Jack's jaw was clenched tight and he left Henry in the dust as twilight filled the sky. Henry didn't follow him, figuring he would be caught in a toxic mood for a while.
Jack slammed the door to his shared room closed as he stepped inside, kicking his cot off it's legs and across the room into the bed.
"Idiot!" Jack slid down the wall to the floor, his head falling into his hands, "Christ, I'm such an ass."
"Yes, you are."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4jDywTTf3k
He looked up at the feminine voice to see Sverila towering over him. His jaw fell slack and she laughed.
"Come now, do you really think my form is entirely bound by a mortal coil?" She laughed once more before kneeling down to his level and taking his face in her hands.
"Lover, do you really think she is so unaware when I take control?"
His eyes widened, "Sh-she knew?"
"Of course she did. I could've kept her consciousness away, but it was too fun to feel her shrink back like a wounded animal."
He clenched his jaw once more and shook off her hold. 416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVnU7qmb432
She allowed it, appearing beside him a moment later.
"Does she know that you're here now?"
"Perhaps, but then again, it would be safe to assume that she is too weak at the moment to stay sentient."
Sverila laughed in his ear and he turned away.
"You don't care, do you? About her or me?"
"I do care, Lover. Just not in the way that you might want."
He pulled away from her, but she appeared in a haze of shadows at his other side. The lights flickered above them and the room was plunged into darkness, not even the moon shining from the window could penetrate the dark.
He blinked before he felt his back against his cot back in it's rightful place. Sverila was above him, he could feel her straddling his lap. She leaned down into his ear.
"But you do not care, do you? You still want me, I can feel it."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb0wMg9NBnR
He swallowed, feeling his dick harden beneath her. She laughed, rocking her hips gently over him. He groaned and she kissed a line up his chest.
Where did my shirt go?
He felt his hands grab onto her hips, keeping her rocking slow and steady.
The lights flickered again, but they didn't stay on, only barely revealing her form to him. Her reflective eyes stayed bright in the darkness, glowing out at him like a predator. God help him, this must be some spell, surely he was not so weak otherwise!
He felt his pants disappear and felt his skin meet hers as his breathing picked up.
"Tell me, Lover. Do you fancy me? Do you think I'm beautiful? Do you love me?"
She leaned into his ear, "Tell me, Lover. Tell me, and you can take me as long as you want."
"Yes!" He exclaimed and she chuckled low in his ear and all of a sudden he was inside of her as she rocked her hips, prompting him to thrust up into her heat. God, why was she so warm if she wasn't tangible without Luna?416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡavxgD6aVYR
Luna.
He slowed as he thought of her. She, she cared about him, she wanted to change herself to be with him, she was hurting herself to try and do that. God, what was he doing?
He tried to stop, but Sverila sped up her pace and he felt like he was sinking.
What's happening to me?
This had to be a spell, he wanted to stop dammit!
But he couldn't, why? What was she doing?
She bent over him again, whispering into his ear.
"Do you love me?"
"Yes," he felt himself groan as he felt pleasure begin to ricochet in his body, pooling in his gut.
"Do you love her? Will you ever love her, I wonder?"
He stared up at her, his mind a haze. 416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqxf4ztTuf2
Is her face moving?
Her features began to shift beneath her skin, her right eye shifting into a familiar honey color.
No, no, no! No, don't let Luna out!
"Answer me, Lover. I can assure you, we both want to know."
"Stop!" He urged and her voice turned harsh as it shifted into Luna's.
"Answer us!"
"Jack! Jack! Luna's gone!" Henry shouted from outside, pulling on the door handle.
It was locked.
She was doing this to get to him, to hurt her. He bit back his response, feeling her warmth shift with him still inside her, he groaned and she let out a moan, her voice shifting further, yet slowing down. Her glowing eye narrowed on him.
"Answer me!"
"No!"
The shifting ceased and gradually her features shifted back into Sverila's. She bent down over him, kissing him softly and he felt his climax overcome him. He groaned and she laughed lowly in his ear.
