Chapter 47 #2
He huffs a quiet laugh as my stomach betrays me with an audible growl. “They’re chocolate and ashberry cookies.”
“They smell so good,” I murmur as I inhale the scent again.
“It’s one of my favourite scents.” His gaze drags slowly down me before meeting my eyes again, nostrils flaring. “But marshmallow seems to be slowly climbing the ranks.”
Then he turns and leaves without another word.
I sink onto the bed, the cookies still in my grasp as my heart races. Marshmallow. Daisy always said I smelled like marshmallow. Was he saying I was becoming his favourite scent? Surely not.
Gods help me. Was he… flirting?
I feel better today.
Now that I know I can do the tonic—I just needed a different way of being taught—something has shifted. I feel more confident. Less like some incompetent human whose sole purpose is to mess everything up.
I arrive at the healers’ quarters fresh, awake, and ready to start the day with a new outlook.
“You’re not with me today, human,” the alchemist says flatly, barely sparing me a glance.
“You’re with me,” a deep voice rumbles from behind me.
I turn to find Cassyr standing a few steps back. But he’s not looking at me. He’s glaring daggers at the blonde alchemist who’s been nothing but a bitch to me since I arrived.
He takes a step past me, invading her space to corner her in. Her complexion pales as she looks up at him, shock flashing through her eyes.
“If I hear you speak to him like that again, I will have you removed from your position with immediate effect,” he growls.
“His name is Ezra. And he is the queen’s best friend. I wonder how she would feel if she found out one of her alchemists was treating her best friend like shit.”
She audibly swallows and nods erratically. When she looks at me, her eyes shine with unshed tears. “S—sorry, Ezra,” she mumbles.
“Er—” I hesitate. “It’s okay.”
Not only did he defend me, but he also used my name. He threatened her job, and drew a hard line on my behalf. If I didn’t already have the fattest crush on this man, that would have sealed the deal.
Cassyr takes my arm and pulls me away from her before I can say anything else, his anger a living thing radiating from him. He doesn’t let go until we reach the outer edge of the outdoor training area, the air already sticky with heat despite it only just being past seven a.m.
I glance around, watching all the soldiers stretching lazily, preparing to start another brutal day of training.
“Why am I out here?” I ask, trying to break the tension.
“I heard about the way Cassandra was treating you,” he says evenly. “So, I decided you could have a day away from the miserable cunt and be outside with me.” He glances at me with a faint smirk. “Because I know how much you love my company.”
I scoff. “I think I’d rather take my chances with Cassandra.”
He flips me off and turns to set up the healers’ station at the edge of the training space, laying out bandages, vials, salves, and bowls of sterilised tools for stitching. I move beside him, helping him organise everything into neat sections.
“Thanks, by the way,” I murmur nervously.
“For what?” he asks but doesn’t take his focus off the task at hand.
“Back there. You really didn’t have to. I kind of got used to it.” I shrug, placing down a vial of healing tonic.
He stops what he’s doing and grips my biceps firmly, turning me to face him. “You should never get used to it. You should have told me the moment she started disrespecting you. No one disrespects you here, understood?” he says firmly.
I look up into his burning gaze, my heart doing something ridiculous in my chest at his touch. “Just you, right?”
He exhales sharply. “No. Not even me.” His grip loosens a fraction, but he still doesn’t fully let go. “I apologise for being an ass when you first arrived.” His gaze drifts away from me then, his throat bobbing. “I’m not used to working with people. The last person I worked closely beside—”
He pauses and I search his face, seeing something akin to grief wash over his features, the muscles in his jaw working as he tries to control his emotions.
“They died. After that I demanded I work alone,” he murmurs.
He releases my arm and I find myself instantly missing the contact. My heart physically hurts for him. It’s clear whoever this person was meant a lot to him.
“Was she your girlfriend?” I regret the words as soon as they leave my lips. What a stupid, insensitive thing to ask someone.
He barks a laugh which catches me by surprise. “No. She was my sister.”
He pauses for a beat before continuing, his eyes wearily watching mine, as if searching for a reaction to his words. “I have never had a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend.”
My heart beats a little harder at that last sentence. So, he does like men, too… or is he just saying this to make it clear he doesn’t want anyone at all? Gods, this man confuses the hell out of me.
I nod, trying to busy myself again. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
I see him shrug out of the corner of my eye as he too, resumes working. “It was over ten thousand years ago; it doesn’t hurt most days anymore.”
I cough, choking on air. “Ten thousand years ago? Damn. You’re old as shit.”
He truly laughs at that, and I turn to look at him in shock. He looks beautiful like this. His smile is so radiant, his elongated white canines glinting in the sun. I find myself just staring at him in awe, butterflies going wild in my stomach.
By the time two p.m. rolls around, I’m drenched in sweat.
My healer’s robes are clinging to me, my hair is damp, and the smell of sweat and coppery blood have given me a migraine.
Us gingers are absolutely not built for sun exposure.
Cassyr noticed my skin getting redder and redder, and brought me what I assumed was Hell’s version of sunscreen to help protect my skin—then made me wear a hat.
I look fucking stupid in hats. They do not suit me at all. So now I’m red, sweaty, and trapped under an ugly ass hat, all in front of the hottest demon in existence. Just put a sword through me already.
I sit beneath a tree near the healer’s section, and soak up the little shade it offers while watching Daisy command a group of civilians.
She told me she was focusing on training Hell’s people who volunteered to fight rather than hide.
Hearing her talk about her people and her plans had my heart bursting with pride.
Watching her now, watching how she moved, how she commanded like a true queen. It was an incredible sight to see. It’s like she was genuinely born for this role. And I guess, from what I’ve heard, she technically was born for this role. My little sunshine. A Queen of Hell. Who’d of thought it?
Cassyr drops down beside me, his arm brushing mine as he passes me a waterskin.
We sit in silence, watching the mass of soldiers work perfectly together.
It’s breathtaking to see thousands of men and women fighting side by side.
They all look so different, wielding such different powers and weapons. Yet they all fight beautifully.
It’s surreal to think that people back home don’t have a clue that any of this exists. That creatures from several different worlds have come together to fight some weirdo gods who have gone power crazy.
I notice a younger looking soldier hovering near Daisy. He’s been near her group all day, but the longer the day goes on, the more skittish he looks. Maybe the pressure of the war is getting to him? But the more I watch him, the more something just feels… off.
“Hey,” I say to Cassyr quietly. “Look at that boy near Daisy over there.” I nod my head discreetly in their direction.
“The one with the blonde hair and pale-grey skin?” he asks in a low hush.
I nod. “Does he look off to you? Like, suspicious?”
Cassyr studies the boy for a moment, and I watch him, too, lifting a hand against my brow and squinting my eyes against the sun to focus on him.
“Yeah,” he says finally, looking at me. “He seems really on edge.”
I glance at Cassyr, seeing the concern on his face. “Do you think it’s because he’s scared of the war, or?” I mumble, suddenly feeling anxious that someone else has noticed that the boy is acting strangely.
Before Cassyr can respond, an ear-piercing scream sounds. I whip my head around to see the blonde-haired boy drive a blade into Daisy’s shoulder.
“DAISY!” I scream, scrambling to my feet as chaos erupts around us.
I run towards her on shaking legs as the world explodes into noise and panic.