Eden
I wake later than usual, the sun shining brightly through the large windows in Damien's room signaling we've overslept.
I sit up quickly, shoving him off of me with force. He groans and rolls over, seeming to try to go back to sleep.
"You sleep like the dead. Get up!" I say in a hushed but rushed tone.
"What's wrong?"
"Do you not see how late in the morning it is? Everyone will already be eating breakfast! We will be the only ones missing this morning." My stomach drops at the thought, but I knew the risks of doing this. I have no one to blame but me and my own selfishness.
People will begin talking when they see only Damien and I aren't present, I'm sure of it. I never planned to keep this from Jericho, but I just hope I can be the first one to tell him. I want him to know this was never meant to be kept from him. I'm honest when it comes to such things.
I can't explain why I've done this, but it's too late now.
"You're too worried, no one is going to notice. There are so many damn beings staying in my home currently it would be easy to miss two people who aren't present." He sits up, running one hand through his tousled light brown hair. "And who cares if they do?" He finishes.
"What do you mean? I care. That's why I wait till late to come and I leave early. This is wrong and we both know it."
"And yet you continue to come. I'll admit it's been less lately, but you still come to me, Eden."
"And you continue to let me in." I counter his words. I know what I'm doing is wrong, but so is what he's doing. He could turn me away at any time, he could have never let me in his room in the first place.
He rubs the back of his neck, looking stressed. "Alright, then don't show up again, cause I'm not letting you in, since we both agree this is wrong."
I refuse to show my disappointment at his words, steadying myself mentally. "His voice is louder when I sleep here.."
I look at him when he says nothing. He's leaned back against the headboard of the bed with his eyes closed. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I don't know how to explain these dreams.. It's just darkness, and I hear him calling out my name. But the fear the darkness strikes through me.. it's like he's there, just out of reach, some nights I don't dream at all.. some nights he feels closer than others.."
"What do you think it means?" He asks, looking at me again.
"I think he's reaching out to me, and I fear the quieter his voice the weaker he is. I'm worried that he's lost within that darkness, Damien.. I'm worried that I'm dreaming of where Aries sent him."
"And his voice is louder when you sleep with me?" I don't miss the confused hurt look on his face for a second, and it absolutely eats away at me.
"When I do manage to dream when I sleep with you, yes, his voice is louder.." I don't want to have this conversation, I don't know why but it makes my heart feel constricted to admit these things to Damien.
It's verbally putting into words just how much I use his presence to ease my own hurt.
I look away from him, feeling ashamed. "I won't come to you at night any more.. I'm sorry Damien I never should have asked this of you." I try to hide the tremble in my voice as I speak, not wanting my emotions to show through.
Damien gets up from the bed, standing shirtless with his loose sleep pants on, his light golden brown hair tousled and messy from sleeping, his golden eyes still looking heavy from waking only moments ago.
"If that's what you want." He says as he makes his way to the door that leads to his own bathroom.
"You're the one who just told me to not come back because you're not letting me in." I state.
"But is that what you want?" He inquires, stopping halfway to the bathroom to turn and face me with his arms crossed over his broad chest.
"Why do you ask when I continuesly show up at your door? I don't know why I keep coming back. I don't know why you were the first person I sought out, either. I don't know what's wrong with me! I have a mate, Damien! And here I stand in your room after sleeping in your bed! I don't know what I want.. I don't know why I continue to seek you out night after night.." My voice trembles as my tears begin falling.
Damien begins walking towards me, a determined look in his face. "Damien, don't."
"You seek me night after night because you feel this pull that I feel. I'm you're comfort because you have feelings for me. Admit it." His golden eyes dance with a fire I don't approve of, but that I also can't turn away from.
"Please don't do this, don't cross this line." I say to him sternly, my tears no longer falling as Damien stands in front of me.
"It's been almost a month since you've begun sleeping in my bed, Eden." My heart races at his words, not liking where things are going.
"Tell me you don't have feelings for me." He insists while staring into my blue eyes.
I don't want to do this, can't do this. It doesn't matter what I'm feeling. I have a mate, and I've promised myself to him.
"I don't have feelings for you." I tell him evenly.
He remains quiet, eyeing me. "You should know you can't lie to a Reaper, little witch. I hear every lie that spills from that pretty mouth of yours."
What? Jericho never told me that. I anxiously try to remember everything that's happened between me and Jericho and realize he knew just how bad I wanted him from the very beginning, even when I acted like a little brat towards Jericho upon first meeting him, he knew.
Of fucking course.
"Nothing to say?" Damien asks, bringing me from my thoughts.
"It doesn't matter if I have feelings for you, Jericho is my mate and that fact won't change."