"Thank you, Lover. Truly."
The door's lock released and Henry came running inside, skidding to a stop when he spotted them still connected, Sverila laughed at him.
His face lit up like a red Christmas light, but his green eyes brightened in his anger. He stormed out of the room, slamming the door closed as he left.
She began to rock her hips once more, but he pulled free of her hold and fell off the cot to escape her. His breathing was harsh and she appeared before him, kneeling to look into his eyes with both of her silver discs.
"Now tell me, was that so hard?"
"You forced me to!" He yelled at her and she smirked at him.
"Not really. You don't love her, you might like her, but you certainly don't love her. I remember listening to you ask her if I loved you. It shouldn't really surprise you, but she lied. She did know. She just wanted to save you the pain that she already felt. Poor mortal, she was trying so hard to be good enough."
Sverila let loose a cackle. "Poor girl, I must tell you, I do so pity such pathetic youth. My brother will love her, unlike you, I'm sure."
She left him alone in the room, walking into the bathroom and locking the door.
Sverila stared at her reflection in the mirror. She threw on the shower and snorted.
Luna's spirit gazed out from the mirror at her. Her cheeks were tear stained and her bright eyes were dull and dark.
"Why? Why are you doing this to me?" She asked and the goddess smiled at her.
"If you must know, your older brother once used me similarly. Not that it will mean anything to you since you barely remember getting to the base. You don't even know how old you are."
Luna looked down, away from her, but she was trapped in the mirror, trapped in the back of her own mind, and could do nothing.
Sverila laughed, "Don't fret, mortal. I'll let you out. You might want to wash up, though. I got us a little dirty, and I don't think I'll clean you up this time."
Her features shifted peacefully, Sverila dulling the physical pain for the first time. Her happiness at her host's pain gave her the allotment to take on the girl's physical pain. She was already weak from lack of food, it wouldn't do for her to fall back into a coma, now would it?
She stepped into the shower, Luna taking over as she did so. The girl fell down onto the tiles, her legs weak and her mind too tired to give her the release of crying out her pain.
She felt numb, her body was sore and felt terribly terribly used. She leaned her head onto the aluminum wall of the shower, her body curled up in a ball. She sat like that for a while, knowing that she'd have to get up in a while.
I want to go back to sleep and never wake up.
Why did she have to be the one to take on the goddess? When had she, for that matter? She couldn't remember, all she could recall was stumbling into the base with a case with the heart that held Sverila's godly power. She had given it to the general in charge, and since then she had been being used to take care of the dirty work.
She didn't feel too bad about that. She could understand that it helped save lives, she had even been proud of that.
But she hated this feeling that she was left with.
She hated that she had met Jack. She hated that she had been paired with him. She hated that she had fallen for him. She hated that her love was the only thing that kept her happy, and the very thing that was poisoning her.
Would she ever be good enough for someone?
Without knowing, tears had begun to make their way down her face. She could hear thumping coming from the bedroom, Jack was probably destroying the room, she knew he must have been having a hard time. Luna's passenger had been using him, and as such, Luna was confident that he was angry.
A few minutes later she heard a door slam and stood on shaky limbs to turn off the shower. She wrapped a towel around herself and stepped out of the steam filled bathroom to an empty room. The cot had been thrown around a few times and drawers from the bureau and their contents were thrown haphazardly around the room. Her side of the bureau was left untouched, despite it having been moved to slam against the cinder block walls. The walls had been scuffed by the cot, too.
Luna quickly finished drying off and put on her nightgown, pleased when she felt it loose despite everything.
Her quest had gone unnoticed till tonight, but she glad that she had taken it this far. She was still weak and tired (and hungry), but she felt better about herself.
She shouldn't, she knew. Sverila had probably scared some of the injured soldiers half to death, Morgan had been lying beside her in his cot, he had a good laugh though if she remembered correctly.
