I’ll never get used to how beautiful it is.
“So, I told you I basically raised myself.
We frequently changed schools as my mother ran from one boyfriend to the next.
It forced me to be the new kid so much that staying in one place for too long makes me feel uneasy.
At first, she made it out to be an adventure.
And I was too young to know any better. But as I got older, I never actually fit in anywhere ‘cause I wasn’t from anywhere. So, the other kids bullied me.
“It’s why I was in school studying to be a school counselor. I want to be that someone I didn’t have as a kid, and I thought the schools would be the perfect place to enlist change in the world. Let them know how wonderful their differences were. Now I’m not so sure that’ll ever happen.”
Sadness and frustration that I try to keep a tight lid on burn the backs of my eyes and clog my throat. I blink away the welling tears each time they block my view of the stars. But it’s a losing battle. A future I fought so hard for, taken away in an instant.
The need to make it happen anyway settles like a heavy weight on my chest. I owe it to young-Rami who didn’t have someone to fight for him.
“Because you’re trapped here?”
I nod and quickly wipe away the tears with the back of my hand.
Trapped is an excellent way to describe my time here.
I turn to see Adriel’s shoulders rounded and his head drooped forward.
Here I am complaining about my life when he has been cursed to live this life for eternity.
My situation suddenly feels a little less dire once in perspective.
Wow, now I feel like a whiny child who didn’t get what their way. Returning my focus onto the endless cosmos above me, I realize just how piddly my problems really are. It’s been so long, I wonder if I even can do better.
Another look at Adriel’s crestfallen expression, and I know I have to try to do better. I owe it to my future students who need my best.
“Are these schools not riddled with, what’s the word?” He trails off and scratches along his jawline as he thinks. “Assholes?”
I can’t help the chuckle that bubbles from my throat even though it comes out blubbery-sounding. Sniffing in a very undignified way, I wipe away the last few tears as I continue to laugh.
Adriel’s face, bless his heart, scrunches up in confusion. When his head cocks to the side in that adorable way he does, I laugh even harder.
“Is that not the correct term?” he questions, raising a single brow.
I have to hold my side as I try to rein in the bouts of laughter.
It’s not like he can help it which is why I think it’s so precious.
Clearing my throat, I finally manage to pull myself together.
“Asshole is correct,” I assure him. “And the schools everywhere are full of them, but the schools here are all Christian schools and they’d never hire an openly gay man to work in them. ”
Which is illegal, so I’m certain they’d twist it to look like I’m not qualified enough. However, if I really want to make the most difference, perhaps those children need more people like me around.
“Their loss,” Adriel hums. “You shouldn’t give up your dreams just yet.”
His words are like both ice water over me and a balm to my frayed thoughts.
They remind me so much of what Yasmine told me.
A bright and promising future. It may look different from what I originally pictured, but it’s still possible.
If I can gain my freedom, prove to the courts with my honors-level GPA and maybe even job prospects.
I can finally earn my freedom. And then I can start fresh in a place that accepts me, where I can be there for those who need it.
So, the future isn’t really any different. But the road to get there has taken some bizarre twists and turns.
“Where’d you go?” Adriel asks quietly, stealing me from my thoughts.
When I turn my head, I realize he has slid closer to me at some point. His hand hesitantly reaches out to touch me, and I can’t help but smile. I love how much he can’t keep his hands off me.
“Imagining what life would be like with my freedom.”
Adriel pulls away from me, and I want to yank him back. But I don’t, not wanting to cause him physical pain. It’s almost as if a dark cloud has settled over him. I think back to what I said that could have triggered him.
And then it hits me. Freedom.
He’s trapped even more so than me.
“I won’t stop until we’re both free,” I reassure him.
Based on how tight his muscles are, I don’t think he believes me.
He’s a man who needs to be shown that my words are true. A man who has been hurt enough to know not to fall for pretty words.
I know that all too well, too.