Aria and Will Page 15

  She reached beneath her chair for the wrapped bundle she had placed there when she had arrived in the room and stood. Holding her present in one hand and her cane in the other, she took slow steps around the table until she was in front of Will. She placed the bundle on the table next to him and looked straight at him.

  “You know what I feel for you,” she said softly. “It’s not going to change. But neither am I. You’ll have to take me as I am, or not at all.”

  She kissed him, just lips brushing against lips, and left the room. She was glad she had managed to go through it all without changing her mind or letting her emotions take over, but now she was scared and she felt like crying. Had she just ruined everything between her and Will before they had even started?

  * * * *

  It took me almost an hour, after she left me with those crystal-clear words, to finally think of untying the fabric-wrapped bundle she had left me. As soon as I put my hands on it, I knew what it was. I’ve handled enough swords in my life to recognize one by touch.

  When I had left her in my bed, hours earlier, I had been certain I’d find her there again when I was done taking care of Guard business. It hadn’t even occurred to me that she wouldn’t stay there as I had asked her to, and so catching a glimpse of her by the walls, hearing that she had been at the hospital as well and finally finding her in the meeting room come morning had each only increased my annoyance, transforming it into pure anger.

  Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t upset because she had done the exact opposite of what I had suggested. No, I was mad because I had seen from up close the extent of her injury, and I knew, from first-hand experience, that she had just extended her healing time by weeks, if not more.

  Still, as much as I hate to admit it, she was right. I wouldn’t have suggested to any other Head of Squadron that they ought to sleep when there was so much work to prepare for the next night. For as long as I had known her, my main concern had been to keep her safe. Could I change that now? Could I accept that I wouldn’t be able to keep her from danger any more now, as her lover, than I had been able to keep her from the fight since she had first decided to join the Cadets?

  I hate to admit that too, but the truth of the matter was, Aria had always done what she wanted, despite all my planning and scheming. She had tolerated my interventions until now, but I had found her limits. Could I accept them?

  The accompanying question was, could I live without her? And that question wasn’t as hard to answer.

  When I finally unwrapped the sword and found a beautifully crafted blade and ornate hilt, I couldn’t help wondering why she would offer such a thing to me. I had told her before that I didn’t carry a specific sword like she did, picking instead a weapon in the armory on my way to each fight. I understood the reason for the gift when I noticed the words engraved just above the hilt.

  to Will

  from Aria

  with love

  She wanted me to remember, every time I fought, that she loved me. It could be a way to welcome me in her life, or a parting gift. It was up to me to decide which it was.

  I went up to my apartment, keeping the sword in hand the entire way and earning a few startled looks for it. Once I was there, I fed, then took a quick shower. The cold water reminded me that Aria had been there earlier. I started thinking that it would be nice to have her there, waiting for me after long nights on the walls, but shook off the idea. It was much more likely that we would come home together. I couldn’t help wishing it had all been easier. I wished I had met her before the demons first started invading our world. But then, she would have been different. The war had shaped who she had become, and it was this Aria I loved, even if it wasn’t as easy as I wished.

  I dried myself, put on sleeping pants and a t-shirt, and called down to the office to let them know where to find me if they needed to. Then I went down three flights of steps to Aria’s apartment. I was about to knock, but a hunch made me try the door first. It was unlocked. I entered quietly, and tiptoed inside the quiet apartment to the bedroom. She was asleep, lying on her side with her back to the door. I slipped in behind her, as gently as I could. She hummed when I lay down behind her and she pulled my arm close to her chest.

  It was the first time I slept with her in my arms—the first of many.

  Chapter 19

  Coming home alone that morning and going to bed without having the faintest idea whether Will would join her or not had been very difficult for Aria. If she had not been so exhausted, she would not have managed to sleep at all. Even when she did fall asleep, part of her remained on alert, as she had the last few days whenever she caught some rest on the edge of the battlefield. Only when Will joined her did she truly start to dream.

  She woke up a few hours later, feeling more rested than she had been in a long time. As slowly as she could, she turned in Will’s embrace to face him. For a little while, she let herself drift, awake yet clinging to her fading dreams, her eyes open just enough to assure herself that Will was truly next to her. His face seemed more relaxed in sleep than she had ever seen him before. She resisted as long as she could, but eventually she had to touch him, even if she ended up waking him—or maybe for that very purpose.

  With just the tips of her fingers, she traced his eyebrows, then caressed his cheek. She slid down his neck, then over the fabric of his t-shirt, her hand coming to rest in the center of his chest. A stray thought floated through her mind, and she wondered, for a second or two, what it would have been like to feel his heart beat against her hand. She knew nothing of his human life; she had never asked. Would he answer if she did?

  His eyelids finally fluttered open. With the lack of light, his eyes seemed darker than usual, the green accents swallowed by brown. At once, they focused on Aria’s, and he smiled. Warmth settled over her, comfortable as a cherished blanket.

