His lips broke apart with a breath of laughter. “I'm very happy to hear that. And, has he stopped calling you ‘baby’?”
“No. Did you ask him to?”
He groaned. “Ask—demand. Same things, really.”
I smiled to myself. “Well, he still calls me baby, but he doesn't mean anything by it.”
“That’s not the point.”
“Then what is?” I said harshly. “He’s had your back, you know? He always stands up for you—the baby thing isn't intentionally disrespectful.”
“I know.” He nodded, running a hand through his dark, wavy hair. “And he’s been keeping me sane when it comes to you. Ha! I almost ruined it all the other day, when you fell over at training and hurt your ankle.”
“Yeah, I remember.” My cheeks flushed with humiliation. “You saw that?”
He smiled. “Mike spotted me outside—managed to make me leave right before Blade carried you out.”
My gut sunk; he was right there. Right outside, and I didn't see him. “I can't keep this up much longer, David.”
“Nor can I, sweetheart.” He held me into his chest and kissed the top of my head; I could feel the warmth of his breath and smell the way his orange-chocolate scent mixed with the heat, making me feel as if I was wrapped up tightly in naked-him. “I better get going.”
“Wait.” I grabbed his sleeve as he pulled away. “Not yet.”
“Ara, Blade’s on guard tonight, and he may not be immortal yet, but if he hears me in here—”
“Please. Just lay with me for a bit? Help me get to sleep.”
He looked at the bed, then the rising day outside, and sighed. “Okay. Just for a while.”
“Yay!” I clapped, and I didn’t even feel silly for my immature display of excitement. But the sudden jumping made that dull ache I’d come to know so well sear up on the side of my head; I cupped my hand over it, wincing.
“What’s wrong?” David pulled my hand down, looking at the spot I covered.
“It’s the headache. Every time Mike makes me use my electricity, I get them really bad.”
“Why?”
“I don't know. He seems to think it’ll pass when I'm fully transformed.”
David nodded as he pulled me into his chest again. “I'm sorry, Ara. I never wanted this life for you.”
“It was never your choice to make.”
“It was, once—before I gave you my blood.”
With a sigh, I shook my head. “Even if I was given a crystal ball back then, and saw our future—all the bad we’ve been through, I’d still take it, David, for all the good.”
He leaned in slowly, holding the tops of both my arms, and kissed my forehead. “And that is one of the reasons I love you so much.”
“I love you, too.” I smiled, both inside and out, because I meant it. Despite everything I’d learned about him, I still meant it. “David?”
“Mm?”
“I need to tell you something.”
He leaned back a little, a guarded smile on his lips. “Why don't I like the sound of this?”
“I—” I walked away and hugged myself across the room. “Morgaine said you saw a dream I had—about when you and Jason were young.”
“Yes.”
“Well—that wasn’t the only one I had.”
He sighed. “I thought as much.”
“Are you mad at m—” I stopped when I spun around, expecting him to be across the room, angry and scowling, not right behind me, smiling. “What?”
“I love you, okay.” He stroked one finger down my cheek. “You worry too much. I knew you were having dreams. I knew he showed you our childhood, because you’ve slipped up, said things so many times that you couldn’t have known.”
“Why didn't you tell me you knew?”
He smiled as if the answer were obvious. “I wanted you to tell me.”
“Oh.” I became smaller, looking at his shiny black shoes.
“But you did tell me.” He moved in and kissed my hair. “So, it’s okay. And I can't be mad at you for things he showed you while you slept.”
“Aren’t you mad that I didn’t tell you?”
“I was. But I got over it. Missing you has a way of putting things into perspective for me.” He rubbed the tops of my arms. “Just…don't ever keep secrets from me again.”
“Okay.” I shuffled my feet closer to his and turned my head as I rested my ear against his shirt.
“But…that was all, right?” David asked. “He only showed you our past? He didn't…you didn't…do anything else, did you?”
I looked up at him, eyes of fear mixing with eyes of concern. “No.” With that lie, the glass of my broken promise shattered on the ground around my feet, and I heard it, felt it, but didn't regret it. They were dreams. They were in the past. They had to stay in the past—not destroy our future.
“Okay.” He exhaled relief. “I guess I kind of knew that. It’s not like I thought anything happened, but I just…”
“You were just worried.” I wrapped my arms around his waist.
“I just had this feeling, you know, that something was going on. And, I know that’s not the case, but I just…I don't know. Perhaps it’s because I know how much he wanted to hurt me, and the one way to do that—”
“It’s in the past,” I cut him off. “He’s gone now, and he can never hurt us again.”
“And you think that makes me feel better?” He turned away, breaking our embrace.
“Oh, David. I'm sorry.”
“I hate myself, Ara.” He glanced back at me for a second before returning his gaze to the waning night below the window. “I never understood before, exactly what I’d done to him. I blamed him for so many things, and I let my anger turn to hatred.” He took a breath through his nose, his shoulders lifting slowly. “The worst part is, I knew the truth. I knew it was never his fault—the things I blamed him for, but somehow, placing it all on him made it easier to bear the grief. And I never got to make amends for that.” He stared out past the glass, talking as if I wasn’t in the room. “He deserved that much. What he did to you—to us—was horrible, but it truly was all my fault.”
I walked very slowly over to him and let my fingertips hover above his shoulder blade before touching him. “I'm sorry, David.”