Page 39 of Dark Desire (Dark Souls Spin-off Short Story)

I pressed my lips together as my eyes filled with tears, offering him a weak smile.

“Which is exactly why I won't give you my soul. You deserve to live, Zoran. You’ve had too much of it taken away from you already. You have siblings who love you. Friends who care about you. I have no one. It’s not even a choice. ”

“You have me,” he gritted through his teeth, his fingers digging into my skin with frustration. I fought back the fresh tears as I unlocked my legs from his waist and slid down to the floor. He reluctantly let go of me but placed his hands on my face.

“I do,” I whispered with a sorrowful smile. “For today, I have you. And I’ll be eternally grateful for that.”

I slipped out of his hold and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around myself.

I glanced over my shoulder as I left the room to see him lower his head to his chest, his face hidden by his long, wet hair as he slammed one hand against the wall.

The tile cracked under his impact. I exhaled deeply, trying to regain my composure so we could make the best of this day.

When he finally emerged from the shower, I was already dressed and ready to go.

I pointed to the bed where I had laid out his jeans and transfigured one of my largest tops into a black T-shirt I hoped would fit him.

He pulled it on, and I covered my mouth with my hand as a loud laugh burst out.

He looked down at the material, which looked like a tight crop top that stopped above his belly button, with his arms wide, then glared up at me.

“I’m not wearing this.”

“You can’t walk around the village topless in the middle of winter, Zoran!” I stepped up to him with a teasing smile. “Anyway, I think it looks hot.”

“I think you’re full of shit.”

I giggled and grabbed his hand, yanking him from my room and down the stairs. “Aren’t you staying at Beryl’s? We can stop by there so you can change.” I was actually quite looking forward to seeing the look on her face when I shoved my tongue down his throat in front of her.

“Fine,” he groaned as we stepped out of the church and I cast a spell over the door. “What was that?”

“A little detection spell. If someone appears inside my home while we are out, I’ll feel it.”

He threw his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into him. “Such a clever little witch,” he said as he nuzzled into my hair. I squirmed with giddiness in his arms.

We strolled hand in hand, taking the longer scenic route to the village, stopping to make out against a tree, picking more flowers and talking about everything we could possibly think of.

He told me about his brother and sister and what had happened to them after that night.

I felt crippling guilt that Zoran had to watch over the horrendous ordeals his siblings endured through the eyes of a helpless bird.

He could sense my discomfort and quickly moved on to happier news that they had found their mates and were thriving with the royals.

I told him about the places I had travelled and the things I had seen.

I asked silly questions like what his favourite colour was and what gave him the ICK.

Of course, his favourite colour was red, and after explaining what the ICK meant, he said any woman who wasn’t me. I swooned.

As we reached the first road into the village, my cheeks were hurting from smiling so much. I didn’t think I had ever felt this happy.

“Do you still draw?” I asked him, swinging our arms between us as I skipped alongside him to keep up with his large strides.

“Yes. I’ve been drawing pictures of you.”

“You have?” I gasped. “I want to see!”

He chuckled, that light and airy melody that made my heart flutter. “Later.”

“So, what’s Serbia like?” I asked, smiling at a few villagers who walked by, mainly staring at the huge, red-haired man attached to me.

“Beautiful. Home.”

“I’d love to see it properly. Maybe one day you can take me and—” I stopped my excited rambling abruptly when I remembered there wouldn’t be a ‘one day’. I ignored his stare on my face as I kept my gaze cast ahead. “I bet it’s beautiful.”

“You’ll see it. I’ll take you.”

I gulped, keeping my mouth shut because my stupid emotions were getting the better of me again.

“I just need to stop by the newspaper. You can wait here or go ahead to Beryl’s if you want and I’ll meet you there after.”

“No. It’s okay,” he said, refusing to let go of my hand. “I’ll come with you.”

I nodded and refrained from telling him I’d be fine on my own for half an hour.

He was obviously afraid to let me out of his sight, worried that The Fates might show up when he wasn’t around.

It was incredibly sweet but also a painful realisation of how much he was going to resist the inevitable.

I had already accepted my fate. He clearly hadn’t.

Pushing open the door to the newspaper office, I smiled when Evie lifted her head from behind her desk.

“Darcie!” she yelled, jumping up from her chair and rushing towards me.

“I heard they dropped the charges against you yesterday, and I am so pleased. Honestly, they’ll just try to pin it on anyone these days…

” She paused when she saw Zoran behind me.

She lowered her glasses down the bridge of her nose and looked up and down with disbelief. “And who is this?”

I tugged him forward by his hand and it was like moving a sack of steel. “This is Z. My boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?” Evie baulked, clearly confused why I had never mentioned him before.

“Very new boyfriend, but we’re pretty serious already,” I explained, but it only seemed to confuse her more.