She smiled and busied herself with fixing the room and putting Jack's belongings back in their places. She had tied her long black hair up into a ponytail to keep it out of her face, and she caught sight of her features in the mirror that had gone untouched on top of the bureau.
Fine features and large doe eyes greeted her and she smiled lightly. Despite the dry deathly pale skin and gaunt cheeks, she felt like she looked better than she had before. She'd have to be careful though, waking up in the med bay meant that they had probably figured her out.
She had just finished her work when a knock came at the door.
"Come in." She welcomed and Ann stepped into the room, closing the door softly behind herself.
Despite the calmness of her actions she appeared utterly infuriated. Luna waited for the redhead to release her anger.
"Do you know how utterly pathetic you are? I thought you were strong, but you would weaken yourself just for an idiot who doesn't give a single shit about you." Ann slowly said, her voice reserved, like she was holding back the worst of it.
Hear that, mortal? She's found you out.
"You scared some of the men in the infirmary with the stunt you pulled. They really care about you, you know? They were concerned! All for you! Nevermind that the godly whore scared some of them shitless. Barrett thought she was going to kill them. She threatened to, he said."
"I can't control what she does." Luna stated and Ann narrowed her eyes on the angry woman.
"If you were stronger you could've, but you decided to go without eating for god knows how long instead. All for some idiot. God, Luna! I almost though Uncle was going to use the heart again!"
Luna scowled, remembering the pain she'd had when he last did so. She had felt like she was having a heart attack, her vision going blurry and her breathing rough while her ribs felt like they were about to crush her own heart. And that was with Sverila in control.
Ann swallowed and pulled back, "Jacobs died earlier today. Kept asking for you since you were the only one who talked to him after he got sick."
Luna swallowed her guilt down, staying on her knees on the floor, fiddling with the hem of her gown. Ann snorted and left with few parting words.
"So fucking selfish."
She pulled herself up off the floor using the bureau after the door had slammed shut on the redhead's way out. She stumbled into the bed, and under the blankets. She passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow a feeling of numbness soaking into her and overpowering any hunger that still ran through her.
The next morning Jack shook her awake. He was clearly still angry, throwing down a banana and apple down on the bedside table.
"Eat up," he said, "We have the mission to go on. General thought you could handle it since Sverila scared everyone last night."
He turned away and walked into the bathroom, and soon steam came from below the door.
Luna ate the banana as she got dressed, frowning when she couldn't find her pants. She'd have to wear a dress.
Well, it's not like she hadn't worn one on a mission before. Sverila always wore something different when she shifted anyway. Luna assumed it was the same animal skin revealing dress as she wore in the mirror.
She tossed on the dress and stockings to keep her legs warm since winter had begun to roll in. Jack frowned at her when he came out and she turned back to the bed to give him privacy, eating a couple bites of the apple and sipping on some of the water she kept in the bureau's drawers.
"Come on," Jack growled, "Let's go. Doc will be coming with us instead of Henry. He's not talking to me apparently."
Luna looked up, "Why?"
He glared at her, but released a long breath, "Never mind why. Let's just go."
They made their way to the truck where Thomas checked her over.
"You ate? Drank water?"
"Yes," She nodded.
"Are you still tired?"
She was but she shook her head, "I'm good, let's just go."
He nodded and slid into the driver's seat, Luna sitting beside him, with Jack on the passenger side. Jack was staring out the window and no one talked as they drove for a few hours. Luna turned on the radio when she felt herself begin to nod off, but the two men said nothing.
It was some song from a disney movie that had come out a few years ago, or at least that's what Thomas told her. It was playing on repeat and Jack shut if off after the third play, apparently having been listening.
"Jack?"
"Leave me alone for now, Luna."
Thomas' eyes narrowed but he said nothing.
"What's your first name?" Luna asked Thomas and he blinked, looking down at her.
"Silver."
She nodded, "It suits you. I've never seen a young man grow hair as white as yours."
He smiled down at her briefly before turning his blue eyes back onto the road.
