“Answer mine, and I’ll answer yours.”
He went to cross his arms but winced, letting them hang by his sides. For a second, he looked as if he’d rather hit me than reply, but then he sighed and rubbed between his eyes. “I made a promise.”
“Which was?”
“I’d come back for him.”
“Why did it take you so long?”
Emptiness filled his eyes, haunted like Kas’s but also full of evil. An evil that he’d embraced, unlike Kas who couldn’t reconcile himself with doing bad things even if his past groomed him to be. “I was busy.” He pointed a finger in my face. “And I suggest you don’t ask me again.”
I opened my mouth to ask other things. What things I didn’t know, but Kas suddenly sat bolt upright, his hair flying around his shoulders, his eyes dancing around the forest.
Alert and aware, he swooped to his feet, his stare locking instantly onto Jareth. He swayed a little but he balled his hands and fought to stay standing, never looking away from our new intruder.
I leaped upright too, not wanting to be sitting when both men towered over me.
The two men just stared.
The air turned chilly.
The forest went quiet.
Jareth didn’t smile. Didn’t wave. Kas didn’t move. Didn’t speak.
Both men gave no indication that they’d once been close enough to love each other. Once endured hell, side by side.
Jareth continued studying Kas as if he already accepted whatever he’d do. A hug. Another beating. Either would be fine with him. Blood continued to run down the side of his face but he didn’t rub it away.
Kas slowly took a step toward him.
Jareth didn’t tense or prepare. His hands stayed by his sides, permitting Kas to hit him if he desired. Was that out of guilt or respect? What exactly did these two men share? How deep did their bond go after surviving being slaves for most of their childhood?
“You’re alive,” Kas breathed, stopping in front of Jareth.
“No thanks to you,” Jareth muttered, his lips twisting into a sick smirk.
Kas winced, his own bruises from Jareth’s fists starting to be noticeable around his jaw.
The moon skated behind a cloud, drenching us in gloomy darkness as I inched closer, desperate to witness the awakening in Kas. I wanted to see the same wholeness that’d been there when he’d attacked Jareth. Maybe the pieces that he’d been hiding from had finally slipped into place. Maybe his mind would stop blacking out and he’d find the courage to face the things he kept forgetting.
Maybe Jareth’s arrival was the medicine Kas needed to get better.
But as the two men studied each other, both wild and bristling with darkness, I didn’t see freedom in Kas’s face, only guilt. The cleansing that’d been there before was now drowned out by regret and dishonor. “I hurt you.”
Jareth’s nostrils flared before he shrugged as if he hadn’t even noticed. “I’ve had worse.”
Kas inhaled sharply. The bloodlust from before had well and truly vanished, leaving behind the man I’d fallen in love with. A caring man who took on way too much blame for not being able to protect those he loved. A martyr who would continue denying his own happiness if it meant he could give it to others. “That scar is new.”
Jareth’s fingertips came up and ran along the nasty cut down his cheek. “New to you. Not to me.”
“Who gave it to you?”
For the first time, Jareth’s stoic savagery slipped a little. “No one you know.”
“Someone other than Storymaker?” Kas choked.
“Someone who’s dead. We’ll leave it at that,” Jareth snapped.
A long moment stretched in silence.
Goosebumps once again layered me inside and out.
Kas finally shook himself and yanked Jareth into an embrace. A hard crash as their bodies slammed together. The whip fast lasso of their arms as they held tight. The undeniable connection of two messed up boys who’d become violent men.
I wanted to give them privacy, but I couldn’t look away.
I couldn’t stop watching the relationship that switched from historic to present day. Kas buried his face into Jareth’s neck, his back shuddering with shame. “I’m so fucking sorry for hurting you.”
Jareth pressed his forehead against Kas’s cheek. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner.”
The passion, the bond, the absolute truth between them made tears spill down my face. I’d known so many versions of Kas through his nightmares, concussion, and slowly falling in love with him. I’d known what he was capable of—both good and bad. But to see him almost kill this man with his bare hands and then hug him with unconditional love broke my already splintered heart.
“I didn’t mean to...” Kas clutched the back of Jareth’s head, pulling him away so he could stare into his eyes. “I didn’t know it was you.”
Jareth nodded. No animosity or anger in his stare. “I’m sorry for touching her.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t stop others from touching you.”