The Graveyard (Zeldris x Female Reader)

Part 19

You wake up to a sharp pain in your bare chest. Your... bare chest... Where's your shirt? The realization of your shirtlessness leaves you uneasy but not as panicked as you could be. You look around. You're definitely in your apartment. You're also definitely on your couch and laying across Zeldris' lap. You try to sit up, but a gentle hand on your shoulder warns you against movement before Zeldris even has to say a word. Seeing him, you relax and lay back down. You know he won't hurt you.

"You might rip your stitches if you sit up too fast," he says.

"Stitches..." That explains the shirtlessness. "Those scratches must have been pretty bad," you say.

Zeldris nods, "they were worse than I anticipated... How are you feeling?"

"I'm pretty sore, but I'll be okay thanks to you. I learned a few things while I was out. Certain deities must have yanked my soul into your world."

"There are gods in the Demon Realm?"

"They're trying to convince your father to let the ritual go incomplete and free us both. There were at least four different pantheons. Hecate seems to be trying to keep things civil and I'm pretty sure she's on our side but things are... tense."

"Hecate's involved?"

"Hades and Persephone, too. And Anubis, Ereshkigal, a valkyrie, and a few others."

"How did you manage to make so many friends in high places?" his expression is jovial but you answer anyway.

"There aren't many Pagans in this world. My door, both astral and physical, is always open to lonely deities... I think a lot of them miss the days when they were adored by entire countries or empires. Oh! I think I may have met a couple of your friends, too. Melascula and Galand."

Zeldris says nothing.

"Melascula thinks you should warn your other cults not to summon you until this whole thing is resolved."

"That's not a bad plan. It wouldn't take too long. What's tonight's moon phase?"

You reach for your phone and pull up your lunar cycles app. It takes a moment to load but soon enough you're nearly blinded by the bright white image of a full moon and white text below it reading 100%.

"It's a full moon tonight."

"My cults are meeting tonight. I should warn them not to summon me."

You nod. "And I could do some more research here, maybe summon some more spirits and deities. I wonder if Circe knows anything."

"If you're up to it, it would probably be better to summon Circe while I'm not around."

You smile, "right, 'cause of the whole turning guys into animals thing. I don't know if I'd be able to turn you back if..."

"Don't push yourself too much. You should rest."

To illustrate his point, he lifts you easily and carries you to your bedroom. He places you gently in your bed. You hug him. He hugs back and rests his chin on top of your head. The steady beating of his hearts makes you sleepy.

"Stay safe," you say.

"You too," he murmurs.

He leaves, closing the door quietly behind him. You drift off into a dreamless sleep a few minutes later.