It was silent again and Silver realized that both of his passengers had fallen asleep. He didn't blame them, it was starting to get dark and they had been on the road all day. They'd have to stop at the nearest town for gas before they got any further to enemy territory.
An hour later he stopped and filled the truck up, grabbing some food at the tiny grocers next to the gas station. Luna blinked at him hazily, grabbing the offered food. He passed her the bag and she took a bag of chips from it, passing the rest of it to Jack. He blinked at her blankly for a moment before recalling his anger and snorting.
"I'm not hungry."
She nodded, not even releasing her sigh. She ate quickly and quietly, setting aside the bag when she'd had enough. She placed it with the rest of the food on the floorboards next to her feet.
They were fast approaching the spot and began to take the back country roads to go unnoticed, knowing that they might be questioned for driving an unidentified vehicle. Jack directed them to the marked location on the map, and they hid the truck.
"I'll stay with the car. Wake me up when you get back." Silver stated and they nodded as they slid out.
They hiked further into the forest for a good twenty minutes until Jack told her to settle down.
He barely looked at her when he told her to call the goddess.
She frowned, depression creeping in after being so... ignored would be the most appropriate word.
She fell to her knees as the shift began, biting back a scream of pain. Sverila appeared to want to stay locked up, but after a few moments came out with an annoyed look on her regal features.
She narrowed her eerie eyes on Jack before smirking. He glared at her, but said nothing.
"What's wrong, Lover? Did I hurt your feelings?"
He swallowed tightly, "We have a mission. There is a base to the north. We need you to bring it down. Just stay out of the town in between."
She pouted but nodded. "Should be easy enough."
She left him in the forest alone all but for the weapon he had brought with them for precaution.
She knew she needed to kill off as many of the soldiers in the base that she could reach. Keeping her host sentient and healed was beginning to take a toll of the goddess. With her heart still intact and in the hands of her keepers, she was left weaker than she wanted and she had expended her energy needlessly recently.
She manifested in the base and lashed out her familiars from the shadows onto the unsuspecting soldier, consuming their life forces. She lit a fire in the main building near the armory, killing any who tried to put it out. Soon enough bullets went flying outwards and killed off any that tried to put an end to the fire which was a near surprising amount.
She was weaker than she should be. She should have let her host heal at a reasonable pace instead of shoving it all at once. It would take quite some time to regain her lost energy.
If she had her brother's domains, her powers would be perpetually full. He still had his heart, she'd bet. Or at the very least he would know where it was.
She scanned the wrecked buildings for survivors with her senses, satisfied when she could only sense the heartbeats of a few as they ran from the base. She disappeared in her mist, reappearing in an alley in the town.
Dammit, too weak to go further. Creatrix knows, the mortal will be too weak to do anything.
Sverila hid their shared body behind a dumpster, though it would provide little coverage given the opposite end of alley that was left partly open. She growled softly and shifted, letting her host take control, the mortal would have to figure her way out of this mess by herself.
Luna couldn't bite back her scream this time and it was shrill as it pierced the air. She collapsed like a broken doll against the grimy brick wall, her hair clumping together in whatever it was that was on the walls.
"Looky Boys! Looks like we're having a lucky night!" A man's voice drifted back to her as he spotted her from the end of the alley.
He and two other men walked down into the alley and Luna looked up at them in a haze. They were wearing some kind of uniform, but it was too hard for her eyes to focus. She couldn't even make out their features clearly- well except for the one who had spoken who had some kind of large black tattoo on his neck.
One of them grabbed her leg and dragged her further into the shadows of the alley as the moon's light faded from the scene. His friend pulled a knife and stabbed it between her legs, ripping open her dress and stockings and cutting into her legs.
"What? What are you doing?"
"Oh look! She talks! I wonder if she screams?" The smallest one spoke up and she frowned, her vision beginning to return to her.
She was bleeding slowly from the cuts and she fought against the biggest one, the one with the knife, as he pulled her legs apart.
"Andre, oi! Do you want to go first?"
