The Toad Prince

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Nadaria crossed the bridge. The skin on her arms felt tight and itchy. She ached all over, but she had to see Aurelian. She hadn’t talked to him since he’d attacked her yesterday.

Although they’d been working on the other parts of the garden, she found him at Mikolas’ grave, plucking the tiny weed shoots that never gave up.

When he heard her, he stood and passed a palm over his lips, shaking his head. Shame drew his features in a mask of guilt, and her heart pinched.

“It’s okay,” she said before he could say anything.

“I am so sorry miere. I haven’t seen mortal blood in… anyway, if you don’t want to be with me, around me—”

She wrapped her arms around his waist, and she felt him release a deep sigh of relief as he hugged her tight. Emotion overwhelmed her, and she sobbed into his shirt.

“I can’t do all the jars, Aurelian. I almost lost control of the spell today. My emotions are a mess, and when they’re like that, I can’t do good spell work.”

“How many more are there?”

“I think only three based on how well I gained control of my magic today.”

“What can I do to help you?”

Nadaria shook her head. “I don’t think you can do anything. Usually I’m able to paint a smile on and just keep going. You know, fake it ‘til you make it. People don’t see the turmoil underneath, and I like it that way. But this time…”

She trailed off and brought her wrist up to her face, her eyes tracing the swirling pattern of the toad and the lily. “I’ve waited my whole life for this… for my happily ever after. I thought it would be, like, some fairytale, you know? But Sorin he…”

She sobbed again, well aware she was blubbering, but she was so tired and hurt, both physically and emotionally. For the first time in a long time, she felt lost, her confidence was shaken, and she was unsure of what to do.

“We have a way of messing up fairy tales around here, don't we? I know you are already so sweet to him, but take extra care with Sorin. He is very fragile, held together by glass stitches, and he is so frightened of what you make him feel. I have so much hope he will come around.”

She nodded and hugged him for a long time after, and he seemed content to do the same.

“You know, the embraces I have shared with you are the first I’ve had in decades. It has been so nice. Thank you for being who you are, Nadaria. I know you will figure this out.”

“Well, I can’t do much out here tonight,” she said, sighing and looking at her bandaged hands.

Aurelian’s eyes drifted over her shoulder, and he had a soft twinkle in his amber eyes.

“Can I help?”

She turned, and her eyebrows lifted while she felt heat rush her cheeks.

Sorin stood where she never thought he would, his feet planted in the dirt on the garden side of the bridge. His hands were shoved in his pockets, and he shifted, glancing around. He was nervous and uncomfortable to be here.

“Oh, good. This old, achy back can’t handle too much excitement tonight. You can take over for me,” Aurelian said, and Nadaria gave him a raised brow look. As a vampire, Aurelian would definitely not be experiencing any kind of pain associated with old age.

He squeezed her upper arms and smiled before stepping around her to make his way to the bridge. She watched him exchange a glance with Sorin and pat his shoulder.

The wood of the bridge creaked under his weight, and then the surrounding air filled with quiet. A night bird trilled a call in a tree just above her, and she jumped. There weren’t many animals in this forest, but she noticed their return to the garden after the removal of the first jar.

“A bird?” Sorin asked, noticing it, too.

She nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. “They’ve been coming back.”

“A little love to the garden and they return?”

“Something like that.”

“Love defeats everything else. That’s what you said to me on our first day together. Do you still believe it?”

“No.”

His eyebrows furrowed, and he glanced down at his feet. “Is that what I’ve done to you? Have I stolen your light?”

“You loved Crina and love didn’t save her. Everyone else loved their families, and they were lost. It doesn’t conquer all. Not all the time, anyway.”

“No, it does not.”

“I see now how… silly and immature that thinking was. But it is the most powerful thing we have to combat the darkness. That, I still believe. Love mends wounds, and changes lives every day.”

Sorin took a deep breath and closed the distance between them. “Listen. I am sorry for saying what I did. It was lies. I often consider what a future with you would be like, and I desire it. I said those things, convinced I was sparing you a life with me, but in truth, hope and love, they frighten me. If I lost you like I lost Crina, the pain would be too much.”

“If love is painful, then, in a way, you’re doing it right.”

He closed his eyes and cupped her face, pushing his forehead to hers. His finger drifted in a gentle caress over the scabs on her cheek. “I cannot make promises. I can’t. But I am willing to try… with you.”

“I have been waiting my whole life to hold your heart. I know it’s broken and I promise I will handle it with care,” she said, turning her head up and pressing a kiss to his lips. “I only ask that you give me a chance. We still have two weeks before we have to decide about forever.”

“You forgive me, though? For hurting you?”

“Of course I do.”

Sorin pushed his lips to hers. The kiss was long and drugging, making her head fill with a lazy, happy heat. The kiss communicated more than they ever could with words, and she sighed when they broke apart, a soft smile lifting her lips.

He shook his head, their foreheads still together. “I don’t deserve you. I don’t.”

“That’s the first thing,” she said, pulling away from him. “No more of that. Maybe you’re not ready to forgive yourself, but no more negative self talk, okay?”

“I’ll try.”

“Don’t try. Do. Got it?”

He chuckled and nodded his head. His eyes slid to the right, to the small garden Aurelian had tended with love for all these years.

"That’s where—"

“I know,” he interrupted. “I know who’s there.”

“Aurelian just, you know, makes sure the weeds don’t grow.”

She knelt and started plucking the little shoots, even though it pulled at the broken skin on her hands. Sorin stood behind her for several long minutes, and then dropped to his knees, watching her. Nadaria doubted he had done much, if any, gardening in his life. She didn’t even dare a glance at him, afraid she’d scare him off or something.

And finally, finally, he placed his hands against the dirt and started helping.

She smiled as the cool night was interrupted by a soft, warm wind dancing around them.

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Kind of a short chapter, guys, sorry! Maybe, maybe, no promises, but maybe I can do a double update today. :) I'll try!