The Heir of Night

51

I love you. The words danced around in Theia's head as she laid on Nyx's chest, his heart pounding in a constant rhythm. She hadn't expected to say those words out loud, but if something plagued one's mind so often, it's bound to come out in voice. She thought of him often; his voice, his body, his mind, his lips. It'd been a while since the grief of Maia had weighed her down to unbearable levels, but she couldn't forget how it was planted in her.

Theia hated herself for loving this male. She hated Nyx for making her love him. Love and hate held such a thin line between them. Theia knew that you needed to care enough to hate someone, and she cared far too much about Nyx. She could thrive on hate. Theia knew that well. She wasn't sure she could thrive on love. She'd never felt it, never received it. Sure, Maia could've loved her, but she never cared. Someone can't love without caring.

Theia slid her hand up Nyx's chest and curled her fingers around his neck, his long hair twisting at the tips. Her eyes squeezed shut to block the tears, but they were inevitable. The rush of emotion was far too much to bear. She pressed her face into his chest, soaking in the thrum of his heart and the steady breathing. Theia clung to him, doing everything in her power to match her own breathing to his.

"Are you alright?"

His whisper was nearly too quiet to hear. She was about to feign her steadiness, to nod and mutter the words to ease him. Instead, his arms wrapped around her. Theia sucked in a breath as one arm went over her shoulder, a hand holding her head against him. His other arm was an anchor beneath her wings, his thumb running along her ribcage. The weight of his love had her crumbling. She was a mountain, he was the quake that tore her down.

"I love you," Theia shuddered, hiding her face beneath his arm. She said it as though she couldn't believe it. She couldn't. Nyx was a barrier between her and the constant she once had. He'd taken her life and tore it to pieces, leaving her heart in the rubble. He'd taken that heart. He'd taken his time to rip it apart, and then he sewed it back together. Though, he didn't leave it empty. He placed himself inside. This was the aftermath: Clinging to this male like he was her lifeline, because he was.

"I know that," Nyx answered slowly. His hand ran over her hair again and again. Chest trembling with unsteady breaths, Theia lifted her head. She nearly cringed when she looked into his moon lit eyes. There was so much there, so much he had held back before.

"I don't want to," she tried to say, but it fell through her lips in a sob. Nyx's lips- so beautiful- lifted into a sad smile.

"I know that, too," he murmured. He tugged her head down, just enough to press his lips to her wet cheeks. Each kiss was a promise of his love, and it had her chest tightening.

"Nyx-" Theia began, but he spoke quicker.

"I fought my first, and hardest battle to hear those words. If you don't want to live a life where you love me, I will find you a place to live here. I will buy you a house, I will get you a job, and you'll never have to return to the village. I didn't fight for you just to throw you back into that shit hole. I want you to live a life you've always deserved, even if I'm not in it."

Her eyes lifted to his, lips parted. Just as they'd been when she said those words, his eyes were lined with tears. In the moonlight, it looked as though the stars were lighting those tears, as though night itself was living within his body. She slid her hand from the back of his neck and held his jaw, watched him lean into her touch and let his eyes fall closed. His chest rose with a breath as unsteady as her own.

"You're a warrior, Nyx," Theia began, glancing between his eyes. He opened them, a tear slipping to his temple. She watched it roll into his hair, her own tear dropping beside his lips. "You won the battle. I'm yours, even if I have to learn to like it. I-."