"Stop! Stop!" She cried out when she realized what they were doing as pain from the cuts began to clear her head of her haze.
"Sorry, baby girl. No can do. A beauty like you should demands to ravished. You'll love it though, I assure you." The man she assumed was Andre stated as he began to pull off his belt. 416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaFYVkKmhwr
He tied her wrists and tossed her onto her stomach.
She kicked at them, but her kicks were weak and tired as her head began to go hazy again.
"Please, please stop." She begged.
They did not stop.
When they had finished, they left her with cuts across both of her wrists and down her chest, in addition to the two long ones on her thighs. They left her alone, laughing as they left the alley, as she could feel the cold bite into her almost bare flesh.
The shadows were darker than ever and she could feel her eyes start to droop closed as she began to slip away into sleep.
"You might wish you hadn't done that, beauty." A masculine voice whispered in her ear and she frowned, trying to force herself to wake up.
"Who?"
A shadow manifested above her, a being made up entirely of darkness. He, the shadow, kneeled above her, placing her head on his knees. He was surprisingly solid, and it reassured her. His cold seeped into her, but it felt much better than the one coming from the winter chill in the air encompassing her broken frame.
"I am Anryien. Tell me, are you my sister's host?"
Luna nodded lightly and he laughed, "My sister knows my weaknesses well when it comes to women as beautiful as you."
She swallowed as he ran a hand through her hair. It felt nice. It felt reassuring. It felt like he cared about her.
Tears made their way down her face.
"Am I dying?"
Anryien appeared to nod.
"But if you die, my sister will be free and she will simply take another host. You will be the only one suffering for her weakness."
His eyes stared down at her, manifesting in eerie silver discs so like Sverila's own. He appeared troubled and she lifted her hand to his face, touching it lightly before he limb felt much too heavy and dropped.
"Will you stay with me?" She asked and he nodded.
"I will stay with you, beauty. But wouldn't you rather be with the one you love? Wouldn't you rather he be with you? I can take you to him."
She nodded, "B-He's angry, he doesn't want me anyway."
Anryien nodded, but he disappeared into shadows, taking her with him back into the forest. He took to the shadows of the night, dropping the woman on her knees before the man she loved.
The man barely glanced down at her, too tied up in his anger from the previous day.
He picked up his weapon, "You're late. Come on, we need to get back to the truck. Thomas is probably out cold by now."
He began to walk away and the woman did not say a word, collapsing onto her side as he walked further and further away, assuming that she was following.
"Jack..." She mumbled softly into the grass.
Anryien stepped back out of the shadows and took her in his arms once more.
She was quite beautiful for a mortal, despite her appearance of ill health and the fact that she was bleeding out onto the earth. She reminded him of his dear Noyllia, the one lover of his that he truly loved. Her dark features were just as perfect as her's had been. The only glaringly obvious difference being the color of their skin tones- making the woman before him appear vaguely like his sister in coloring. The woman before him was very fair, made even with fairer by her dark hair.
Her golden eyes blinked up at him hollowly. Like she was used to the pain of her lover not returning her affections. Anryien could make out the man in the distance, still unaware of the fact that she was not following him. Anryien frowned at the ignorance.
Mortal men were a pathetic breed in his opinion. They were entirely too prideful, only willing to kneel to an incomprehensible all-knowing god, instead of the gods that actually reigned over this earth and created them.
His people had been undyingly loyal to he and his sister, giving unto them all that they had required in return for their favor. He regretted giving up his worshippers for the gift from his Creatrix that was never to come. He knew his sister did as well, her gift had betrayed her in favor of his own power, driving his sister to hate all of mankind.
Sverila, his dear sister, was entirely too bitter, he knew. But he loved her all the same. However, she had clearly wronged this mortal beyond words and he felt the need to aid her.
Why? What made her so important?
