Valkyrie Demons

Chapter 33

The silence was beginning to feel like a weight. Suffocating me until the point of oblivion. I had to say something but I didn't know what. I'm riding in front of him again, but it doesn't feel the same. He seems cold and distant, fighting his own inner battle.

- maybe if I thought of it a different way, maybe it'll make sense then. If she's been fighting with this vampire the entire time what if she lost because her mom took away her defense? What if -

I twist around, eyes wide. He frowns at me in confusion. I throw my leg over the side of the horse, sliding down to hit moving ground. I tumble but stay upright. Martin pushes his heels into the side of the horse to make it stop. I stare at him, not sure if I imagined it.

"What is wrong with you!? Do you know how hurt you could've gotten!" He throws his hands into the air, sliding of the horse as well.

"Did you... uhm," I struggle to find the correct words.

"Did I what?" He looks very much confused.

"Uhm did you just say that my mother is the cause of my appearance at the moment?" I blurt out.

He stares at me, eyes gone wide. I twist my fingers in nervousness, waiting for him to say something.

"Please say something," I whisper.

If you can hear me say yes.

"Uh yes?" Now it's my turn to frown at him.

I didn't think his eyes could get much bigger, but hey presto. They look like golf balls ready to fall out of his head.

"Do you know what this means!? We might finally have a decent chance of winning against the guild," he exclaims, taking my hands.

His hands are warm, calluses from unknown work he did. The warmth seeps into my skin, comforting me. After a while of sitting pressed up against him on the horse, I got used to his heat.

" What do you mean? I thought we could win?" I gently remove my hands from his, even though I don't want to, still frowning at him.

"Yes, yes of course. But now we have an even bigger chance!"

"Right ok... so what is happening?" I'm still not sure why he's freaking out.

"I keep forgetting you're not from here. You can read minds, the highest possible ability for someone to posses. I'm guessing your mom didn't know about it or she would've removed it."

He paces in front of me, muttering to himself. Some of his thoughts filter through and I strain to hear them.

I wonder if I can break the curse. I don't need to speak, she can hear me! I can finally take her as my own!

I gasp, not ready to have heard that.

"Your own!? I'm not an object Martin," I bristle at his audacity.

"Shit, uhm, you weren't suppose to hear that."

"I gathered as much. What curse are you talking about?"

I lead the horse into the forrest. I don't think we'll be going into town tonight. Martin catches on and comes over to help me unpack some stuff.

"I can't tell you." He avoids my eyes as best he can, looking everywhere bit at me.

"Fine, then I'll just go on my own." I drop the bag of food on the ground and start walking away.

He reacts quickly, snatching my arm, bringing me flush against his chest. I can hear his heartbeat going thump-thump, thump-thump, drowning out all other sounds. I can hear the blood rushing through his veins, warm, delicious. I shake my head, focus.

"No I mean, I can't tell you."

Someone... put a curse on me. I can't tell anyone how I really feel. I'll deny it outright even though I don't mean it. I don't know how to break it.

"A curse? Who would do such a thing, and why?"

I was stupid. Messed around with the wrong girl, the wrong family.

That revelation is like a blow to the stomach. I want to break free but Martin holds firm.

I can't change the past, but I am begging you. Please believe me, please believe me when I say I feel something for you.

His plead reaches his eyes. His fingers digging into my arm cements his desperation.

"Alright, I believe you."

His shoulders slump in relief and he leans his forehead against mine.

"Thank you."

"Now that we have that out of the way, can you please let me go before you leave a permanent indent?" I raise an eyebrow at him, pointedly looking at his fingers.

"Ah sorry." He rubs his neck, a faint twinge of pink creeping up his neck.

We set up camp, hoping to make it before total darkness falls upon us. Tonight is suppose to be a new moon, so no light for us other than the fire of course. We work quickly, me getting a fire started with the fire stones in Martin's bag and him finding something for us to eat.

"You know, I would kill for a decent meal and a warm bed right now," I sigh.

"Please don't."

I whip around to see he's silently laughing into the dead bird he caught . I can't help but smile back, relaxing a little bit. We eat our dinner in silence, both lost in our own thoughts. I try desperately not to hear what he's saying, throwing a mental wall up to block him. It takes a while to get right, but I manage.

"Do you want to, uhm... look at the stars?" I say, thinking back to when Dacian and I would sneak out of town just to get away from the light pollution.

Here there's no such problem. Nobody seems to have any electricity, making the stars shine bright.

He smiles and nods, putting his stick down which he used to cook and eat his bird. Mine lies on the tree stump next to me, charred a brownish black colour. We roll out our blankets, lying on our backs. He points out different constellations to me, showing how to make a shape out of the cluster. He tells me funny stories about each one, making stuff up as he goes. The night carries on while we laugh at each other, enjoying the last night we might ever have for such silly things. And with every passing second, I feel like I'm falling for him.