Children of the Fallen: Bloodlines (BOOK #3)

Chapter 43: Azrael

Victoria Brooks- Finley

Pierce and I headed to a bar nearby so we could relax from the shit show we're in. It's a quaint little sports bar, with re runs of games or sports recap shows playing on every tv. We all said we'd discuss this mess tomorrow when everyone is awake and has gotten a good sleep in so hopefully clearer heads will prevail tomorrow.

The bar is entirely empty aside from us, the bartender, and one half passed out guy in the corner. Pierce grins at me as I drink the bourbon I ordered. I slide my eyes over to him and I say bringing my glass back down to the bar top, "I love your relentless optimism but I don't know how you could be smiling when the news I brought back basically means we're fucked."

"Because you're here and we can worry about all that later. We came here to not think about it and just have a little break from our unfortunate reality." He continues smiling with that warm gleam in his eyes. It took a while to get that back. That true warmth in his eyes, for a bit it seemed like the supposed welcoming warmth was only present for my sake while internally he still suffered. In our literal wedding vows and in the unsaid vows we had for each other throughout our whole relationship- for better or for worse. He was patient with me and there for me through so much, of course I would do the same without hesitation. He was so frightened that I'd leave after showing just how deep this trauma affected him but hell would have to freeze over for me to falter. Through all of this he has a smile on his face, ever the optimist.

He's forever changed from the Pierce I knew hundreds of years ago but I too, am a different Victoria yet we still work. If anything we work better now, we're closer.

"Try it." He turns a little in his stool, holding his hand over his mouth forcing his smile to drop. He raises his hand in the motion of a smile and smiles along with it. "Try." He says through his smile.

Humoring him, I force my lips into a smile. "Good?"

He laughs, "Come here." He leans forward pressing his soft lips to mine. As he sits back in his stool I have an actual smile on my face as my cheeks flush. He definitely catches my blush as the corner of his lips upturn knowingly. "So Morgan and Grayson."

"I thought we were taking a break from our unfortunate reality."

He takes a sip from the margarita he ordered. "Unfortunate reality of like war, not house drama." He clarifies. "I know you don't like him, I don't either but..."

"He's making Morgan happy." I finish his sentence then crease my brows. "Or happy adjacent?"

"She looks like she's not entirely emotionless and about to murder people while he's with her." He adds also creasing his brow trying to figure this dynamic out. "I don't know what emotion that is but he's doing that to her."

I chuckle then my face drops to something more somber. "I wish she experienced whatever that is with anyone else. I know he's remorseful for what he did but he still bothers me." I still look at him and only see Morgan getting taken from me and hearing about Dane's death. I know that Dane made a choice knowing that if he got caught he would be killed but he had a slim chance and Grayson took away that chance.

"He's an asshole but I saw her like genuinely smile before in the living room- I use smile loosely it was more like her mouth twitching but for once her eyes matched it." He says while I sip from my drink.

I suck my teeth. "I can tolerate him." I say and Pierce laughs. "I know in the middle of all of this it's probably a little hard but have you applied for colleges yet?"

He shakes his head. "I'll do it when this all blows over. I think NYU definitely and maybe when all the celestials and Lucien are out of the way and we're more at peace we can live in one of your apartments together."