He had been observing her and his sister from his domain over shadows for some time, watching as his sister discovered his empty idol, her excursions with the mortal man that her host loved, the very same one who could not be bothered to look behind himself to see that she was missing, no no, he was too angry to see what was so glaringly obvious. His sister could be cruel, but he wondered why she had been so cruel to her host. He had missed too much in the past few centuries it seemed.
"Are you Death?" The mortal woman asked him and he smiled down at her.
"Death is one of my domains."
Anryien had watched as this mortal tried desperately to catch the man's favor. It had pained him to see someone so constantly pained would continue to hang on to such a rat as the man must be. He bent down to whisper in her ear.
"You are happy, you know that the one that you love loves you too despite his silence. You are sad to leave him, but you know that you are headed for something better."
His domain over persuasion rang loudly in his voice and she smiled softly, her eyes drooping closed before she forced them open once more.
Anryien watched as the woman looked at the man with the most loyal of attentions, how she cared for the dying long after the healthy had abandoned them, easing their transition into his realm. Perhaps she would be better as one of his own he wondered. He had not taken a lover in some time, most mortals were terrified when they met him, but not she.
Surely, that was a good sign.
"How do I feel to you?" He asked her.
She sighed softly, her breathing much too shallow for his tastes, "Like home."
"Luna!" Two voices called for her, drawing closer, but they were still too far away.
"Is that you name then, beauty?" He asked her and she nodded.
"It suits you." He paused, forcing her soul to not begin its disconnect from her body.
"Would you stay with me if I asked you to, Luna? Would you be mine, even if still a part of you belongs to your foolish mortal love? Would you be my Bride?"
She smiled gently at him, "Will I be with you? Will I still be able to see you?"
"Luna!" The two mortals drawing closer called, but she appeared to be focused on Anryien.
"Yes, beauty. I will be with you every step of the way."
"Then yes." Luna whispered, her heart slowing its beats.
Anryien, the god of death, darkness, war, and persuasion, leaned down and kissed the dying mortal lightly.
Her lips began to turn blue from the cold of both him and the weather and she turned her gaze up to the night sky. He kept his arms wrapped around her as he felt her life force sink into her form, killing her and making her his.
The mortal man came bolting through the trees and down to the ground where he had left her, a second mortal coming down to tumble after him and they both spotted her, and Anryien holding on to her.
"Mother of God, what is that?" The mortal, Jack Williams, swallowed, staring at the god.
"Look at the moon, it's so pretty tonight." Anryien's Bride whispered, her eyes staring amazed at the sky even as the light faded from them.
"We have to get to her! Look at the blood!"The doctor called to Williams and he slowly approached the two. Anryien's eyes following him along the way.
"He's like Sverila, Doc. He's got her eyes."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9wexQkjWL
"It's snowing!" She whispered in awe.
Sure enough, snow began to blanket the ground.
The doctor slowed to a stop beside Williams. "It must be her brother. Diviny said something about her having a brother, right?"
"Do you think he'd let go of her to let us help her?"
"Doc, I don't think you've noticed, but we don't exactly have anything to help her with. We didn't bring your bag with us." Williams sighed, taking slow steps to approach the god and the mortal woman.
Anryien narrowed his eyes on the man. He could now recall what loathing felt like after so long. The mortal stilled at his glare, but the doctor kept walking forward till he was a few feet away. He kneeled down beside the two.
"Will you let us help her?" he asked and Anryien sighed.
"She is already under my domain. Her heart is a moment away from stopping completely. But you may try."
"Williams, get your shirt off and start ripping it into bandages. I'll keep pressure on the wounds on her- dear god, where is she not cut open?" The doctor turned to Anryien, "Can you help her?"416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7EJBQ05ZwR
Anryien sighed softly, "Yes, but not in the way that you may like."
He pulled her up to lean against his chest, wrapping his arms under hers and covering her heart with his hands. He leaned into her ear once more.
"Beauty, when you wake you shall be healed, your body will heal even the most vicious of wounds and you will awaken refreshed. But for now you must die, while you rest we shall allow your body time to heal and then you will be brought back with Life's kiss."416Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡynritmKtvT
"Wh-What are you doing? You're killing her! Doc, he's killing her!"
