Chapter X
Mariam finds the new safehouse’s leader, Jimmy, to be rather charming.
He’s an elderly man with a heavy Southern accent who has served the Reapers his entire life.
According to him, his entire family line has for generations.
She wonders how he does it at his age; she can’t imagine he can get around well anymore, especially given he has to do it without any magic.
That’s the other thing she likes about him: he’s not even a Reaper.
Apparently, the Reapers have a network of ordinary humans and witches who help them with tasks that require interfacing with non-supernatural modern society in ways Reapers couldn’t without attracting unwanted attention.
She wonders if that’s what her friend Leandra does.
Jimmy tells them he’ll be making their meals personally, and promises he’s a “passing decent” chef.
But he apparently wasn’t expecting them today, and with it already being evening by the time they arrive, he says he’s already had his dinner and is getting ready for bed.
He does at least offer them some snacks from the kitchen, saltines and granola bars and the like, but it’s not a meal.
Then he shows them to where they’ll be staying.
She’s grateful that she and Sable are at least sharing a shack.
All the shacks are more well-maintained than Mariam would have imagined for a place that seems to have no more maintenance staff than Jimmy, but theirs seems to be the nicest, other than a few mismatched roof tiles.
It also happens to be the one furthest from the others, towards the margins of the clearing, which she appreciates.
They enter the shack with Sable in the lead.
The room is dusty and looks like no one’s stayed there in a while.
There’s a full bed (and only one bed this time), a nightstand, a desk with a similar chair to what they had in the last place, a couple lamps, a comfy plush green side chair, and a closet.
There’s also a cobweb in every corner. Mariam releases Sable’s hand to put their things away.
There’s no dresser in this one, but the closet is stocked with hangers for their clothes.
“A bit small in here,” Mariam notes. She begins hanging Sable’s clothes up first, watching her from the corner of her eye. Sable takes her boots off at the door and takes in the room.
“Makes sense, doesn’t it? They only come here to rest; probably don’t need much space.”
“True enough.” Mariam hums as she works, making sure to keep Sable’s things straight to prevent wrinkling. “What will you do while we’re here?”
Sable thinks for a moment as she props herself up against the wall, watching Mariam work.
“Well, the main thing is to keep an eye on you. Otherwise, maybe get back to whittling. The Champion left a whittling knife in my boots I haven’t gotten any use out of…
and I saw a stump outside with an axe in it they must use to cut firewood.
Can’t imagine why; it’s so damn hot here no one would ever build a fire. ”
“Well, it wouldn’t be this hot at night in the winter, honey,” Mariam says, a half-laugh in her voice, not sure if Sable is joking.
“You have winter here?” Sable asks. “In the Fae realm, only the Plains have seasons.”
“Yes, it’ll be winter in about three months. How could the Fae realm not have seasons everywhere?”
“The Courts, they each use magic to keep it to their favorite season year-round.” Sable shrugs. “Always seemed like a crock of bullshit to me. And a waste of resources.”
Mariam considers this for a moment. “Well… in the human realm, if you go down to the tropics, there’s not really any other season there but summer, I guess you could say.”
“Ah, well, the Summer Court bastards would love it there.” Sable snorts. “Assholes.”
“Er… are they really that bad?”
“You don’t want to know, sweet. Just be glad they don’t cross over often.”
Mariam fidgets with the clothes she’s hanging at the sound of the endearment. It’s the first time she’s heard Sable call her that in days. “A–Anyway, I didn’t know you whittled. What kinds of things do you like to make?”
“Figurines of animals, mostly. Sometimes houses or simple coins. Depends on my mood.”
“I’d love to see you work,” Mariam replies softly, turning her gaze to Sable with an equally soft look. Sable meets her eyes easily, her lips slightly parted.
“Yeah. Sure. I wouldn’t… have it any other way.”
* * *
That night, while Sable continues to seem lost in her own world, Mariam thinks she sees signs that things are improving. They sleep facing away from each other again, but gravitate towards each other in the night. Mariam wakes up at one point to find herself in Sable’s arms.
Morning dawns before Mariam is ready for it to.
She lies against Sable’s chest, her eyes still closed, as she listens to her steady breathing behind her.
It’s low and slow, and warm against her upper back.
Sable has one arm under Mariam’s pillow, while the other encircles her belly, some of it cupped in her hand.
