A Cruel Kindness

Epilogue

Bellamy

It took until dawn for all the fires to be put out.

Everything was destroyed. We maybe had enough saved to get us through the week. Hopefully that was enough time to break through the rock hiding the Bridge and go back to Vir for reinforcements.

Muli had all but ended us, and it didn’t even seem like they were trying that hard.

The message they’d sent— The Bridge will be ours —added to the panic.

They’d started this war. We’d been the ones to protect from their invasions.

Now that story seemed like it was deeper, darker.

Much too large to deal with now. Especially when I was standing in one of the few cabins that hadn’t been burned, one given to Esme for privacy, watching as she stared off into space like she couldn’t see me in front of her.

She was curled up at the end of a bed, resting her chin on her knees.

“Esme,” I tried for the third time. She seemed to rustle slightly, so I walked toward her. “Are you okay?”

“No.” I was used to her embodying two forms. Her true one, full of confidence and playful humor. Her quiet one, used to slip in and out of conversations, picking up on nuggets of information.

This hollow, lifeless version of her … this wasn’t my friend. I crouched in front of her, trying to meet her eyes. “Can you tell me what’s going on? Please? Let me take some of this from you.”

Esme breathed out so heavy it seemed like her lungs collapsed. “I’m scared.”

“Why?” It was deeper than the ruins outside, deeper than the Bridge collapsed under rock.

“Because,” she said, swallowing thickly. “I’ve been on a suppressant. A medication to quiet the Bond. My dosage was in that cabin. It burned.”

“Esme,” I sighed, the weight of what she’d done crashing into me. Especially after what I’d gone through with Soren.

She looked up, fight in her eyes. I was sure she had a good reason. I trusted her. I brought my hands to hers, squeezing tightly. I knew better than anyone what the Bond felt like if you weren’t listening to it.

Before she could speak, a loud banging sounded from the door, insistent and heavy.

Esme breathed out, her head dropping back down. “That’ll be Ford. Go ahead and let him in.”

“Esme, open the fucking door,” Ford’s voice rang through the heavy wood locking us in. For someone as stoic as he was, I didn’t think I’d ever heard as much fire in his tone.

I looked at Esme for permission, then headed toward the door after she nodded her head once. I wasn’t sure I should leave them alone together. Esme looked … defeated.

And as I opened the door, I realized Ford looked fucking livid.

He breezed past me as if I was nothing but a mirage and marched towards Esme, who didn’t bother to lift her gaze from the floor.

Ford crouched in front of her, then set his hand on her chin, lifting her face towards his. Esme’s expression fell even further, and I would guess it had something to do with the fact that Ford was touching her.

I could count on one hand how many times I’d seen him do that.

“What did you do?” he asked, and I could tell he was forcing his voice to remain level.

“What did I do?!” Esme shrieked back, trying and failing to wrench his hand off her chin.

That was my cue to leave.

“I’ll leave you to it,” I said to them both, though my gaze was directed at Esme.

Esme’s eyes remained on Ford. With a final beat of hesitation, I left them alone.

As I walked out into the burning wasteland that was once our camp to help salvage what we could, the last thing I heard was Esme tell Ford, “You can’t blame me for something you started!”

?

I found Soren in a tent, one that would be our home until we got to rebuilding.

He was stretched out along the sleeping mat, one arm rested behind his head while his legs were crossed at the ankle. When I brushed aside the fabric to enter, he cracked one eye open. “Come here,” was his gruff command.

I kicked off my boots then all but fell on top of him.

When his hand came down on my shoulder, tucking me into his side, I felt like I could breathe for the first time in hours.

We laid like that, simply breathing, for several minutes.

The steady beat of his heart was like music, a soft lyrical sound I could listen to for hours.

“How’s Esme?” Soren asked eventually.

“Okay,” I said, turning over to look at him. Well, really the underside of his chin, but looking at the strong line of his jaw under taut skin was actually a rather pleasing sight. “She was taking a medication to suppress the Bond. It burned with the cabin.”

Soren didn’t say anything for several moments, but eventually said, “I wondered where it went.”

That statement signaled a greater story, much longer than either of us had energy for right now.

Right now … I was just happy to have him next to me. Alive. Happy. Healthy. As safe as he could be.

“I love you,” I said softly. Then followed a deeper truth. “Thank you for loving me.”

Soren’s eyes blinked open at that, staring deep into my soul. His hand came up to grip my face and my head rolled into the cradle of his hand. “It’s as easy as breathing, my love.”

That was the last we said for a while, resorting to touch and feeling while we had the time to do so. Before we walked together into the next stage of this war.

I think it might be fun , the Bond said, it’s voice soft and melodic and content.