Damien comes closer, leaning down so his head is at my level. "That fact won't change, but neither will the fact that you want me."
"Want you seems a bit overboard. I might have taken a slight liking to you, but I wouldn't go as far as to say I want you." I roll my eyes at him, needing this conversation to be over.
He moves in closer, the smell of musk and pine filling my senses. He roams his hand dangerously close to my waist, letting it get close enough I can feel the heat from him, but not making contact. My body reacts in a sinful way, much to my own shameful embarrassment.
My heart races in my chest as I shove him away. "Stop."
He inhales deeply, closing his eyes. "I never was going to touch you, just making a point."
I can't speak for a second as I realize what he just did. "How dare you!" I say as I shove him away further.
He laughs at my outburst. "How dare I? How dare I what? Prove my point without even laying a finger on you?" He smirks.
"Fuck you, Damien."
"You wouldn't dare."
My face heats at his words. He's always fucking messing with me and gets too much enjoyment out of it.
"Enough. I'm leaving, I was supposed to meet Persephone after breakfast and now I'll be running late."
"Always running from the hard conversations, aren't you?" Damien says, calling me out.
"This isn't easy for me.."
"And you think it is for me? You knew Jericho for a month, Eden. I've known him since the beginning of my fucking existence. He's not just my fellow Reaper, he's my brother." Damien tries to hide it, but I hear the emotions in his voice, the pain hidden there.
"And here I sit with his mate. You have no idea how torn I am inside! You seek me out night after night! And something inside me won't let me turn you away! I feel disappointment when you don't come to me, and then I feel ashamed for feeling such things for my brother's mate! How sick am I?!" He shouts loudly, his anger coming through as his golden eyes turn black.
"Damien, please.. I'm sorry.. I won't come back again.. this can't go on any longer." I whisper to him. "I'm sorry for causing this. I'm sorry I came to you for comfort, I'm sorry I-"
He cuts me off by appearing directly in front me, slowly sliding his hands up my neck and into my hair that's still a mess from sleeping. "You say sorry too much." He whispers, his breath caressing my lips.
"Damien.." I manage to squeak out.
His lips are so close I can almost taste them. My body longs to close the distance between us, something inside me begging to touch my lips to his.
"Damien.. we can't.." I breath out to him.
He says nothing as he lingers, tempting to cross a line that shouldn't be crossed between us.
"Tell me you don't want me to kiss you."
His lips lightly brush mine for just a moment, sending shock waves of pleasure through my body before Damien is suddenly being thrown back across the large room by my magic.
I dart towards the door, not knowing why I didn't just tell him to stop instead of zapping him with some of my quick lightening magic.
"I'm sorry!" I scream as I run away, ashamed I let Damien get that close to kissing me, and embarrassed I didn't handle it better by simply telling him no instead of hurting him with my magic.
Maybe I should have made sure he's okay.
He's a Reaper he'll be fine.
I dart passed Lydia and Kiana, a look of shock on both their faces as they take in the fact I just came from Damiens room and am still in my nightclothes, hair a mess and all.
"Eden! Wait up! What the hell is going on?" Kiana yells after me, trying to catch up.
I almost stumble over my feet before coming to stop, knowing Kiana wouldn't be able to catch me with my increased speed.
"Eden, what the hell is going on?"
I look at Kiana, then at Lydia who is slowly catching up to where we are.
"Kiana I-" No other words escape my mouth for a moment as I begin sobbing. "I attacked Damien I don't know if he's okay."
"Wait, what?"
"He tried to kiss me." I cry.
"Oh I'll kill that fuc-"
"No, Kiana stop.. it wasn't like that.. he wasn't forcing himself on me.." I wrap my arms around myself as I cry, soon Kiana wraps her arms around me as well.
"Talk to me." She insists as Lydia looks on awkwardly, not knowing how to handle the situation.
"I don't know what to do, I just wish it was me who vanished instead, at least none of this would be happening!" I shout.
"Don't say that Eden! Jericho saved you, he'd be heart broken to hear you say such things!"
"He'd be heartbroken to know I've been sleeping with Damien!" I yell at her.
A look of pure shock and horror crosses her features. "You've been.. you've been having sex with Damien?"
"Fuck no! I've just been sleeping in his bed, fully clothed! Nothing has happened between us except sleeping in the same bed.. I just.. I don't know Kiana. I'm fucked up." I sob.
"Let's take this somewhere else before someone else hears." Me and Kiana both look at Lydia who's watched and heard everything unfold.
"I don't give a shit about any of this, I just don't want to be involved. No offense." She says as she puts her hands up as she turns to walk away.
"Please don't say anything to anyone?" I ask her.
"I have better things to do than gossip about what others are doing, no one will hear about this from me." I don't know Lydia well enough to know if she means what she says, but I smile lightly and nod.
