Page 15 of Visionary

Severn and I lived in comfortable companionship for a few days. We got to know each other’s habits well enough. He was used to getting up early because Ceril forced him to. It just naturally happened for him now. When I got up, I would make us coffee, and we would just go through our day.

Movies and video games were what Severn enjoyed most, and I didn’t complain because that’s what I did in my free time. He never got to enjoy these things before. Just watched from Ceril’s side. He started to relax quickly, and I was glad.

“Do you want some noodles or something before we start the movie?” I asked from the kitchen as I pulled a cup out of the pantry.

Severn stood from the couch. His muscles on his back flexed when he stretched. I mentally cursed whoever stocked this place with those damn white tank tops. The red, irritated-looking scars peeked out again when he relaxed before turning to walk toward me. “You keep fixing food for me like this every day. You’ll be mistaken for my wife.”

I coughed, choking on nothing, and dropped the cup of noodles on the counter.

“It was a joke, sorry.” Severn chuckled.

I cleared my throat and turned around. “No, it’s okay. That just caught me off guard.” Smiling, I turned, and Severn was standing right next to me. He was just slightly taller than I was. His hair was messy, like he didn’t brush it after showering that morning.

“I do want some noodles, but I’ll make them myself.” Severn smiled at me, and we prepared our noodles together before sitting back down on the couch.

Severn stirred his food around as I contemplated asking a question that had been on my mind since our first morning here. The scars on his back were most likely from his wings, but they looked painful, and I wanted to help him.

“Can I ask you something?” Severn turned his head, looking directly at me. His swirling brown irises captivated me immediately. As if on instinct, my senses kicked in, but I put up a mental wall, blocking them from reading his emotion. Something still felt wrong about reading him. Finally, he raised his eyebrows, awaiting my question. “Is there anything I can do to help with your back? Is it painful?”

Severn turned around slightly. “Oh. No, they’re fine.” He set his food on the table and stood. “I’ll go put something else on.”

Standing up quickly, I placed my hand on his upper arm. The contact was like a warm cloth against my skin. Severn let out a light gasp and looked down at where our skin met. “Sorry.” I pulled my hand away, and for a split second I could have sworn Severn leaned toward me. “I just mean please don’t change. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I was just worried.” Taking a step back, the tension I didn’t realize he was holding seemed to release. He nodded and sat back down, picking up his food and continuing to eat.

My hand reached between where Severn and I sat, grabbing the remote and pressing play to start the movie.

My eyes blinked open, and night had fallen upon Noirhaven. The main screen for the streaming channel scrolled across the screen. Severn had covered himself with a blanket about halfway through the horror movie we were watching and kept shielding his face when he thought he might be scared. I offered to warm him when a jump scare was coming, but he refused. Said that he wanted to experience it the right way, so I let him. Every time he jumped, he got a little closer to me until we were right next to each other.

I didn’t realize he had fallen against me until now. When I looked down at him, he looked so peaceful. I couldn’t bring myself to wake him up so we could go to bed. Reaching behind me, I grabbed another blanket and tried to move so that we could lie more comfortably.

When I adjusted to lie down in front of Severn on the deep couch, he slowly slipped down with me and twisted, resting his arm across my body. The movement shifted the warmth his body released. I was used to being with colder beings, other vampires or nymphs mostly. The way his warmth enveloped me was a welcome surprise.

Severn let out a small groan and readjusted slightly. I closed my eyes and let out a slow breath. When I finally relaxed, it took no time to fall back asleep.

Severn jerked violently, waking me up. His head rested on my chest, and I rubbed his arm gently. “Severn?” I wasn’t sure if he was awake or not, and I didn’t want to startle him.

Gasping, Severn sat up quickly, grasping at the blanket that rested on his chest. Turning toward me, he looked terrified. His eyes were dark, glassy, and unfocused. “Aiden?” He looked around the room and relaxed once he seemed to realize where he was. “I’m so sorry.” He stood from the couch, tripping over the blanket, nearly falling to the floor.

I stood from the couch and gently grabbed his elbow. “Sev, are you okay?”

Severn slowly turned his head to look at me. Shaking his head, a single tear fell down his cheek.

18

SEVERN

The worry painted across Aiden’s face hit me like a brick wall. He wrapped his arms around me, gently rubbing the back of my head as I buried my face in his neck.

Aiden guided us to sit on the couch while I collected myself. “I’ve never reacted like this after a vision. I am so sorry.” I wiped the tears from my face and leaned back, away from Aiden.

“Don’t apologize, Severn. Do you need to talk about it?” The way Aiden leaned forward, looking at me, I couldn’t help but feel the need to unload everything I was feeling onto him. He was so genuinely concerned for me. Reaching over, he grabbed my hand, which I didn’t even realize was trembling. “You don’t have to. But please know that I’m here for you.”

Nodding, I leaned forward again and looked at Aiden. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness in the living space, and Aiden was back lit by the cool dim neons coming in from the city lights downtown. He looked like a statue. I drank in his features, and so many things about his appearance struck me as nothing but perfection. I had been surrounded by beings my whole life that were considered to be the most ethereal of them all. Angels were perfect, their features unmatched and God-like. Even Ceril, as much as I hated the man, was a stunning being. But Aiden was more than that.

Blinking and looking down at the floor, I spoke. “This vision was similar to the last ones I’ve had.” My voice came out softer than I had intended. I cleared my throat before speaking again. “Ceril, dragging me to a cave and shoving me to the ground.” Lifting my free hand, I expected to see cuts and scrapes when I looked at my palm. But there was nothing. I couldn’t bear to let go of Aiden with the other hand. “Everything felt so real,” I said as I examined my hand.

Aiden rubbed his thumb back and forth on the back of my hand, and a soothing chill ran up my arm. It was the little bit of encouragement I needed to continue telling him about the vision. “He came out of the cave alone this time, though. Yanked me from the ground by my shirt and just started screaming at me. Saying it was all my fault.” I looked back up into Aiden’s dark eyes. “He threw me back down to the ground, and that’s when I woke up. With you.”

We sat staring at each other for a moment until I couldn’t take the silence anymore. Pulling my hand away from his and scooting away slightly, I huffed out a small breath. “Well, I’m going to bed.” Standing, I tossed the blanket back on the couch and began walking down the hallway.