Page 60 of All Your Bloody Lies

With a nod, I step out onto the patio toward the storage closet. After gathering a few pieces, I return and stoke the fire until it roars to life, filling the room with its comforting warmth.

That is the last thing she says to me tonight. She stares at the fire until her eyes begin to grow heavy. Even as I suggest the bed upstairs, she denies it with a shake of her head and curls into herself on the floor.

Once she falls asleep, I carefully move her to the couch, though not permanently. She wants to be by the fire, so that’s where I’ll keep her. I go upstairs, grab the mattress from my guestroom, and bring it downstairs.

After a few more trips, the bed is fully made in front of the fire, which I add some more wood to. Then, she’s back in front of it, curling into a ball and holding the pillows as though her life depends on it.

I leave her lying there and step out onto the patio, closing the door behind me.

The phone is at my ear, ringing, “Hello?”

“Hi, Isabella, it’s Kairhyse,” I respond promptly, leaning against the railing as I do.

“Oh! Sirion Monroe, it is quite the hour to be calling,” her soft giggle causes me to roll my eyes. “I’ll be off in—”

“I’m actually calling you for work,” I can hear the groan she’s trying to hide. “I’ve been invited to an event with the Mortars Syndicate. While we are all acquainted, I’m always on high alert for possible issues that may arise for Hause Sidence.” The clicking of her nails against a keyboard indicates enough to me she is working on my request already, “I need some information on Dominic and Dante Bastilla. It’s their father’s birthday celebration. Do you mind getting me a file on them?”

“How far back are ya looking for, doll?”

I hum, “Let’s just do ten years, not too long, but enough to see their history with and before Mortars, if there is any.”

“Got it. Give me a few days, anything else?” The eagerness in her tone triggers an exasperated shake of my head.

“No, Isabella, thank you. But if you can deliver that within twenty-four hours, I’ll send some flowers and chocolates your way.” Without waiting for a reply, I end the call and tuck my phone away in my pocket.

I linger here, a silent observer amidst the city’s gradual descent into slumber. All I can think about is why she had been so submissive in those moments. It was painfully obvious she did not want them to touch her. They had laced the liquor, as they always do at those events, but that wouldn’t affect her.

So… what happened?

“Let me go—” she’s murmuring, “let me go—”

Gradually, I retreat into the living room, shutting the door to fend off the creeping chill. She’s still sleeping, but she’s flipping from one side to the other. I can see her eyes rapidly moving behind her lids.

“I’m down here.”

I move closer to her side, finally acting on the impulse I had earlier, and gently brush the back of my hand across her cheek.

“Down here.”

Down where… I pull her hair behind her ear, and rest my palm against her cheek.

“Down here.”

What happened to you, Xera?

20

Xeraphine

Iwish the fireplace in my apartment wasn’t fake. There’s a serene comfort that comes with the scent of a real fire, and the soft crackling of wood as it turns to ash. It mirrors the intricate tapestry of my life, like some fucked up analogy where I am the flame, and the world around me is the wood. Despite the looming possibility that someone could come along and extinguish me, my resilient spirit says fuck that. I am determined to endure, and stay illuminated in the darkness that surrounds me.

I have to keep fighting, they can’t put me out. Not after everything I’ve done, I’ve fought too hard to allow fear to stop me.

I am not afraid… I’m pissed…

I’d say I’m surprised the fire is still burning, even with the sun peeking through the floor-to-ceiling patio windows, but I’m not. It’s likely that Kairhyse kept it going until he passed out on the couch, which is where I find him sleeping when I roll over. It’s strange to me that his kind sleeps at all, but I suppose it makes sense, they technically aren’t dead, even if that is the running joke about Vampires.

I make every effort to be as quiet as possible, lifting the blankets off me and gently settling them down. He can hear a pin drop from blocks away during rush hour, but I still try my best, and it pays off. As I tiptoe away from the bed, a sudden realization hits me—wait... a bed?