Late-Night Confessions

DELLA

I find Micha on a couch with the books already out. I make my way over.

“Is this seat taken?” I whisper, startling him.

He smiles up at me and pats the seat beside him. “So, I found something about white auras but no black,” he says with a shrug.

“What does the white mean?” I ask, remembering the white around Kade and the white in my vision with Sorin.

“Love.”

My eyes go wide at that.

“You’ve seen white auras before, haven’t you?” he asks.

“Um… yeah. I have,” I mutter. I put on my glasses and pick up a book titled ~Rare Demons and Nephilim~. It’s huge; this should take me a while.

“Della, I need to ask…,” he says suddenly, but then hesitates. I turn to face him, and his aura bleeds a light pink. “What’s the cross from?” he blurts out.

“Oh. Um… It’s kind of private,” I say. I see his eyes go sad, and I rush to finish my sentence. “It’s not really a library conversation. Do you want to head back to my dorm, and I’ll tell you about it there?” I suggest.

“You don’t have to tell me.” He looks away.

“I know.” I stand up and start putting books back.

We find our way through the bowing gargoyles and into my room.

“I’m going to get comfy and then we’ll talk,” I say, grabbing a pair of green pajama shorts with frogs on them and a T-shirt that makes me laugh. It’s super soft and says “~That’s a horrible idea. What time?~” I head to the bathroom and get undressed. As pretty as my underwear is, lingerie really isn’t meant to be worn all day.

I toss my hair up into a bun, throw my pajamas on, and head back out to Micha. He’s sitting on my bed where I left him, reading one of the books I have lying around.

“Is it any good?” I ask, putting my laundry in the hamper. I’m going to have to do laundry soon; I’m almost out of underwear. Not that I think Kade would mind if I went commando.

Micha laughs and looks up, but his face falls and his aura blazes a light pink with bits of white. I don’t know how to process that. So, when in doubt, sass it out.

“Wow. Don’t hold back, you can say it. Frogs don’t go with blue hair.” I laugh.

“Sorry, I just…wasn’t expecting…sorry,” he stammers, his cheeks reddening.

I put my glasses away, hop up in the bed, and get settled in a comfy position across from him. “So… My scars are all from my parents. Oh, except for this one,” I say, pulling up my shirt to show him a little two-inch scar on my hip.

“What caused that one?”

“A guy stabbed me when I wouldn’t let him rape me,” I admit, trying not to go back in my mind.

“Fuck.”

“Yeah, he died,” I state bluntly, not bothering to tell him how. “But the others…well, I was always either weird or crazy to my parents. Between me having dreams that came true or knowing things that I shouldn’t—let alone seeing things they didn’t. I was…odd, and they were religious.

“When I was about ten, my appetite changed and I started feeding. Just little wisps, but I didn’t need as much actual food if I fed more. You know?” I ask.

He nods, looking at me with those beautiful, concerned copper eyes.

“That’s when they started bringing me in for regular exorcisms.” My voice cracks on the word.

“No,” he whispers, pulling me into his arms.

We lay quietly in each other’s embrace for a few moments while I try to compose myself.

“Well, the last priest they took me to wasn’t right. His aura was wrong. And I killed him. My parents found me over his body and knocked me unconscious. I woke up in a mental ward. I think I was there for a day or two before I ran. I’ve been running ever since.”

Micha swallows loudly and I feel him kiss the top of my head. “I’m so sorry, Della. How did you end up this nice?” he whispers into my hair and holds me tighter. “Thank you for trusting me.”

I just nod and rest my head against his shoulder. My chest is warm and full of something I’ve only felt with Kade. Maybe Kade was right.

“Hey, can I trust you with something else?” I ask, picking at a frog on my pajama pants.

“Anything,” he vows.

I tell him about my vision and a little bit about last night’s meeting. “The type of demon I am has to be kept a secret so I can’t tell you. It might be dangerous for you to even know but—”

“I’ll help,” he cuts in. “I’ll help you research whatever you need. I won’t ask questions. I promise.”

“Are you sure?” I ask, looking up at him.

“Of course. I’m here for you, Della,” he promises.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

“Always.” We stay like that until I begin to doze off in his arms. Just before I fall asleep, I hear him whisper, “I’ll always be here for you.”

***

I wake up warm and tangled in the early morning light and open my eyes to see Micha still in my bed with his arms still around me. I gently move his arm and head for a shower.

I feel good today. I wrap a towel around me and look at myself in the mirror. My blue hair is a mess of wet curls and my golden eyes are bright. I feel lighter than I have in years. I quietly head to my wardrobe and grab some clothes. I’m walking back to the bathroom when I hear a weird noise. Micha’s up. I look over to the bed and see his aura flare a bright pink as he stalks toward me.

“Good morning,” I say weakly before he kisses me. I whimper into his soft kiss and wrap my arms around his neck. The butterflies in my stomach are going nuts, and I want more. No. I can’t. At least not yet. I need to tell him about the others first. I break the kiss reluctantly.

“So, you know that dream I told you about?” I ask.

“Yeah.” He nods.

“Well, I just need to let you know, Kade is already tied to one of the strings. And Sorin will probably be tied to another one of them soon. Kade said he’s okay with me taking others. I think Sorin is, too, but I need to talk to him first. But I also need to know you’re going to be okay with them, too. I can’t leave Kade. He’s too important to me,” I say in a rush.

“It’s okay. I’m fine with sharing you. I already know Kade practically worships you… I’d like to as well.” He runs a thumb across my lips. “I’ll see you at breakfast,” he says before leaving.

“Holy shit,” I whisper to the empty room. I get dressed and make my way to breakfast. Halfway to the cafeteria, I’m dragged into yet another room. This is getting ridiculous.

I look up and see Sorin smiling down at me. My heart stutters, remembering his words from the last time we were alone together like this.

“Good morning, Della,” he whispers.

“Good morning, Sorin.” I smile up at him. “That was a dirty trick yesterday.”

“Did you guys have a good time?” His smile is full of mischief as my face heats. “I’ll take that as a yes. So, did you make a decision? Will you have me?”

I look up into those glorious crystal-blue eyes and know I’m a goner anyway. “Yes,” I whisper. I see the relief on his face. Did he actually think I could say no to him?

I push up onto my toes and press a kiss to his lips. He sinks into the kiss and nibbles my lower lip. I lick at his, causing him to moan as I pull at his bottom lip roughly. He likes my knives far too much to not like it a bit rough.

He lets out a hungry growl and pulls me roughly toward him, pressing his hardening length against me. I give him a final nip and smile as I break our kiss and pull away. I head out to the cafeteria, leaving him to recover this time.

I grab a muffin and sit beside Oz. He looks better than he did last night, but I can tell he’s still sad.

“How are you doing?” I ask.

“Better.” He turns to me with a smirk. “How are you today?” He knows something.

“Good.” I give him a peaceful smile, ignoring his knowing look.

“I saw someone coming out of your room this morning,” he mentions.

“We fell asleep talking,” I explain.

“I wish I talked to him like that. The amount of lust in that man was delicious,” he snickers. “Being around you is like a walking feast.”

“Okay. Enough. I’ll tell you everything later,” I relent. Anything to get him to stop talking about this in the middle of the cafeteria.