The Scattered Bones

by Nicole Scarano

I’ll find the rest of his scattered bones. I don’t care how long it takes, how far I have to travel, or how much evil I must battle. I’ll recover every severed limb, and then? Then I’ll learn if The Stranger was telling the truth. If he’ll keep his promise, or if I’m simply a foolish girl so desperate for hope that I’ve placed my trust in a madman.

Our vows, our promise, our love. It cannot be silenced. We’re bound even in death, and that’s why I still sense him.

I cried because his voice was everything. It reached inside my soul, rewriting my definition of perfection. It strangled my erratically beating heart and coated my mind with its harshness.

“I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as you. I mean this in the most respectful way, but you are divinely lovely. I’m almost ashamed to share the same air as you.”

I wanted to hold him because every inch of his body whispered of the pain he’d endured. I longed to bring him comfort and steal his suffering.

“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,

Loving you is the only choice I’ve ever made for myself, so when I say this, understand it’s with my whole heart. I choose you, and I cannot go into my future without knowing what loving you tastes like. You’ve filled my heart so completely, there’s no room for anything else.” “Sellah…”

“You are my goddess.” His low admission rumbled through his ribs, vibrating against my skin. “You are what I pray to, what I worship, what I adore.”

angled his hips to hit the spot that unleashed the stars. “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

“I will love you until my death,” Kaid promised. “And then I’ll love you from the grave until I’m dust. When your consciousness returns after she abandons your vessel decades from now, I’ll be here waiting for you.”