Steel

Chapter 7

I sucked in a deep breath as I quickly strode away from them and over to a nearby pine tree, which I'd rested my water bottle against. I took a long chug, panting when I lowered it from my lips. I was covered in sweat from head to toe and nearly every muscle in my body was aching from the constant use. We'd been here for a few weeks now and I'd spent all of my time training. If I wasn't here, I was passed out in my cold bed back in the city. It didn't help that I hadn't been sleeping well. My every thought was plagued with the Reckoning or with Grey, and neither of those resulted in pleasant dreams. 

No one knew when the Reckoning would start. I could be training for the next century, or it could start tomorrow. When Hell attacked- that's when it would begin. Heaven would never make the first move. 

With Grey- I had thought after our conversation that maybe things had been looking up, but I was wrong. He never spoke more than two words to me, and spent the rest of the time glaring at me. At least he wasn't fucking anyone else. I hated to admit that that alone made me happy for more reasons than one. 

I missed him. Every cell in my body ached for him. Whenever he was anywhere near me, it's like my nerve endings would sizzle and every cell inside me would pull me towards him. Everything inside of me wanted him, needed him. And it killed me to know that he didn't feel the same- at least not now. He didn't want me or need me now- he wanted and needed space from me. He'd been so desperate to break this stupid soulmate bond that he'd gone and fucked someone else- something he couldn't even bring himself to do in Paris. I don't know what that meant. I tried not to read into it. 

"You look like you're having a midlife crisis," a voice sounded from behind me and I quickly turned over my shoulder. 

"I don't mean to interrupt, I just wanted to make sure you're okay," Ravenna held her hands up in surrender, a small smile curling her lips. 

She had on pitch black battle armor that was stitched together neatly with dark red leather, her soft brown hair remaining loose behind her shoulder. What I found mildly amusing, however, was not the fact that her hair remained down while she was training (which I believed would be incredibly inconvenient). Instead, it was the small pink flower tucked neatly behind her ear. She wore such dark and fierce battle armor- it was amusing to see the same person wearing that armor to want a little delicate flower in her hair. 

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied softly, taking another drink of water. 

"That was a terrible attempt at a lie. Try again," she urged, raising an eyebrow slightly. 

"I'm fine, I just have a lot going on," I snapped, realizing only after I'd said it that it came out a little sharper than I'd intended. 

"I know you do. Demons don't- we don't Empathize, but we feel other's pain. Most Demons get off on it. I can feel your pain from almost anywhere. It echoes. Loudly," she chuckled lightly, gingerly taking my hand in hers. 

I wasn't a touchy person, but I didn't feel like arguing, so I let her. 

"Your body is screaming at you to take a break. You've quite literally been destroying it these last few weeks. Your soul- I can feel- it feels like a part of it's being shredded, sucked up by a vacuum. Your mind is in pain because you can't stop thinking about the weight that's been placed on your shoulders. Your heart, though, that one is the one that echoes. Because it was once so full and now it's empty," Ravenna spoke softly, gently tilting her head to the side and removing her hand from mine. 

"You can feel all of that?" I furrowed my brows tightly. 

"Not to the extent you do, but enough. You're in agony," her brown doe eyes flicked back and forth between mine.