Fractured Souls(57)

“Thank God.” I skim my fingers on the clean-cut edges. “What is it exactly?”
“It’s the Cruciatus diamond.”
“Does it do anything?”
He encloses his fingers around the gemstone. “The Queen used it to suck the fear out of people before one of the Keepers took it from her.”
“But how did they get it from her if it’s so hard to get into The Underworld?” I wonder.
“A long time ago things worked differently,” Alex sighs tiredly. “The Queen used to be able to come up to the castle to discuss matters of business and to make truces with the Keepers. That’s how the Keepers ended up sending people down there as a punishment. This,” he pinches the gemstone between his thumb and his finger, “was used during a bargain between the Queen and the leader of the Keepers at the time.”
“How did you and I end up with it?”
He rolls his tongue in his mouth as he tries not to smile. “You and I stole it.”
“When we were friends?” I question, letting him know that I’ve been remembering more and more.
“How much do you exactly remember?” he wonders curiously.
“Not that much,” I answer. “Just a few images here and there, but there seems to be a lot of us together when we were young.”
Alex squeezes his eyes shut and drops the gem onto his lap, exhausted and looking like he’s about to tip over.
“Alex,” I say softly. “Are you okay?”
He remains silent, leaning his weight on his arm as he props it against the ground.
I place a hand on his shoulder and give him a gentle shake, concerned with how weak he looks. “Alex, can you hear me?” The electricity pulsates through us as I watch his chest lift and then descend with each frail breath he takes.
Then his eyelids lift open and his eyes collide with mine. A rush of relief sweeps through me and I start to pull my hand back, but he slips his hand over mine and positions my palm over his heart.
“What are you doing?” I whisper, loving that he’s touching me, but still worried about how exhausted he looks. The holes in his skin aren’t healing, either, they’re fully open, and some of them are still bleeding while others are mixed with dirt.
“Shhh…” He shuts his eyes again and his other hand finds the back of my neck. He draws me forward and presses our foreheads together. “I just need a minute, okay?”
I nod my head and then shut my eyes, too, the electricity elevating in voltage. My breathing becomes ragged the longer we stay touching and my hands itch to do things to him, inappropriate things.
When I feel him finally shift back, I open my eyes, only to find that he’s leaning in again.
“Do you know how hard it was?” he breathes, his palm resting on my neck, his thumb smoothing across the sensitive area.
“I’m sorry you had to do that.” I place my finger over a small hole in his chest where one of the tubes was embedded. “I really am, especially since you had to go there pretty much for nothing.”
He shakes his head. “Not that… I’ve already told you that pain isn’t a big deal.” He brushes his lips across mine. “Being away from you… it gets harder and harder… I swear to God it actually feels like I’m dying.”
I don’t know what to say at his honestly raw admittance and he doesn’t give me time as he crashes his lips against mine. I gasp while I glide my hands up the front of his chest, feeling his soft skin, which gets hotter the longer we kiss. He threads his fingers through my hair, tugging on the roots so he can tip my head back. Deep down I know that now is not the time or place, but then again I’ve seen the end of the world; I know it’s coming and moments like these will come to an end.
I let him lie me back into the dirt and lower his body over mine, pinning an arm on each side of my head as his tongue explores every inch of my mouth. I bite at his lip, but ball my hands into fists, resisting the compulsion to stab my nails into his flesh—he’s already got too many wounds at the moment.
The feel of his chest heats something deep within me and, as he positions his hands over my wrist, enfolding his fingers around them and restraining then down beside my head, I about come undone. I writhe my hips against his, lust and desire flooding my body at the intensity that is so overwhelming I can barely think of anything. Nothing other than him and I exist in this moment. Together. Something inside of me whispers that this is how it’s supposed to be.
Forever.
He pulls back a little, his lips red and swollen, his hair a mess, but his skin looks healthier. Strangely the holes in his skin have sealed together so there are nothing more than tiny, fingernail sized scratches.