The Witch's Tool (The Witch's Tool #1)

Confessions

JACE

After staying with Zee for sometime, I had given her my shirt to wear and helped her to sleep with the aid of my powers. It had took quite some time to remove her hands from my waist. And even then, they still trembled. I hope she wasn't having nightmares but somehow I knew that she was.

I sighed, wishing there was something I could do to relieve her of those awful moments. But sadly I couldn't, Zee was immune to that gift.

Leaving her to rest on green leaves I had gathered, I moved to Lyris. She was now in a sitting position and was looking much better. When she noticed me standing, her eyes trailed from my face down my bare chest with much interest then they quickly settled back on my face.

I hadn't made two steps towards her when she said, rather angrily, "I'm fine. After all I was only exhausted." At her last word she shot me eyes that had turned to daggers.

Yeah. Angry was not the word to fully describe how upset she was at me.

I went to her anyways.

"I'm sorry. But you know your injuries weren't as severe as Zee's."

God, I just wished she would be considerate for the first.

Her eyes left mine and went to her leg. Then she placed her palm over it and it began glowing. She was healing herself but weakening her powers at the same time.

Dropping next to her, I shoved her hand away and placed my hand over the same spot on her leg. As my hands glowed, Lyris only squinted her eyes close and squeezed her fingers.

"Why didn't you tell me your leg was injured?"

Yes. It was a dumb question but I needed her to take out whatever anger she had penned up inside. If I waited until later, it would cause problems.

"Are you seriously going to ask that, after you dismissed me as only being exhausted?"

I glimpsed a look at her and when saw that her head was bent back and her chest was rising and falling quickly.

"I'm sorry."

Her head fell forward and she regarded me for a second, a brow arched and her head turned to the side. "You say that a lot."

"Yes, but only when I mean it."

She was silent for a long second. A silence that worried me. "Do you love me?"

I lost my focus for a second and my hand stopped glowing. Clearing my throat, and avoiding her gaze I started again.

"You know I do."

"So why haven't you ever said those words?"

How. The. Hell. Did I get myself into this situation? Biting my tongue, I gave a mental note to always be careful what I asked, said or did in front of Lyris.

"Because you know."

Again her silence stretched on to the point where I got really uncomfortable.

"I did, once."

My eyes snapped up to hers and guilt tingled in my chest. Her eyes looked at my sadly and I could see that somewhere there inside, her heart was falling to pieces.

"Lyris... " I started but she got up, moving away from me.

"Don't. Please don't say those dreaded words."

"I wasn't going to say 'I'm sorry'."

"And you weren't going to say 'I love you' either. So whatever it is, it doesn't matter."

Sighing, I stood up. She backed up. "Lyris, why are you behaving like this?"

Her eyes shot to mine and she looked ever angrier. "What am I doing? It is obvious you've gone and fallen in love with the Spawn of the Devil! And what's worse, you don't even have the nerve to tell her or even me, so I can stop making an embarrassment of myself."

Tears had started to roll down her face and she wiped at them furiously and when I moved to her, she turned her back to me.

"I have loved you longer than I can remember. It was not when you became my betrothed and I loved you more even when you left and there was a possibility you wouldn't come back.
I still loved you, everyday more than the next.
"And then I came her, I do not know what I was expecting but I did not expect this. You falling in love with someone else I could take, but her."

At that her shoulders began shaking and I knew she was crying. For Lyris to cry meant she was really and truly hurting.

This time when I moved to her and wrapped her in my arms, she didn't push me away. She only cried harder and I truly felt like a cruel bastard.

"Lyris I never forgot the love we shared." And this was the truth, I hadn't. Lyris and I had been through a lot and we were always there for each other before I'd left. Always.

"But now you're in love. . ." she sniffled, "with her."

I said nothing but my silence did not exactly leave the impression that it wasn't true.

Lyris turned around and stared at me with tearful eyes. "You love her don't you?"

Biting my lips I dropped my gaze at the floor and only nodded. When I looked back up, Lyris eyes had turned hard as steel.

"Why, answer me that. Why do you love her and not me? What does she has that I do not?"

I shook my head. "I could tell you a million things but you wouldn't understand. It is not something that can be described. I just feel it," I pointed at my heart "in here."

Lyris bit her bottom lip and nodded. "It's a good thing you won't be killing her anymore huh?"

"What?" I turned to see Zee sitting up, eyes wide with tears and fear. But most of all shock.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

My mouth opened to say something, but no words came out. I looked back at Lyris and even though her face was blank I could see satisfaction in her eyes.
"She deserves to know the truth." Was all she said.

Stepping away from her, I moved towards Lyris but stopped. A burning red light had just sparked in my mind, both stunning and blinding me. It lasted for only a second but I knew what it meant.

Lyris stepped forward and on her face I knew she had just received the warning too.

We were going home.

Right. Now.

***

Thank you, Thank you for reading my story so far. It means more than you could EVEERRRR know. Thanks again and Happy Reading.

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