The mortal sounded near hysterics and Anryien turned his glare on the mortal once more, but the man was too foolish to stop his rambling.
"She can't die! She thinks I'm mad at her! She can't die thinking that!"
He turned his gaze back on his Bride. She had stopped breathing and her heart had stopped beating. The light in her eyes was gone and her golden eyes began to darken to a dark syrup brown. He lightly pushed her eyes closed.
He turned his eyes back onto the doctor, "Get her back to your vehicle, in the back. I will come back to awaken her soon."
The doctor gulped but nodded and Anryien handed her damaged body to Thomas and disappeared into the darkness of the night.
Jack tore her from his arms and began to march back to the truck. Thomas allowed it, spotting the deranged sadness in the man's grey eyes.
He followed after him, slowly, allowing Jack relative privacy with her.
Yes, he was an asshole. Thomas was pretty sure everyone that met him thought that, but he had a good heart, even if he fucked up fairly constantly. McBride had been infuriated the night that Luna had disappeared from the infirmary and had started a fight which Thomas had assumed was due to the brown haired soldier.
"I-I'm sorry, Luna. I-I'm sorry I was angry. I wasn't angry at you, I was angry at her and myself. I took it out on you and I'm sorry for that." His breathing was harsh and loud and Silver could hear him trying to hold back for some semblance of reserve.
Silver was hit hard too, but he was confident the god would bring her back. He...he had looked like he cared for her. At the very least, he would have done it for his sister- unless she was already free of Luna. Maybe this had been some sort of elaborate plan to free herself, but Silver didn't think so. She would have come back to them to herald it in their faces, he was sure.
She had a habit of doing things like that.
"Luna, I do care about you, I promise. I-I just didn't- I just wasn't enough. I'm sorry. Yo-you deserved someone who loved you and I-I was too caught up in her to do that."
They were creeping up on the truck and Jack had started to quiet down.
"I'll sit in the back with her." Jack stated quietly and Silver nodded.
He hopped in the back, drawing back the cloth flaps and sliding her and himself inside.
Jack sat at the back of the truck, pulling up the gate and sliding further back where he laid Luna down, her head resting on his lap. The truck started up and he pulled his jacket flush against his torso to fight against the cold. He stared down at her for a while, not noticing when tears began to run down his face. He ran a hand through her hair, grimacing when he noticed how thick and covered in tarish grime it was. That wasn't right, Luna's hair had always been soft and clean.
He supposed Beatrice would be the one to clean her up when they got back. Ann would probably still be angry with her, she'd probably scream at her dead body just to get some of the anger out.
Jack didn't believe that the god would come back.
He was a god, and he wasn't bound like Sverila so they couldn't exactly force him to come back.
Her lips were blue and he touched them briefly before quickly withdrawing. They were ice cold, so cold it almost burned. Her skin had evened out color wise, away from that terrible pale that had made her appear so sickly earlier. It was back to a milky white, but it was still almost as cold as her lips. She didn't usually wear makeup, and so it was not surprising that she had gone without. She wasn't one for getting dolled up unless it was to go out with everyo- God he was such an ass. Maybe if he hadn't said those things she wouldn't have made herself weak trying to get his attention.
He hadn't even noticed! But since he had carried her to the truck he had noticed how light she felt. What else had she done, he wondered.
He didn't even know if she had family. Ann would probably be the one to search for them, though.
The air got even colder and he grimaced, dropping his hand to her shoulder.
Her dress was ripped beyond repair and someone had done a number on her legs. Her sleeves were ripped and bloody, like her wrists had been slit open. They probably had. Her chest wound was shallow, but had stained her pale pink dress an awful crimson.
Where had she ended up that this had happened to her? Where had Sverila been? She liked causing Luna pain, but she would never have risked being unable to be repaired.
Realization dawned.
"She was weak."
ns 172.70.38.96da2
