The longer she looked at him, the more her gaze softened, and her bottom lip wobbled. “When Quill showed up, at first I was so damn angry. And then, I realized—” Her breath caught on a sob. “That if something happened to you, if that was the last conversation we ever had, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself. And I—” Her eyes flicked to the ground and lifted to meet his. “Despite what you did, I still missed you.”
His eyes pricked with tears. “I missed you too. I never wanted to pull you into this. And I’m still really sorry, though I know that doesn’t fix this. I wish I could take it back. I really do.”
“I got all your letters,” she said softly. “I didn’t know you knew that many words.” They shared a quiet laugh, though his was more of a wheeze.
“I wanted to show you I meant what I said,” he replied, his throat burning with emotion. The letters were the only way he thought he could reach her after she’d shown him Maela’s. So he’d poured himself into those pages.
“I—well, thank you for your honesty and about what you did before … despite the bargain and whatever deal you and Dez made, you really did save me. I wish things could have been different.” She rubbed her face with her shoulder. “I read every single letter, about a dozen times and—”
Footsteps sounded down the hall, the rhythm offbeat and punctuated by the dragging of limbs. Emmery snapped her mouth shut and slumped back against the wall to feign sleep. As the creature lumbered into the room, its unnatural decay struck Vesper in the face. It crossed the room, halted at his bars, and sniffed, before it turned to survey Emmery.
Without another thought, he said, “Hey, asshole. Come back to play?”
The creature jerked back to him, preternaturally fast, and grasped the remains of his tattered shirt through the bars. It shrieked in his face. He held his breath and squeezed his eyes shut until it ebbed, but the creature struck him. His head cracked to the side as stars exploded behind his closed lids.
Another blow landed, hard enough to rattle his teeth. When it released him, he slumped to the ground. Blood streamed from his noseagainand trickled from his split lip. Seemingly proud of itself, the creature shuffled from the room.
Emmery opened her eyes and her brows pinched as she spotted the blood gushing from his nose. “You shouldn’t have done that,” she said, gently.
Metallic thickness flooded his mouth. He turned his head and spat it onto the floor. “I didn’t like the way it was looking at you. And what’s another bruise? I’ll add it to my collection."
Somehow, she was able to step over her arms by bending them in some fucked up way that made his stomach churn. And once she did, she caught a few drops from the crack in the ceiling in her hands until she had enough to scrub her face with. That’s when he caught sight of her hand in the soft lantern light. Herlefthand, to be exact.
Up the sides and wrapped around her wrist was an iridescent inscription he didn’t recognize. He squinted in the dark, trying to make out the tiny markings. And on her palm, was a bird and something he couldn’t quite make out in the dim light. “Tell me you didn’t make another pactum, Emmery.”
With a sheepish grin, she said, “No, I didn’t make apactum.” She flashed the phoenix and what appeared to be a saber. “I made a blood oath. Or a couple.”
His jaw slackened. “You’re joking, right?”
“Mmm,no.” She scooted closer and offered her bound hands through the bars. “See?”
After he studied the oaths laid bare, he blinked at her. A strange light flickered in the depths of her gaze. Happiness, he realized. “So you found the man you were looking for. This is with him, right?”
“No,” she said slowly, and chewed on her cheek for a moment. “So, you’re not going to like this, but—”
His stomach sank. “Don’t tell me.” At her guilty grin, the words snapped out of him. “Fuck,not him, Emmery.Come on. Anyone but him. Literally, anyone else. Have you learned nothing? What is that—is it avotaiand something else?”
“Andsterke,” she murmured. She pulled her hands back. “Look I know the two of you have history, but Dez isn’t as he seems. He’s—” She blinked and something lingered in her eyes. Something he hadn’t felt himself, but he saw when Briar gazed at Cal.
“Oh gods,” Vesper whispered. “You fucking love him, don’t you?”
She leaned against the bars and nodded.
“This isn’t simple. This is for life,” he breathed, so defeated. “Gods, Em, why would you fall for him? How could you let that happen?”
She pulled her mouth to the side and stared at the floor. “Because my heart didn’t give me a choice.” Her humour disappeared, and her wide eyes grew glossy. “And now everything has gone to shit.”
He bit back everything he wanted to say. It was too late now anyway. Those bonds with Destonne were her choice. Her mistake. Fuck. He’d have to support her however he could. He cleared his throat and mustered, “It’s alright. It’ll be alright.” He watched helplessly as she wrestled with her composure. “I wish I could hug you, but my bloody arms are bound.” He moved so she could lean her forehead against his good shoulder through the bars.
She sobbed a heavy breath and was quiet for a long stretch before she murmured, “I feared you might be dead.”
“That was months ago.”
“Don’t remind me asshole,” she grumbled. “And you smell terrible.”
“This hasn’t exactly been a spa day. The help isn’t very accommodating.”
She rubbed the backs of her bound hands over her eyes as she collected herself. He winced as he watched her struggle.