  “Hey,” she murmured, returning his smile.

  “Good afternoon. Did you sleep well?” The words rumbled, almost like a purr.

  Aria stretched and slid closer to Will until she could tuck her head beneath his chin. “Very well. You?”

  “I did, yes.”

  She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Standard Guard-issued soap had never smelled so good. She felt so comfortable that she started drifting back to sleep. She didn’t want to, though, not when Will was there with her.

  “This is nice,” she said, trying to keep herself awake. “I could easily get used to it.”

  Will chuckled soundlessly against her. “So could I.”

  With some regret, Aria pulled back, trading closeness for the ability to watch Will’s reactions. His hand lifted from her waist to come up and brush away a strand of hair that had fallen across her cheek. She hummed at the feel of his fingers.

  “Does that mean,” she asked, keeping her voice low, “you’re going to make a habit of sleeping in my bed?”

  His thumb slid across her cheek, stroking her lips once.

  “Well, if you have objections…”

  “No objections, no, definitely not.” She covered his hand with hers, pressing it to her face. “I only had one request. If you’re here, I guess you’re fine with it.”

  A shadow crossed his features. “Fine is maybe a too strong word.”

  She couldn’t help frowning at that. Had she seen too much in his presence in her apartment? She had been so sure that she had made herself clear that morning when she had given him what amounted to an ultimatum. She raised herself up onto her forearm, but Will didn’t give her a chance to ask what was on his mind. He mirrored her stance and, rather than evading as he so often had, he simply told her.

  “I’ll never like the idea of you being in any kind of danger—”

  “Will,” she tried to cut in, but he shook his head and she fell silent again.

  “I’ll never like it,” he repeated. “If that’s what you want, I can say it doesn’t bother me that you’re risking your life. But it’d be a lie.”

  Aria’s hal
f-formed fantasy of what life might be like with Will by her side started crumbling in a cloud of dust that choked her and made it painful to talk.

  “Then why did you come?”

  “Because not liking something doesn’t mean I can’t live with it.” He leaned in closer and rested his forehead against Aria’s. “Because,” he added, barely louder than a whisper, “I love you.”

  Aria blinked a few times very quickly. She didn’t want to tear up now, not when Will’s lips were touching hers, very gentle and almost questioning. He had given an answer to her ultimatum, she realized, and now he was waiting to see if it was enough.

  She tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. She answered with a kiss, as soft as his had been. At once, Will pushed forward until she rolled onto her back. Lying against her, he pressed in for a deeper kiss, his tentativeness replaced by fire when she responded to his touch. She clutched at his shoulders even as his hand rested at her waist. Her tongue joined his in a new yet familiar dance. They had never exchanged more than a few kisses, and she couldn’t wait to finally share more with him, and show him how much she loved him.

  The too loud and too persistent ringing of the phone broke the perfection of the moment.

  Aria pulled away and stared at the ceiling, sighing. Next to her, Will rolled onto his back. The phone continued to shriek for attention

  “It’s never a good sign when I get a call in the afternoon,” she said as she got up.

  Pain lanced through her thigh, reminding her of her injury. She grimaced, and tried not to limp too heavily on her way to the kitchenette. She heard Will get out of bed and follow.

  “It might not be for you. I told them I’d be here.”

  She glanced back at him, her eyebrows raised in surprise. Just a few days earlier, he had been wary of the Guard thinking they were involved. She had to marvel at how much things had changed; how much he was willing to let them change.

  She picked up the phone, and quickly passed it to Will. It was indeed for him. He leaned against the counter and she busied herself behind him, pulling a blood container from the small fridge and heating it up in the microwave. While she waited for it to be done, she turned back to Will and listened to the one-sided conversation, trying to understand what news he was getting.

  After a few seconds, he looked back at her before pressing the conference call button so she could hear. She smiled, grateful. The conversation consisted of an exchange of numbers and short orders. Most of it was routine, including the decision as to which squadrons would be on duty that night.

  The entire call took no more time than the blood needed to warm up. Will was about to hang up when Aria pulled the container out of the microwave. She motioned for him to wait and traded him the phone receiver for the blood.

  “Captain Vanyard speaking. When you send the off-duty call to my squadron, add that we will meet right after sunset in front of the Remembrance Wall.”

  She listened as the secretary repeated her message, thanked him and hung up the phone. When she turned back to Will, he handed her a glass full of blood. He had already finished his own. His expression was almost wary.

  “I’m not trying to keep you away from the fight,” he said very quickly. “Your squadron was next in the off-duty rotation.”

  She hid her grin by taking a sip of blood.

  “I know.”

  He nodded, clearly relieved. “I wish I could stay, but—”

  “You’ve got work to do.” She stood toe-to-toe with him and kissed him quickly. “And so do I. I’ll see you tonight on the walls.”

