An Oath In Blood (Book #3)

Chapter 47: The Scars She Wore

WARREN HALE

Ever since I had met Corvina, I glimpsed an emptiness in her eyes that haunted me. She hid her emotions so well, with curtains so thick, no one could even catch a glimpse of the woman who stood behind it, who had deliberately hidden herself from the world.

But now, as I helped her inside her room, taking her crutch from her gently and guiding her to the bed, I felt as if she was farther away from me than ever before. The crack in the curtain that had appeared in the past few days had disappeared, and I couldn't even steal a peek into her mind—or her heart.

She didn't speak when she sat down on the mattress, her hands resting on her lap limply. I didn't know what to say, or even if there was something I could say to make her feel better. What did you say to someone, who was planning on giving up their life, hoping for it to be the one good deed they committed in this world? I had no idea.

Quietly, I slipped into the bathroom and turned on the tap to fill the tub. The sound of the water running drowned out the tense silence, and I found myself releasing a breath. I wanted to make things better for her, but I didn't know how to even begin. Despite what I had said out in the living room, I didn't want her to sacrifice herself for sins that were forced on her. I didn't want her to disappear forever with no chance of ever finding her again.

I didn't believe in love—I never had. I knew that I would settle down someday, with a woman I would come to care for, but I never thought I would fall for someone, that someone would consume me so completely. But what I felt for Corvina...it was the closest thing to love I had ever felt.

Of course, I loved the guys. I loved Ahvi and Eman. I even loved my brothers in some twisted way. But a romantic love was foreign to me. When we were younger, Tariq used to tell me that everyone had someone, that God had written a person for every living soul, so before we even came into existence, someone became our destiny. He said that our names were written beside our person's for eternity. And during our life, through divine orchestration, we found our person. We found the one whose name had been scrawled next to ours, sealed by fate.

I wasn't a spiritual man. I wasn't an atheist, like Jace either, but I was not a big believer in God or destiny. But ever since Corvina had back into my life, I couldn't help but reassess my stance and my beliefs. What were the chances that I would have been the target for a woman I had met once twelve years ago? What were the chances that the woman, who had saved me a dance back then, was still holding onto it for me? What were the chances that she went against her tormentor to save my life? What were the chances that she shunned me but then came all the way across the ocean to find me again?

"Warren?" Corvina's soft voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I glanced at the tub that was almost full now, turning the water off and walking back into the bedroom.

"Yes, Raven?" I asked gently, drawing closer to the bed.

"Can you sit with me?" Her request was meek, laced in uncertainty. Her grey eyes shone with tears and her throat worked as she waited for my response.

"Of course." I offered her a gentle smile. Anything to make her feel better. I made to sit down beside her when Corvina whispered, "Please turn off the lights."

I hesitated but then did what she had asked me to do. Finally, I returned to the bed and took a seat. Instantly, Corvina's arm laced through mine, her elbow settling in the crook of mine, fitting together perfectly. Her head lowered to my shoulder and in the darkness, I heard her sniffle.

"Raven?" I called.

"Hmmm..." she responded.

"I will always be here," I said. Guilt ate at me for the way I had shut her out before we entered the house and found her mother waiting for her. And I wanted to make it right. "No matter what you decide, you will always, always find me waiting for you—in this life or the next."