This piece is much more modern than our standard garb. A summer dress meant for this weather that someone a few decades ago will have purchased. Over the top of the shift, she has that damnable pink stay again.
It’sallpink.
Something about seeing the colour on her centres me. Like she is a beacon I am meant to be heading for, the pale colour lights up when she wears it—a lighthouse in the dark to guide me to safety the way Love has for centuries. I want to grab hold of her and never let go when I see the shade gracing her form. Delphini makes the colour everything it is; feminine, light, calm.
She appears more comfortable with herself in this outfit than in the trousers.
“We’re late,” I say abruptly, before turning and heading out the door.
I don’t look back to see if she is following. The clap of her boots on the wooden steps is enough to tell me she is. Being late is not something I enjoy, although I suppose that is better than refusing to return at all after what that sandbag, Augustine, did. Another thing to add to my list once I am rid of Delphini: find his mate and rescue that creature he has trapped.
This to-do list of mine is getting longer and longer. I throw myself over the rails and land on the docks with ease. Above me, Delphini stares with her lips parted.
“I can’t do that.”
“Then climb down on the ladder.” I point to the narrow wooden planks on the side of the ship.
She eyes them, then flicks her gaze back to me before her shoulders square. A ghost of Love’s tentacles touches me, wrapping around my shoulders like a giant python would its owner’s neck. The weight of them anchors me on the ground as I watch the human I am charged with grip onto the side of my ship for dear life. Above us, in the crow’s nest, I hear a whistle and then Nargol and Hamako are leaning over the railing to watch her struggle.
“Del,” the orc starts, but when I glare at her, she shuts her mouth. There is no room for her blatant disregard for my orders to my face. Nargol gives me a look and then slings the fire safety ladder down from the deck. The metal rungs click into the place and Delphini moves onto it. She is on the dock a few seconds later, smoothing her skirt down.
“Thanks, babes.” She waves at the watchers and rushes over to me. “Were you just going to let me struggle forever?”
“You need to learn,” I lie.
Yes, I was content to wait her out. She would have either fallen onto the dock or gotten over her fear and climbed down.
I buy Delphini a metro ticket and we take the thirty-minute trip to the historic district. Perhaps I should have brought Aoife or Neela with me, but I’m not sure they would support me on this. She is just like the rest of us; we have all made a promise to Love, but I’m rejecting my soulmate. This is the best thing for her rather than an eternity stuck with me.
At this time of night, the trains are mostly empty and Delphini seems relieved that we are the only ones in this car. The rails grind and screech, but otherwise, it’s silent. She doesn’t try to chitchat or ask where we are going. Her eyes are closed and her head is tilted back. One of her thighs is thrown over the other, exposing the long, thick length of her leg.
She doesn’t have a care in the world.
“She knows she is safe with her chosen.”
A man sits down across from us and my hackles rise. He is dressed in casual business wear, but I can smell the alcohol coming off of him. I pull one of my boots up to my knee and rest a hand close to the knife I keep there. It’s a threat he doesn’t see, a way to keep me from getting too anxious on public transport where a blood bath would be less than ideal.
But he isn’t looking at me. His eyes are glued to Delphini.
I don’t like it. In fact, seeing the disgusting way he looks at her chest down to her thighs makes me want to rip his eyes out. He has no right to look at her at all. The hand that isn’t resting on the blade strapped to my ankle grabs hers.
On instinct, I expect to feel a chill, that same visceral reaction I get when anyone touches me. Instead, all I feel is her warmth, a slightly damp palm from the heat of the enclosed train. Her fingers curl around mine and my stomach twists with doubt.
Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted? a small voice whispers in the back of my mind.
“Is it our stop?” Delphini asks, a little sleepy.
“Yes.”
Usually, I would go to another stop before getting off, but I am not going to stab anyone on an empty train. First of all, I have to be somewhere, and it could be a mess. Second, I don’t want to explain why I did it to Delphini. Then she will know she is filling the hollow part of my chest without even trying.
The train slows and we get off. I let go of her hand as the door closes behind us. Delphini takes a deep breath of fresh air as we resurface. I suppose it has been a few days since she has been out. Getting a bit of enjoyment before a demon or giant lizard murders her is a small price to pay. We walk the few blocks up, and she pauses again when we stand outside the churchyard. There are a few cars parked in front, on the street. Lights outside the parish centre are on, although nothing inside to indicate it’s open.
“This is a weird spot for a date.”
“Because this isn’t a date.” I give her a weird look. Why the fuck did she think this was a date? I’m dropping her off and returning to my quarters to scrape the last five days off my skin.
She looks momentarily hurt by this information, but now isn’t the time for the hard edge of me to turn blunt. We have a meeting to get to. Delphini follows, still not questioning what we are doing. Love’s presence isn’t with me, which is fucking infuriating. By the time we are at the doors to the basement, we are both silently seething.
