A Love Soaked In Blood

chapter 21

Thick, dreadful silence forms a garrote around my neck, strangling me
He is going to kill me and I can't blame him for it, slowly, so I can feel all he is going to inflict--
"Truth is not always what we see sometimes there is something hidden"
I turn and look at him, there isn't even a hint of anger or shock or any expected expression in his face
"What?" My voice quaver
"I won't jump to conclusions unless you are done"
A mix of shame and gratitude ties my tongue, unable to speak
I curl a fist but Elias forces it open fast "don't" he holds my hand "dig your nails in my hand, not yours"
I open my mouth to refuse but he cuts me "it will hurt me less than seeing you injuring your own"
My heart sinks. I stripped him away from his family, threatened him, forced him to be my servant and dragged him into this yet he doesn't want me injured
Why?
"Do-do you remember that incident when one of the borders suddenly faltered? Last year, end of September"
"If memory hasn't failed me it was one of your owns, the one in the south near the forest"
I nod "one of the elites who powers it was assassinated, probably an act of jealousy so father assigned me to lead the substitute elite and the older ones to the location where the border went down and restore it fast" here they are, the trembles that come before I say something I'm scared to hear aloud.
Elias squeezes my hand and I exhale heavily "we arrived as fast as we could, the border was back in seconds but..." I curse, what's wrong with you Sylvia? Face the truth or it will keep hunting you "but it wasn't fast enough, seven humans were close and saw us, the night creatures with fangs and red eyes appearing out of nowhere then disappearing again and I...I had to do something"
"I killed them" I choke out the words "I raised my sword and went after all of them. They were begging, screaming and crying but I ignored all of that and stabbed till they took their last breath. No one escaped, that was my first kill"
I see realization hits Elias but I keep pushing the words out of me "I told the elites to burn the bodies while I report to my father. He said that I did what's right to keep our secret in the shadows. I notified him that the humans will draw closer to look around and he ordered us to stay away from the borders until the humans give up their search and Agatha confirmed they were about to do so but...mother has crossed the borders before they did"
I lose control on my breaths, they are shallow I feel there isn't enough air "I never should have let her cross them. She was accused for my kill! She died because of what I did!"
My eyes go down and I freeze when I spot the line of blood on our locked hands.
"I'm-Im sorry!" I release my hand from his, I've made holes in his palm
"Sylvia"
"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry" I don't know which I'm apologizing for, I can't keep track of my mistakes
Elias covers my mouth. He leans in and lock our eyes
"Breathe Sylvia, stop apologizing and breathe" he moves his hand to my cheek "none of this is your fault"
My eyes widen, I'm about to argue but he cuts me "listen Sylvia" his fingers caress my face "if there is something we share with the humans it's the inability to contain strong emotions, they overwhelm us and drive us to act by our heart. I agree with your father, you did what's right"
"But my mother--"
"Sylvia" he whispers my name with such tenderness that I feel something melts in me "even if you stopped your mother she would have found another way to go and check on her sister. She acted by care and you acted to protect, humans by fear and your father by hurt" he wipes a tear I don't know when it fell "but you three risked it in your own way for love and I would have done the same if I were any"
"You would?" There is a part of me that's eager to hear it
He holds my gaze and I see something flashes in his eyes "maybe not the exact same, everyone has their own limits but when it comes to my love I don't have any" he cups my face and I feel wetness
"Your hand" I pull away and take his bloodied hand "I'm sorry I didn't--"
He releases it from my hold and places two fingers under my jaw
He tilts my chin "I don't give a damn about my hand, use me every time you want to blow off some steam"
"At-at least let me heal it I know I suck at it but I just..." I trail off, red colors my cheeks
"I'd rather you do something else"
"What?"
"I need you to stop caging yourself in the past, focus on the present so you don't regret it in the future" he says softly, brushing his fingers under my jaw "you're not alone anymore"
I nod slowly, I can't undo the past no use to keep weeping about it.
A lot of things happened, a lot of mistakes were made and a lot of losses.
But I will make sure the past doesn't repeat itself.
"Thank you" I reach for his injured hand "I mean it"
His eyes widen for a moment then his lips curl upward. Not a grin or a smirk it's a soft, beautiful smile.
I smile back.
"Well I'll be damned" he looks away
"What?" I ask. His cheek is red
"Nothing" his ears are also red
I can't help but grin at the sight "am I giving you a difficult time now?"
"You have no idea" he smirks and it's way more attractive when he is blushing
"Good, have a taste of your own medicine" I tease, enjoying a small victory, it's small but counted.
"I love it, can you let me have it everyday?"
It backfired
"Heal your hand and eat!" I shift the subject and look away, I try to force myself to cool down and fail, damn him.
"How about you feed me?" He jokes but it adds more to my heat
"Back off!" I shoo him and stand up and he laughs, revealing that dimple "get a fork I won't eat unless you do"
"Damn you" I storm to the kitchen