Page 70 of Truth Revealed

But for once, Truth decided he hated mornings.

With a groan, he blinked against the soft light and sucked in a breath as all the pain in his body attacked his senses at once.

“Fuck,” he hissed, and stilled from where he’d moved to stretch.

“Hey, you’re awake,” a soft voice answered, and Truth froze.

Blinking rapidly to clear his vision, he greedily ate up the sight of Daria at his bedside. Barely glancing down, he quickly took in the white bandage wrapped around his upper chest, taking in the aches and pains in his body. His chest was on fire, both a dull ache and a sharp pain cutting through him at the same time, if that were possible.

“Hey,” he rasped out. His throat was dry.

She offered him water from a cup with a bendy straw, and he sucked the liquid down greedily.

“It’s on its way to healing. Death told me you’d be fine by tonight or tomorrow morning,” she offered.

Truth didn’t know what to say.

He doubted he’d ever forget the panic, the ice-cold fear that’d shot through his veins when he’d realized Deceit had Daria cornered against a table, totally unaware. His body had moved before he’d made a conscious decision, planting himself between the blade and Daria.

“You’re okay, though, right?” he asked.

Her eyes watered and alarm shot through him like a jolt of energy. His chest screamed at the motion, but he ignored it and push himself to sit up. Daria shook her head and tried to push him back down, but he grabbed her hand where it was pressed against his shoulder and cupped it in both of his.

“You are so infuriating,” she finally said, voice thick with unshed tears. “You’re lying here the same color as the sheets in your bed, a gash across your chest, and you’re asking me if I’m okay?”

“Daria, I’m so sorry,” he apologized. “I wanted to tell you, but as soon as we started playing the double agent game, I didn’t want to risk Pandora finding out and hurting Youth. I—”

“It’s okay,” Daria interrupted him. “We don’t know if I can come back from… from something like that,” she said, pointing to the gash on his chest, one that had been meant for her neck. “You saved my life.”

“It was killing me,” he explained. “I wanted to tell you so fucking badly.”

She frowned and attempted pushing on his shoulder again. This time, he went with the pressure and laid back down, breathing through the pain of rearranging.

“That’s why you were sick, right? Coughing?”

His brows furrowed in confusion. “You heard that?”

“Yeah. You’re not very discreet. I seriously thought demons could catch the common cold for a while.”

Her hair brushed her cheeks as she shook her head, a wistful smile on her pink lips.

“I’m so sor—”

“Stop apologizing,” she growled. “But no more lying.” She poked his shoulder for emphasis, a frown pulling her lips down. “No more secret plans with hopeful outcomes. No more secrets, period. We all work better together, and you all need to realize that.”

Truth didn’t respond for a moment, too captivated by the rush of color in her cheeks. Even though it was frustration—anger, even—she was beautiful, and it made his chest swell that she still felt anything for him after the shit he’d pulled.

“Promise me,” she prompted when he didn’t respond, hand tightening over his shoulder slightly.

Truth reached up and grasped her hand in his own, even as he winced at the movement. “Daria, I swear I won’t let you down again,” he rasped out, emotion catching in his throat. “If it wasn’t clear before now, I love you. And yes, I am more sorry than you will ever know that I lied. Thank you for believing me.”

She blinked quickly, glancing to the side before her gaze struck his. Lightning zinged up his spine, made his heart rate quicken, his breath shallow. Silence filled the air after his declaration for so long, he began to worry.

“I love you too,” she finally admitted. The words came out in a whisper, her eyes shining. “I don’t know what I would have done if anything happened to you. Don’t ever be an idiot like that again.”

“You’re worth it.”

She blinked before leaning over and brushing her lips against his. One of tears splashed onto his cheek, the drop warm as it slid down his face. He tasted salt from her tears and the sweetness that was wholly Daria, but underneath he tasted her forgiveness and her hope, her love and her passion. He drank it in like a starved man.