The Wishing Fallacy (The Vendetta Series: Book One)[COMPLETE]

Chapter Twenty-Four: Angels✔️

crash&burn - Bea Miller

Belle was surrounded by a soft warmth.

She yawned quietly, refusing to fully wake up or even open her eyes as she snuggled deeper into the comfortable pillow around her. It wasn't until she was drifting back into unconsciousness that she realized her pillow was breathing.

Belle opened her eyes just a bit and was met with the row of dermal piercings running down Marnie's collarbone. The demon was wrapped around her, looking only slightly silly in her true form lying against the pillows. Belle stretched her body out gently, wincing at the pain in her lower body. She untangled her legs from Marnie's to survey the damage.

Her breasts had a few purple bruises and hickeys and marks from the rope littered her upper half and wrists, but her lower half sported the worst of it. Her thighs were all but purple, only a few hints of surviving skin peeking out from underneath the mass of bruises here and there. It didn't feel that bad, but she would definitely have to make sure not to overdo it for a while until they healed.

Marnie stirred next to her and Belle cuddled back into her side. She yawned again and pulled the covers closer to her face to help block out the pale morning light. Her movements made Marnie stir again and she focused on the demon's face. Belle hadn't realized it, or maybe she had and had just forgotten, but Marnie even had markings on her face when she wasn't using her glamour.

Reaching her hands up, Belle gently traced the patterns on Marnie's face. She hadn't been trying to wake the demon, but it was obvious by the way her breathing changed that she was awake now. She didn't open her eyes or ask Belle what the hell she was doing, but stayed motionless underneath Belle's fingers. Belle followed the swirls of ink-like contracts down Marnie's face, tracing her cheekbones and lips, before sliding down her back.

Marnie tensed and Belle gave a small gasp at the feeling of rough, marred skin beneath her fingertips. She felt the landscape of scars continuing down the Djinni's back, nearly all the way to her hips. As her fingers traced the raised hills, she could feel something sinking inside of her.

The memory of a pain better forgotten.

Belle tried to think past the clumps of sleep clogging her brain to justify that random thought, but Marnie's eyes were open and fully trained on her now.

"The mating," the demon murmured, her voice quieter than a whisper and answering Belle's unspoken question. "You're not any kind of demon, so the effects aren't as powerful for you, but even as a human, there are still some things you can do. I guess you can sense me and my thoughts somewhat."

Then, that feeling she had gotten- that was Marnie's? Belle pressed her fingers against the scars, but the feeling didn't return. "Who did this?" She asked quietly, feeling angered at the mere thought of what atrocious wounds these must have been when they happened.

"Same person who broke my horns," Marnie replied after a few moments of silence.

Luca. Everything just came back to that bastard didn't it? "It's fine. They healed a long time ago. Centuries," Marnie reassured her.

"Not here," Belle mumbled quietly, retracting her hands from Marnie's back and tapping the Djinni's sternum, indicating her heart. "I felt it, just now."

She had expected Marnie to make some quip about how she was still trying to play therapist with the demon or how she was being ridiculous and corny, but Marnie lapsed back into silence, closing her eyes again with a small, tired sigh. "Out of all things, what an annoying perk for you to get. I guess I can't tell you otherwise if you already know, huh?"