Chapter 255 The Heart of My Soul
I’ve fought demons, led armies, and faced death more times than I can count. None of that compares to the pressure
of making soup for my mate, I stand in the kitchen, frowning at the pan like it’s about to explode. “It’s just soup,” 1
mutter, stirring way too carefully. “People make soup all the time.”
The Underworld thankfully has a fully stocked pantry, and I’ve managed what I think is a simple broth with herbs and a few vegetables that definitely didn’t grow on the surface. They glow faintly, which I decide to take as a sign of nutritional value, not danger. She said she wanted to eat in bed and watch movies and if she wants to eat soup in my bed, then that’s what she’s going to get the best damn soup the Underworld has ever seen. I find a tray, line it with a folded cloth, add a plate of bread, and double–check that I didn’t burn anything. By the time I’m done, I’ve
managed to make something that at least looks edible.
“Okay,” I whisper to myself, exhaling slowly. “You’ve got this. Soup. Bread. Movie. Bed.”
I pick up the tray carefully and make my way toward my room. My palms are sweaty. My heart’s racing. It’s ridiculous. She’s my mate, my Macey, and I feel like a teenager again, about to embarrass myself in front of the girl I’ve been in love with my whole damn life.
I nudge the door open with my foot. “Hey, I-”
And nearly drop the tray.
Macey’s standing in the middle of my room, barefoot, her hair dripping down her shoulders in loose, wet waves. She’s wearing one of my shirts, the dark grey one that hangs to her mid–thigh and nothing else that I can see. For a second, my brain stops functioning entirely. She blinks up at me, eyes wide, and then she giggles. Gods help me. Her laugh is soft and light, and the sound shoots straight through my chest. She bounces once on her toes and then leaps onto my bed, sprawling out like she owns the place.
“I was starting to think you got lost,” she says, grinning.
“1–uh no lust. “I blink down at the tray in my hands, praying I don’t actually drop it now “Just trying to make it
perfect”
Her enule softens a little. “You didn’t have to.”
“You” I say quietly, stepping chiser, “I did
1 set the spay on the bed beside her, atth trying not to stare too hard. My shirt on her looks criminally god it’s too
big, shipping off one shoulder, and the neckline dips just enough to send my thoughts spinning in very unhelp directions. I try to be respectful. I really try, but it’s insanely hard not to notice how her nipples peak under the fabric. No bra. That’s the only thought going through my brain right now. No bra, under my shirt. Her breasts. M
shirt. Nipples. No bra. Fuck
I lift my gaze to the ceiling and whisper under my breath, “Gods, help me.”
She laughs again, clearly hearing me. “You okay over there?”
“Fine,” I say quickly, definitely not fine.
I sit down on the edge of the bed,quickly pulling a pillow into my lap to hide my extremely painful erection, and hand her a bowl of soup like it’s an offering to the universe. She takes it with a smile, sitting cross–legged beside
- me.
“This smells amazing,” she says, and the way she looks at me when she says it makes me feel like I’ve just
conquered kingdoms.
I shrug, trying to play it cool. “Beginner’s luck.”
She dips her spoon in, takes a bite, and her eyes widen. “Elliot, this is actually good!”
“Actually?” I scoff, pretending to be offended. “You sound so surprised.”
“Maybe I am,” she
me you tried to cook, you nearly set the kitchen on fire.”
“In my
Someone wouldn’t stop talking.”
mp strand of hair behind her ear. “I have no idea who that could’ve been.”
kling as I reach for the remote. “Alright, smartass. You pick the movie.”
through the options before settling on something unbearably pink and cheerful. A rom–com Of ovie starts, she pulls the blanket over her legs, leans into me, and immediately starts talking
her brother or her boss?”
you think they end up together**
The My Sonot
“Oh, he’s totally the love interest Look at the way he’s staring at her”
I hated they “Your’re literally narrating the movie while it’s playing.”
“I’m helping your your on.” she says sweatly, batting her lashes
#fach, shaking my head, hot secretly, I don’t mind Watching her talk, seeing her animated again, alive and safe, ‘s Better Than why movie coard ever be Ryentually, her voice softens, her laughter fades, and she sinks down *net me, laying her head on my chest The flickering light from the screen dances across her face, and she looks… sexeta. Sy hand moves on instinct, finding the small of her back. I trace slow circles there, feeling her breathing www xx, the fine and fall against me syncing with my heartheat She’s asleep within minutes. I tilt my head back west the wall, staring up of the calling, my fingers still drawing idle shapes against her skin. The Underworld Roms Generly sofside, distant and endless, but all I can think about is her, the way she fits against me, the way her hur sms Ava soap and sonlight, even down here. This. This is what I fought for. Not glory. Not vengeance. Just Ker Why Moncay My how friend The one woman in this world that I would burn down entire kingdoms for. In
What
stay ther’s in, I went to be her privice, her hero, the one she runs to when she needs to feel safe and loved the the unftly in her sleep, I can’t help but smile, Because somehow, in a world made of shadow and flame, & get to test the Wightest thing i’ye yet know
*
The head of my soon.