Shadowburn (2)

Chapter 49

Andreas didn't let go of Sin's waist when he flashed them back to the campsite the next morning. It was just before dawn, giving them ample time to have breakfast before they needed to leave. And considering he was the one providing their meals, he and Sin needed to be present. Now. He'd much rather have stayed, tangled up in her, away from everyone else. And he had managed to delay their departure by a good two hours. Sin, for all her stubbornness, could not resist him. At all. He smirked at the thought. He'd only finally relented when she cursed him in all the languages she knew because he wouldn't feed her. And as they needed the little witch for their plans, they needed to at the very least feed her as well. Andreas really hadn't felt like casting two different spells on two different occasions, so, there they were, standing right next to the campfire.

And still, Andreas didn't want to let go of her. She felt so comfortable in his arms, like she was meant to stay there. If it were up to him, she would stay there, never leaving them.

She turned around in his arms, so she could survey the area, and leaned into him. He rested his chin in the crook of her neck, a position he was slowly starting to become very familiar with. And he didn't care. Didn't care that having her this close to him, that constantly touching her might make the elf uncomfortable or angry. He didn't care how anyone felt about him touching her, because he wasn't going to stop. And no one was capable of making him.

"Food, Scotty," she said, her tone a bit testy. She tilted her head back against his chest to frown up at him, her lips set in a slight pout. It was adorable.

"The whole point of coming here was so I wouldn't have to manifest food twice. Find Lana and whomever else you want fed, and I'll give you food," he said before leaning down to kiss her forehead.

She groaned. "Fine, fine, oh great and powerful rude one," she muttered and pulled out of his arms. He let her go, rather reluctantly, and watched as she stalked away.

"Might want to be nicer to the person who's responsible for your food," he called after her with a smirk, before sitting down in front of the fire. She made a rather rude gesture at him, without turning her gaze.

He conjured some more wood for the fire, noticing the flames dwindling. He warmed his hands with the heat, though he didn't really need to. The action was familiar and reminded him of when he'd been younger, before Dylan had even been born and Kalen adopted into their family. Casian's father had taken them camping in the woods, claiming that they were old enough to be men already and needed to learn to take care of themselves. They'd been seven at most.

Andreas smiled faintly at himself. It was one of the few good memories he had about his childhood.

It had been ages since he had been able to access it as well, that he been able to look that far back into his own history without stumbling across the things he'd rather not remember. The thought made his smile bigger, and he relaxed back onto his elbows, his eyes drifting up to the disappearing stars in the sky. The sun was slowly beginning to rise, chasing away the darkness.

He sighed contently, his eyes finding the Djin as she stalked around, huffing in annoyance because she couldn't find anyone. His eyes followed her as she disappeared into the forest, likely having tracked one of their companions. He couldn't help but compare her to the sun. She was his sun, the light that chased away the darkness, the day finally breaking his night.

Even though her life had been shrouded in darkness as well.

He couldn't help but feel like he was her light, doing for her the same she was for him. Ironic how it took darkness to chase it away.

No, he really didn't care how much it hurt the elf to see him with Sin. Because he was not going to stop touching her, stop wanting her, stop loving her because someone else couldn't. Thorn still meant absolutely nothing to Andreas. He had tried, he really had, but he couldn't get himself to care about the elf. He didn't hate him anymore, didn't feel like killing him, but the man was the reason Sin chastised him. The reason she made him behave. And he really didn't like behaving.