"Thank you I appreciate it, Lydia.."
She waves as she makes her way down the hallway her and Kiana were walking down before I interrupted them.
"Let's get you to your room before someone else sees you running around like this." Kiana mumbles.
I nod my head and begin following her to my room.
"Eden?" Oh god, please just go away.
I turn and look at Damien who seems completely fine considering I just basically electrocuted the shit out of him.
"Damien.. I, um, I'm sorry, I literally don't know what happened. I panicked."
Kiana looks between us, seeming to get more uncomfortable as the seconds tick by.
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay, I didn't mean to cause such a reaction from you. I shouldn't have done that." He says, looking awkward having to say this in front of my friend who continues to watch us.
"It's okay, just-lets not talk about it right now."
"Right.." He looks between both of us.
"I'll see you later, Eden." He turns and leaves back the way he came, still in his sleep pants, making it more so obvious what's been going on between us.
Something tells me word will get around anyways. With all our yelling this morning it wouldn't surprise me if someone heard us.
"I don't understand what's going on between you two." She whispers as we walk to my room.
"That makes two of us." I mumble.
Kiana keeps me company as I get ready for the day, preparing to go meet Persephone. I hope I'm not running too late, she never gave me a specific time.
"You know you could have come to me with your troubles instead of seeking out Damien, right?" She asks me as I put my clothes on for the day. I slip on my tight brown pants and white tank top, deciding to keep it simple.
"I know.. I don't know why I went to him. I don't know why I continue to. Jericho still has my heart, I can't give it away to Damien despite my feelings."
"So you do have feelings for him?" I didn't think my words through until Kiana pointed it out. I just admitted out loud that I have feelings for the Reaper.
"I do but it's not the same. I don't love him the way I do Jericho, and I refuse to let myself fall too deeply for another man while mine waits for me, needing saved.." My voice cracks with emotion at the last part.
"What will you tell Jericho when you find him?"
"The truth.. I'd never keep something like this from him.. I just don't want it to be the very first thing he hears once he returns.. I'll tell him as soon as I can, though." I dread when I do, I can't bring myself to imagine the hurt it will cause him.
I won't go to Damien any longer, no matter how quiet Jericho's voice becomes..
Maybe I'll bring this up to Persephone, perhaps she will have answers for me.
"Good, cause I would have told him if you didn't." I smile at her words, pleased with my friend.
"You know I love you, Kiana, right?"
"Oh I know, how could you not? I'm fantastic!" She exclaims while laughing and hugging me.
"I love you too though, I've always seen you as a little sister." I wrinkle my nose at her words.
"I'm older than you. Should view me as an older sister, right?" I ask, annoyed.
"Yes, but I've always felt more mature. I mean, look at the decisions you're making." She makes a clicking noise with her tongue as she shakes her head in disapproval.
"Okay, fair enough." I mumble, not enjoying her repeatedly calling me out.
We walk down the halls together as I make my way to the portal that leads to Hades home. "I'll see you later for training, okay?"
Kiana nods. "You can expect a thorough ass whooping today."
I laugh and nod at her words. "Whatever you say." Me and her both know I always whoop her ass unless I take it easy on her, but I'll let her have her moment for now.
"Catch you later! Behave!" She shouts at me as she turns and heads down the hall that leads to the gardens. Melinoe doesn't reside here any more, and is forbidden from entering.
Her gardens were destroyed and the nymphs took it over, transforming it into a magical garden I don't have to fear visiting, though I still rarely enter it. Too many bad memories.
I step through the portal and begin making my way down the halls, not knowing where to search for her. I'm usually here to bug Melinoe or Hades, and I usually know where to find them.
I don't come here to visit Persephone, so I'm not sure where to start.
"Eden! You're here, I was beginning to think you forgot about meeting me today." Persephone calls out from behind me.
I turn around and smile at her, taking in her beautiful dark gown she wears that trails the ground and has a long slit up one leg, exposing a dangerous amount of skin. The dark queen stunning as always as her eyes sparkle with amusement.
"I'm terribly sorry, I overslept. I appreciate you waiting for me, what was it you were wanting to discuss today?" I ask her, my excitement growing. I'm not sure what she meant by helping her with tasks, but I'm looking forward to whatever it is.
"That was just something to throw Hades off, I have nothing to do today!" She tells me happily as she walks up and hooks my arm with hers. Standing this close I realize I'm a good bit shorter than she is.
"So.. then?"
"You've sought my daughters help, but haven't come to me." My heart leaps in my chest at her words.
"You mean-?"
Persephone smiles sweetly at me as she speaks.
"I'm going to help you find Jericho."
3,109 words.