Where Ashes and Oaths Collide

Chapter 38: Mine

“You are mine,” he declared possessively, his hands gripping her hips tightly. “Mine to protect, mine to f**k, mine to come home to every night.” His words were punctuated by a guttural moan as his own climax hit him with the force of a physical blow. “Amelia,” he breathed out her name like a prayer, his forehead pressing against hers as he rode out the waves of pleasure. The amber glow in his eyes burned brightly for several long moments before beginning to fade back into crimson. His body went slack against hers, the weight of six years of loneliness and guilt suddenly crashing down on him now that the immediate pleasure had passed.

“You can’t keep doing this to me,” Luz said quietly once his breathing steadied somewhat. Amelia’s hands moved to the back of his head, her fingers soothingly combing through his long ash-silver hair. “I don’t ever want to stop,” she said breathless but with a serious tone of voice. “And you can’t make me.” The gentle touch of her fingers in his ash-silver hair sent a shiver through his entire frame. The combination of her words– “I don’t ever want to stop”– and the physical intimacy of her touch was more dangerous than any battlefield he had ever faced. “You do not understand what you are asking,” he said quietly, his voice carrying that older, weary tone that belief his youthful appearance. “Every time we do this, it gets harder to let you go. Harder to remember why I have to keep you safe from me.”

His hands moved to rest on either side of her head, caging her in as he looked down at her with crimson eyes that held years of war and sacrifice. “If I can’t make you stop,” he continued, his voice dropping to a near- whisper. “Then I will have to make myself leave. Which means finding somewhere far away where Mestre Escuro can’t follow us.” Amelia cupper his cheeks softly. “I will do whatever you ask. But I will not leave you,” she said, her voice hoarse from lovemaking. “And I will not stop loving you.” The combination of her unwavering love and absolute refusal to abandon him struck Luz with the force of a physical blow. For a long moment, his simple stared at her, his crimson eyes searching her face for any sign of doubt or fear.

“You are impossible,” he finally breathed out, a hint of that familiar warmth creeping back into his voice. “Absolutely f*****g impossible.” His forehead rested against hers as he processed the magnitude of her commitment. “Fine,” he said quietly, surrendering completely to the moment. “If you are going to be this stubborn about loving me, then I guess I have no choice but to love you back.” Amelia smiled happily at his response. The sight of her genuine, unhindered happiness was a weapon more lethal than any sword Luz had ever faced. The last vestiges of his commander façade crumbling to be replaced by the warmth of the man she had always seen in him. “Gods, look at you,” he murmured, his voice softening into that familiar tone from years past. “Even after everything I have done, you can still smile like that.”

His thumb brushed gently across her bottom lip, the darkness within him seemed to quiet slightly under the influence of her joy. “I do not deserve this,” he confessed quietly, his amber eyes searching hers intently. “I do not deserve you.” Amelia shifted slightly on the cot, while saying softly, “Let’s get some sleep. You got a big battle ahead.” The suggestion of sleep was a foreign concept to Luz’s current existence. For so long, he had operated on battlefields and in war rooms, his rest measured in stolen moments between strategy sessions and patrols. The idea of sleeping beside the woman he loved felt like a luxury from another lifetime. “Sleeps?” he repeated quietly, the word sounding strange on his tongue.

His hands moved to trace along her jawline, the dark veins beneath his skin pulsing faintly in the dim light. The darkness within him seemed to quiet under the warmth of her presence, but he knew it was temporary. “If I close my eyes with you beside me, I am afraid I will wake up and find out this was all a dream. That you are not really here.” he admitted gruffly. “I am real,” Amelia whispers softly. “And I am not going anywhere.” The simple declaration– “I am real. And I am not going anywhere”– was more effective than any battlefield tactic Luz had ever employed.

The tension in his shoulders visibly relaxed, the crimson glow in his eyes softened to that familiar amber warmth. “You have no idea what you are promising,” he said quietly, his voice carrying that younger, more vulnerable tone. “My life is not just battlefield and bloodshed anymore; it is whispers in the dark and knowing that every day I am one step closer to becoming the monster they all think I am.” His hand moved to cup her cheek gently, the contrast between his scared fingers and her soft skin striking. “If you stay with me…” Amelia cut him off before he could finish, “If I stay with you, I will be happy. And apparently very well satisfied.” Her voice grows more playful, and she giggles softly. “Now, will you stop arguing with me already?”

The sound of her giggling broke through the last of Luz’s defences, a sound so pure and unburdened by the horrors of war that it made his chest ache with a longing he had not felt in years. A genuine smile touched his lips, though it was bittersweet. “Arguing with you is pointless, is it not?” he conceded with a sigh that held more warmth than command. “You have always been more stubborn than any army I have ever faced.” His thumbs brushed over her cheekbone, the black veins along his knuckles pulsing faintly at the contact. “Fine,” he said softly, leaning down to press a gently kiss to her forehead. They fell asleep in each other’s arms.