As Souls Divide
x
Though the morning is old, Larten sits with his back to Arra, watches the sun move through the chapel's stain glassed windows, and thinks that, if he were still human, he would be underneath that sun forever without fear.
It does not do well to dwell on the past, he reminds himself.
Larten sighs, relents to his vampire side and curls up against his cloak, watching Arra through the slit of his left eye till, till – her body begins to shake, her still sleepy voice breaking through the air, begging someone – a monster in her dream – to stop, stop, stop.
He can't bring himself to awake her, move towards her, for the pain in his heart squeezes his limbs until he is left without a voice and paralyzed.
X
"I did not want to come here."
"Well, I want to see your past, besides it's not like anyone you knew is still living."
Arra enters the little town, moonlight splayed against her cheekbones, no one outside except for the two of them. Larten curtails her, unable to refuse her.
The buildings are dilapidated, the ground coarse with random droppings, and the place reminds him too much of an orphan with a colossal heart, the gods that never were on his side. After a shiver radiates within him, he thinks that this place represents him very well till Arra's spidery hand bumps against his and catches it as her prey. Then – then he can only think that, though Traz's bloody scent runs rampant, the air is very thick with his want for her.
X
The ocean's rough breath enters his mouth and nose, the moon undulating in the sky like a billowing circus tent in the air. The beach looks as if no one has visited it in months, human scents nowhere near. Arra's feat pound against the soft sand, her face frowning. Larten's never seen a frown look more beautiful – not that he tries to recall if he has. Her face, full of apprehension, runs underneath the waves, the ocean's soul blackening the depth of her eyes.
"I," she swallows her pride quickly, quietly. "I don't know how to swim."
His hand beckons outwards, like he's calming the storm brewing inside of her, and he whispers, "I will teach you."