One of her legs is between Mariam’s own, rough and scarred against soft and smooth.
Mariam finally opens her eyes as a yawn passes her lips.
Sunlight streams across the bottom of the bed from the twin windows on the opposite wall.
She runs her fingers over Sable’s arm, enjoying the tender way she holds her.
Always so gentle, when she is clearly a hardened warrior.
It’s one of her favorite things about the woman.
Her humor, the way she makes her feel, the way she touches her…
all things she craves now. All the things she’s been missing recently.
Because Sable hasn’t been the same since Caedren hurt Mariam.
Mariam stews in the silence of the shack. Stews and thinks and considers, until she sits up and shakes Sable awake.
“Mmmph?” Sable groans as she comes to, drawn from the edge of sleep.
“Sable, we need to talk,” Mariam says, emphasizing the serious tone in her voice.
Sable sits up, rubbing her face, before turning to fully face Mariam. She has dark circles under her eyes; clearly she hasn’t been sleeping well. This has to stop. Sable either gets out of this, or… or Mariam will have to figure something out. She isn’t sure what, but something.
Mariam pokes a finger into her chest above her breast band. “I’m about to talk some sense into you and you are going to hear me,” Mariam starts, narrowing her eyes.
Sable says nothing. She’s watching, though, and listening.
“You did not ruin my life, Sable. You have only ever made it better. So, so much better. I’ve never had someone like you in my life.
I’ve never…” Mariam stutters and briefly trails off, finding herself blushing before she can even get the next words out.
“I’ve never been made love to or touched with such tenderness.
Like you’re afraid I’ll break. And you are not going to just forget that and let us drift apart.
I’m holding onto you, and I expect you to do the fucking same.
So, snap out of this hole you’re in. I want you in my life, and I’m not letting you go anywhere. ”
Sable stares at her for a long moment, the air tense with energy. Mariam lets her hand fall, her lips pursed. “And if you do let everything we’ve shared so far go to waste, you’ll be a damned fool.”
~§~
Sable hadn’t expected Mariam to be so confrontational with her.
To be so aggressive and upfront about her own feelings.
Especially so early in the morning. Sable locks her jaw as she watches her human’s chest puff with each breath, her anger apparent.
Sable is being a damned fool. You do not abandon your mate.
But she hurt Mariam, a part of herself reminds her.
Breathing in, Sable tries to stabilize her emotions.
To fight them. It’s hard; hard to fight down the belief that she’s a terrible monster who nearly killed her mate.
But if she’d done nothing and let Caedren get away, Mariam would have been killed…
or worse. And if Mariam herself is insisting Sable didn’t ruin anything… who is she to argue?
“Well?” Mariam demands. “Aren’t you going to say something, Sable?”
Sable feels the mating bond, the cord. The feeling of a star bursting into an array of energy and light. It hits her so powerfully that it leaves her reeling. She can feel Mariam’s agitation and anger. Her unhappiness with how Sable has been acting.
Sable moves. She curls a hand around Mariam’s head and runs her fingers through the back of her hair.
Then she crushes her lips to hers. Mariam gasps, allowing Sable to deepen the kiss, to taste her tongue against her own.
Her other hand snakes down to Mariam’s hip and grips it hard, pulling her roughly against her side.
Mariam moans softly, letting her do as she pleases, her arms coming to encircle Sable’s neck.
Several moments pass before she releases her lips, both of them gasping for air. Mariam looks up at her with wide eyes, the blue sharper than the gray today.
“Is that your way of apologizing?” she asks.
“Something like that.” Sable releases her but keeps her close, her hands slipping to cup her face. “I am sorry, Mariam. If you genuinely feel I haven’t ruined your entire life, I don’t want to sour things between us. I just…”
“You were scared, weren’t you?” Mariam asks softly, stroking a hand down Sable’s cheek. Instinct pulls her into the touch.
“Yes. Yes, I was scared to death that you’d hate me.” The raw emotions warring in her body make her throat tight, and it’s audible in her words. Mariam pecks a gentle kiss on her chin.
“I would never hate you, Sable. I chose to save you. I chose to come with you. I made my decisions. I stand by them.”
Sable smiles. She just hopes she’ll feel that way when she sees her in her wolven form… or when she admits to her that they are mates. But those thoughts she keeps to herself for now.