Rose of Passion

Chapter 11; Epiphany

Kate quickened her pace, not wanting to call out to Aesc. When she thought they were close enough, she said, "Aesc."

He stopped dead in his tracks and looked over his shoulder. There was a flick of hope in his eyes, along with pain and guilt. She knew what he was feeling, because her own emotions mirrored his.

"Would you face me?" Part of her regretted the decision, for as soon as he turned, neither of them could look the other in the eye. "I...What you did, it's going to take me a long while to get over it, if at all. But I've accepted every apology you've given me, and I want to move past it. I want to re-build what we had, too."

Aesc was in front of her in two strides with his arms squeezing her tightly. Kate blinked back tears as she drew in a sharp breath and smelled his cologne, hugging him back.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Kate," he whispered. She felt a cold drop tickle her shoulder, and her chin quivered. "I meant what I said earlier, too. You look very beautiful." Aesc buried his face in the crook of her neck as she buried hers into his shoulder.

As the tears left her eyes, they carried away her fears - and love. She felt relieved, and she knew it. She cared for him in a way she could never care for anyone else; no one could replace him. But, she was afraid of him when she was honest. For now, she was a liar. His beautiful liar. To protect herself, she needed a shield of lies, but to be honest would risk more than her life. They both knew she was technically already dead, a zombie in her own right, but he knew how to torture the dead and make angels tremble. She could not be free either way.

Relief also brought stress. She would have to tread carefully in the future.

"Aesc," she murmured, pulling back. He looked down at her, eyes red. "I think...it would be better if Izzy was my main guard."

His face hardened. "What-"

Fearing for Lycaon's life, Kate quickly said, "I don't mean that he's horrible, or anything like that. In fact, I quite-...like him. I mean, he's never rude...or anything. I...I just prefer another woman's company..." She relaxed as he relaxed. Lycaon was safe, for now.

"Of course," he murmured. "Is that all?"

Kate wondered what he wanted her to say, grappled for words, but in the end replied, "Yes."

Holding her in his arms, Aesc nodded. "In that case...what do you want to do now?" He searched her face. She knew he wanted to spend time with her, and dread and guilt filled her stomach. Kate must have made an expression that allowed the King of Hell to her read her mind, because he murmured, "I..I am sure you are tired. Tomorrow, could we talk?"

Relief flooded through her, but she was much more careful about what expression crossed her face. She let herself look exhausted, her face drawn as she forced a small smile (and made sure to make it look forced).

"Thank you," she said and hesitantly hugged him one last time.

Aesc reluctantly let her go, and Kate hurriedly shuffled down the hall back into the bedroom. She could feel his eyes boring into her. Though she knew he stared at her with starry eyes, Kate could not help but feel like a piece of meat.

When she shut the door behind her, Kate leaned her head back against the closed door and let the relief flow out and cross her facial features.

Iscariot was perched on the ground, her elbow propped up on the edge of the bed and the side of her head resting against her open palm. "Are you okay, Kate?"

She nodded, hoping Iscariot wouldn't put two and two together. "I'm fine. I'm going to take a shower and then go to bed."

"Okay!"