“Well. It’s wonderful to meet you, Z. Is that short for anything?”

“Zachary,” I said at the same time he grumbled, “Zoran.”

Zoran’s head snapped to me with a lethal glare as I tried not to laugh, knowing how much he hated me saying another man’s name. Evie looked bewildered.

“Zachary Zoran,” I clarified, offering her a nod of understanding. “A mouthful, I know.”

“Right,” she replied, still staring at his towering frame with apprehension and awe. “Can I get you two a drink? I didn’t think you were working today, Darcie.”

“Oh, I’m not,” I said, prying my hand out of Zoran’s iron grip and following her over to her desk. I inhaled deeply to gather myself before I said the next words. “I’m actually here to hand in my notice.”

She tripped over her chair leg and fell into the seat, staring up at me with shock. Zoran stilled behind me. “Your notice?”

“Yes. Z and I are going to do a bit of travelling. See the world. But I just wanted to say thank you,” my bottom lip trembled as I sucked in a breath.

“When I came here, not knowing a soul, you took me under your wing and made me feel welcome. You saw me taking pictures and offered me this job. I loved working for you, Evie, and I’m going to miss you so much. ”

“Oh, my darling.” She stood up from her chair and grasped my shoulders, pulling me into a hug.

“It was my pleasure. And I’ll miss you terribly.

But I expect to hear from you from every new place you visit on your adventures.

How exciting.” She stepped back to look at my tear-streaked cheeks.

“Oh, don’t cry! Oh, hunny. You know you’ll always have a place here if you want to come back.

In fact, I insist. Oh no, now you are making me emotional! ”

I chuckled through my tears, wiping my cheeks with my sleeves.

“Let me get you a tissue,” Zoran said, disappearing from the room to the toilet out back.

“Are you sure about this, Darcie?” Evie asked, holding on to my shoulders. “I know young love is spontaneous and exciting and it’s easy to get swept up in plans, but are you sure? You barely know this man. I know he’s gorgeous, but who even is he?”

“I’m sure. And I’ve known him for a lot longer than you’d think. Do you believe in soulmates?”

She raised her eyebrows. “Seeing as I have three failed marriages under my belt, I think the answer is no.”

“Maybe number four will be? But I know Z is mine.”

“Then…” she exhaled. “I am so very happy for you, darling. Go see the world together and live a happy, contented life.”

I nodded, fresh tears rolling down my cheeks.

“But I do have to ask. What the hell is he wearing?”

Despite the crippling sorrow of my goodbye, I burst out laughing.

Lifting her finger as if she remembered something, she pulled open her desk drawer.

“Before I forget, this was here when I opened up this morning. Delivered without a return address.” She handed me a standard brown envelope with my first name on the front, but I immediately recognised the swirly, elegant handwriting.

I frowned, taking it from her as Zoran walked back into the room and handed us both the tissues.

“What’s that?” he asked, eyeing it with suspicion.

“Not sure yet,” I lied, placing it under my arm. My heart felt like it was about to implode.

“So when are you two love birds off to travel the world?” Evie smiled at us, but I could feel the tension manifesting in Zoran’s body next to me because he must have been able to sense my anxiety.

“Very soon. In fact, this may be the last time you see me.” I offered her a tight smile, and she pouted before pulling me in for another hug. “Thank you, Evie. For hiring me despite my zero experience and limited photography background. And for everything else these last few months.”

“No. Thank you! What am I going to do without my world-class photographer now? But I can’t wait for you to send me some of the pictures you take on your adventures. Keep in touch, won’t you, Darcie?”

I nodded, pressing my lips together. “I’ll try.” It was the best answer I could give, seeing as I wouldn’t be around to make those kinds of promises.

As soon as Zoran and I stepped back onto the street, he grabbed my arm and dragged me down a tiny alleyway, out of sight. Caging me against the wall, he grabbed my jaw and tilted my head up so I could see the rage in his beautiful eyes.

“Stop this.”

“What?” I breathed, although my eyes were already filled with unshed tears.

“Saying goodbye. You aren’t going anywhere, Darcie. I won’t let it happen.”

“You can’t stop it,” I whispered, lifting my hand to his face. “I know you want to, more than anything, but you just can’t. It will happen, Zoran, and you need to accept it.”

“No, I don’t,” he growled, stepping into me until his body pressed mine against the wall. I sighed, pulling the brown envelope between us and ripping it open. Without even looking down, I pulled the magical, wordless parchment out as he frowned at it.

“It’s from The Fates. A seeker must have delivered it,” I explained as he released me and took a step back. We both stared at the paper until beautiful handwritten scripture appeared across the page as if it was being written with an invisible pen.

No more must die. But you. Tonight. Say your goodbyes.

Zoran grabbed the paper and ripped it in half with a roar.