Sage

Sage

Sage jolted awake with a start. Her entire body was covered with sweat, cooling against her burning skin while she struggled to catch her breath.

The scent of burning flesh clung to her, choking her lungs and burning her eyes. She tried to tell herself it was just a dream, that it was over now and she could relax. But she knew it was more than that.

She’d seen the memory from Kami. Her family had been hunted down and burned alive in the barren wastelands below the Iron Mountain. It set in motion Kami’s lonely life in the wastes, with only the soul of her friend to keep her company.

Sage wasn’t sure what happened to his soul now that Kami was gone. She only hoped he wasn’t trapped in a spider or locket for eternity.

Heart beating rapidly, she dragged in a few shallow breaths to try to calm herself down.

Something warm curled around her, lifting her. Sage gasped, her eyes flying open to see Kade sitting beside her. He pulled her into his lap, then wrapped his arms around her.

“Just breathe, Sage.” He said.

The bond between them flared to life as her torn soul slowly etched itself together. She leaned into his body, relishing the feeling of him against her. She felt the darkness ebb away, and she could finally breathe again.

She sighed against him, “Thank you.”

“How do you feel?” He asked.

Sage shrugged, “Tired. Worn.”

Kade grunted. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Sage pressed her cheek into his chest, “I have no choice. They need me. Without me, this Capricorn creep won’t take the bait.”

Kade snorted. “You are an enigma, Blackwood. Even now, you manage to spit fire at your enemies.”

She rolled her eyes. “He is a creep. And I agree he needs to be taken down a few notches. But Wraza was right- I am not their savior. But I will help them.” She glanced up at him, catching the sour look in his eyes.

“Don’t you agree?” She asked.

His eyes flashed from lilac to red as he grimaced. “I am not the right person to ask, Blackwood.” She thought of his father, the Demon King, and how Kade tried to help his people on this side of the barrier.

“I think you are, though. I know you desperately want to help your people here. If you could, you’d take down your brother and free them from his tyranny.”

“It’s not just him,” Kade growled. “Even if I was able to dispose of Zaniel, I would still have my father to deal with.”

An image of his father flitted through her mind. She’d only seen him through Kade’s memories- and they hadn’t been the warm and fuzzy family memories. His father had sacrificed his mother to get Kade across the cursed barrier between their worlds. The Goddess’s cruel gift to them for mortally wounding her.

Sage saw the hurt buried deep beneath his heated gaze and knew he was thinking of the same memory. She couldn’t help herself- she leaned in and kissed him, hoping to take the pain away, if even for a moment.

Kade froze beneath her, taken aback. But before she pulled away, he held her closer, deepening the kiss.

The bond burned white hot as he kissed her back.

She broke their embrace, gazing into his lilac eyes. “I will never let anything happen to you, Sage.” He said softly. “You are safe with me.”

Weeks ago, she would have attributed his words to the soul they shared. When they first met, he only protected her to keep himself out of harm, as anything that happened to her would happen to him.

But now Sage knew his words were his own. Even if they didn’t share her soul, he would feel the same way. As would she.

“After all this is done, after my soul is fixed, I will help you find your brother and get back your power.” She swore. Kade’s eyes widened slightly, but he smirked.

“You are a force to be reckoned with, Blackwood. Zaniel doesn’t stand a chance against you.”

“Us.” she corrected, resting her chin on his chest. “You’ve been with me through this all and I know at first it was because you didn’t want me running into an Ogre camp and dying-”

“Which you almost did,” he reminded her, gently pushing her hair from her face. “But you are right. I’ve been selfishly keeping you safe to ensure my own well-being. But now it’s us. Not just me or you. But us.”

Sage rested her head against his chest while he ran his fingers through her hair.

Us. They were an ‘us’ now. She still wasn’t sure what else they were, or her feelings, but she knew ‘us’ sounded right.

They’d been together since she came to this world, and without him, she wouldn’t have gotten as far as she did. She couldn’t imagine being in this world without him.

“Kade, will you promise me something?” She asked.

“Depends,” he smirked.

“Whatever happens, don’t let me ruin Veer like I did Leox.” She felt his body stiffen beneath her. “I know you and Minx believe in me, and I appreciate that. But, we both know what I am capable of.” She glanced up to see his stone-still face. “Promise.”

Kade cupped her chin in his hand, lifting her head until they were eye to eye. His lilac eyes flashed red while he brushed the pad of his thumb over her chin.

“I promise. As long as I am with you, you will not lose control.” His words sent a shiver down her spine. “No matter how hard you make it for me, Blackwood.”

She scoffed, pulling away from him. “I make it hard? What about you, Demon?”

He smirked. “I’m not the hard-headed one.” He patted the top of her head as if she were a dog.

Sage groaned, twisting her body until she rolled out of his arms.

“Omi would disagree,” she threw over her shoulder before getting up to get dressed.

Kade huffed, “Omi is just as hard-headed as you, so of course she would.”

Sage pulled on her traveling pants, then motioned Kade to look away while she put on a new shirt. The Demon smirked but turned his back to her while she undressed. Just as she was done fastening her belt, someone knocked at her door.

Or rather, the panel around where a door would have been, as her door was a hanging cloth.

“Come in,” she called out while slipping into her boots.

Naru entered, bent over at the hip. He was so tall and wide that he barely fit through the opening. His molten gold eyes roamed the room, freezing when he noticed Kade sitting on her bed.

“Hey, Naru.” Sage said, trying to sound casual.

She hadn’t had the chance to speak with him since Kami’s death, but the way his eyes sharpened when he saw Kade, she figured he was aware of the change between them. Guilt pinched her heart when his eyes flicked to her, and there was no longer the familiar light-hearted mirth there.

“We are leaving soon.” He said gruffly before disappearing behind the cloth again, leaving her to feel worse.

She deserved it; she knew that, his anger and bitterness. He had expressed his feelings to her well before Kade had, and she hadn’t had the heart to turn him down completely. To be fair, she herself hadn’t been sure of her feelings for Kade at the time- however, she should have recognized she held none for Naru and told him.

Instead, she put off the inevitable, and now whatever chance she might have had to tell Naru herself was gone.

The heavy weight of guilt and self-pity washed over her.

“I should have said something to him,” she said quietly.

Kade stood up, stretching his lean body. “You still can. It isn’t too late. You might not feel the same way as he does, but you do owe him an explanation.”

Sage nearly fell over in shock. She gaped at him, confused.

“Aren’t you supposed to go all Alpha Macho Man on me and tell me ‘too bad, so sad’? He missed out? Sucks for him? He should cry me a river or something?” She asked.

Kade blinked at her slowly. “Why would I do that? The man clearly had feelings for you. Why would I kick him while he’s down?”

“I don’t know. I guess that’s what guys in my world would do.”

Kade chuckled, “Do you want me to duel him for your honor?”

Sage blanched, “Goddess no. I’m just surprised you’re handling this so maturely.”

Kade smirked. “I will admit I had my reservations about the Hunter. But he’s proven himself to be a worthy ally- and even more so, a loyal friend to you.” He strode over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I would hate to think he’s crying himself to sleep at night over losing you.” He said, his tone serious.

“And there it is- the sassy Kade I was waiting for,” Sage said, shaking her head as she walked past him to the door.