Exquisite Pain (Garmau)

Chapter 14: Shadow Knights

My demons, though quiet, are never quite silenced.
Calm as they may be, they wait patiently for a reason to wake, take an overdue breath, and crawl back to my ear
~Unreadable
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"What are shadow knights?"

She started to breathe heavily, and I guided her to the small couch to sit her down.

"They...they're like a group of people, but they aren't people..."

"What do you mean?" I asked, pushing her to continue.

"They're dead, or at least they die and then, with the help of this potion, they're resurrected with fake memories, and if they kill the leader they swore to protect, they become immortal. They're evil...Irene locked up the shadow lord, but I guess he somehow found a way to transfer people in and out of the nether realm" small tears rolled down her face slowly. I wiped them away, and then I pulled her into my chest.

"It's okay, I killed him"

"No, you don't understand, there's far more than one, there's a whole army. And you can't just kill them, it's harder than that"

I rubbed her back soothingly and tried to calm her nerves.

"They ruined my life, they're terrifying"

"Shh, it's going to be okay. They won't hurt you, I'll make sure of it"

She seemed to calm down, and now she was just slowly hiccuping for air, in my arms.

"Let's get some sleep, we have to leave early tomorrow" I reminded her. She nodded as we stood up, walking over to the beds. She hesitated, looking at the bed and biting her lip as if she were debating something.

"Is something wrong?" I asked. She looked over at me, and then looked at the ground with a light blush dusting her cheeks.

"Um...I'm...I'm still shaken up...a-and I...I just...ugh how do I say this....can I...sleep with you tonight?"

I smiled and let out a small chuckle.

"Of course"

We pushed the two beds together, and I got in first, removing my mask and shirt for more comfort.

"Oh come on, I don't bite"

She smiled a little and laid down beside me, cuddling up to my chest. I wrapped my arms around her waist, yawning.

(For what little of my sanity I still have, I'm just gonna say that every time they share a bed or something she puts her wings back in, I'm saying this because it would get very repetitive and it's just...tedious in my opinion.)

She let out a happy sigh and I smirked.

This was easy. Maybe it was too easy? I just needed her to fall in love with me, last time I checked, love was harder to achieve. With Zoey...it took me forever just to get one date, but I guess since she's different from Zoey, it might be easier?

But I still can't shake the feeling that all of this is so easy, so simple. There's always a problem when it comes to relationships, so why isn't there one right now?

I dismissed the thoughts and went back to thinking about the little situation. The Dark Queen smelled of lilacs and freshly fallen rain. Her raven black hair was soft on my chest, and it seemed to shine. Her touch was cold, and fragile, almost as if she was a porcelain doll.

"Goodnight" she whispered, her breath grazing my chest.

"Night" I answered, my voice in a low tone. I watched as her breathing slowed to a steady pattern, and she was fast asleep.