The Scattered Bones

by Nicole Scarano

People smiled at me, but never like he did.

In such a brief acquaintance, this breathtaking man had carved a jagged hole in my heart and buried himself inside it.

“I’ll even return when you’re old and grey and Hreinasta abandons you for another. It may take a while, but I’ll always come for you.”

Every time I look at you, I see the end of the greatest thing in my life. You’re my best friend, my confidant, my heart. I love you, Sellah.

“Every night I spend with you, I love you more,” he continued. “I’m filled with broken and jagged edges, but your softness and warmth fit perfectly between those sharp pieces. You make me whole. You’re what my life was missing, and the longer I stay at your side, the more I love you. Varas may be the god I’ve pledged to, but you’re who I want to swear my future to. You’re the altar I pray at, the deity I worship, and I would sacrifice my life for you, but you don’t belong to me. You never have, and you never will. You’ve belonged to Hreinasta since birth, and I can’t watch the person I treasure most in this world lose herself to a selfish goddess.”

I am hollow without Kaid, and his fractured spirit calls to me.

“I love you, Sellah,” he whispered into my hair. “You own me. All of me. Forever.”

“This isn’t love. Love is too simple a word for what I feel. The world could end. Ages could pass. The gods could die, and I would still adore you. You’ve been braided so deeply into my heart that I no longer exist without you.”