  She wasn’t proud to be testing him like this, but she had to. He had told her what she wanted to hear; she needed to know if it was more than words. A few seconds passed, and she started worrying. Finally, the visible tension in Will’s neck relaxed.

  “I’ll see you tonight,” he repeated.

  A brief kiss later, he was walking out of her apartment. Aria finished feeding, then placed the glass in the sink, next to Will’s. A wide grin burst to her lips at the innocent sight, and it was all she could do to stop herself from laughing aloud. She had dreamed for a long time of having an equal, someone who would fight alongside her without smothering her. She had dreamed of having Will’s love. She could hardly believe she now had both.

  Humming a wordless tune, she tidied up the small apartment and changed the sheets. It took her a little while to find the emergency candles she had kept for blackouts since her human days. She placed each one in a glass and set them around the bedroom, a lighter next to the one on the nightstand. She hoped it would be a quiet night on the walls, and that they would be able to come home early.

  * * * *

  It wasn’t a quiet night, far from it. It wasn’t as bad as the past few nights, thankfully, but demons came, and the Guard fought. The battle went on until almost sunrise.

  Aria and I were on the walls when the alarm sounded. We were talking. I honestly couldn’t tell you what we were talking about, but I have in my mind the still vivid image of Aria throwing her head back and laughing. Moonlight caressed her throat and wove silver accents in her hair. Her laughter remained quiet; we were all still mourning. Just the same, I couldn’t remember ever seeing her so… I want to say happy.

  Now, I’m not conceited enough to think she had never been happy before me. It was just the first time I had not been too jealous to notice. The first time those sparkling eyes and smile had been directed at me, unequivocally.

  My first reaction, when the approach of demons became known, was to look at Aria’s cane. The idea that she might try to fight with her injured leg twisted my stomach in a very unpleasant knot. I had to say something or she’d run to the fight, I was sure of it, but I was scared that even the gentlest reminder that she was hurt would be badly received. She caught my eyes and shook her head.

  “I’m not an idiot,” she said, the faintest smile brightening her words. “I came here to be with you, not to fight and damage my leg even more. I’ll stay behind with the support troops.” She leaned forward, just long enough to brush her mouth against mine. When she drew back, she pointed at the sword at my hip, its forged hilt recognizable anywhere. “First time you’ll fight with it. I hope it serves you well.”

  I pulled the sword out of its scabbard and raised it in front of me so that I could see the words engraved beneath the hilt.

  “I’m sure it will,” I said, and left her to join the fight.

  Aria’s love was right there, inscribed in the steel, and would be with me on the battlefield.

  As promised, she stayed behind the walls, organizing, looking at the fight from above and strategizing. When it was over and I returned inside, she was right there, waiting for me. She was there, just as I had hoped—as I had known—she would be.

  We went home exhausted; at least, I was. I accompanied her to her apartment. There were candles all around the bedroom, waiting to be lit. Clearly she had hoped something would happen. So had I, to tell the truth.

  We shared three minutes of hot water, went to bed together, kissed for a little while… and… well, I’ve got to admit I just fell asleep in her arms. Try fighting demons for hours at a time, and we’ll see how you fare.

  Three hours later, however… Well, you can imagine what we did.

  What, you want details? And you truly think I’m going to give them to you?

  A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell. Especially when he does a lot more than kissing.

  Epilogue

  If Aria half closed her eyes, she could almost see the garden as it had been when she had been no more than a child. Gone, in her mind, were the neat rows of vegetables and the lined-up orchards. In their place, she could see the ornamental trees, planted at irregular intervals, some in clusters, others lonely and majestic. They had given the place a peaceful atmosphere appropriate for a graveyard, an atmosphere she needed now.

  Almost sixty years had passed since the graves had been emptied and the cemetery transformed into fields. She h
ad warned Will then that riots would erupt if he asked the habitants of Newhaven to let go of their graveyard. She had been wrong. He had assured the population that the bodies would be treated with all the respect they were due, that commemorative stelae would be erected, and, above all, that the land would yield enough food to stop the shortages. Aria was sure that it was that last part that had decided them. They had trusted him, putting their deaths in his hands as well as their lives.

  Shaking the memories away, she blinked and focused on the present and the marble stelae she could see a hundred yards ahead of her. The past, however, refused to relinquish its hold on her, and as she approached the monuments, she stepped back through time until she felt like she was twelve years old again, rather than a vampire approaching a century and half of existence.

  She had been so scared that night. So scared, and so determined. She wasn’t sure what she would have done if Will had not found her and brought her home. A small smile crossed her lips as she thought of him. Without thinking about what she was doing, she reached with her free hand inside her jacket and touched the square of fabric sewn into the lining, a gesture so habitual she never noticed it anymore.