The Blade Wielders: Light And Dark (UNDERGOING EDITING)

Chapter 49: Love is Tricky Like That

Bree smiles when she feels Niadryan's presence outside of her bars once again, the smell of the blood packets in his hands already filling her senses.

He chucks them through the bars. "For you, Bree Hampshire. Drink up."

Niadryan doesn't have to tell her twice; she snatches the packets up from the floor, without even stopping to think about how disgusting what she is about to do is, and she rips them open, gulping down the thick, warm, red substance, then immediately feeling satisfied. Bree wipes her mouth. "Thank you," she whispers to Niadryan.

His eyes sparkle as he says, "But of course." He lowers himself down, careful not to touch the bars this time, and he sits cross-legged. Bree mirrors him.

"Aren't you going to get into trouble?" Bree asks.

Niadryan snorts, "Only if I'm caught."

And behind him, an elf sneers, "How unlucky that would be. It'd mean the little monster here would get a roomate."

Niadryan squeezes his eyes shut and Bree hits her forehead on her knee, murmuring, "Well done, genius. Now we're both going to be stuck in here."

Unable to do anything to escape, Niadryan groans as the elf advances towards him.
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"We're here."

Jens' voice is enough to cut through Layla's thoughts of Castor and Nina and how close they are, and of the conversation she had with her uncle about her parents, where he practically came out to her. Rak had pulled him away, insisting that it was time for them to leave, before Layla even had the chance to ask any questions or give her uncle a hug and tell him that, no matter what, she loves him more than anyone else in this world, and if it's boys for him- or maybe girls too, if he's bi; she doesn't know- then that's okay.

Layla can't believe she didn't guess, really. It's like all the puzzle pieces about her uncle seemed to immediately fit together and fall into place when he told her.

It also explains...

She glances at Lewis, ahead of her.

This can't keep going on. Castor can't be trusted; he has a vendetta against Jens. Why should she use Lewis as a reason to stay close to him? Why should they both pretend to be together when they both know it's not real? Lewis' parents are miles away, after all. They can keep thinking whatever the hell they want about Lewis and Layla supposedly being together. But she can't keep doing this. She can't keep taking a lie and twisting it, and then try to reap the benefits of it.

Layla loves Lewis, of course. How could she not? He's sweet and awkward, yet unfathomably courageous. She loves him in a way that she would have loved a little brother; in a way that she will love her corumpake, should she ever find anyone that she can trust as much as Lewis.

She can feel the unsaid prayers of all the people around her. They hang heavily in the air like a death sentence, radiating the most off of Lewis. They all have their own reasons for wanting this to be over, if you exclude just the humane want for Umah to be unharmed. They all have their own Afters waiting for them. When all of this is over, Layla and Rak will have Operation Fortunate to concentrate on; Cas will be on the run from Heidi Lucindel, unless she allows him back into the fold; Nina will return to where she came from, or she might even follow Cas, seen as how they're now joint at the hip.

Then there's her uncle. And Lewis.

God, how she hopes that their After is each other. If Lewis is like Jens, and doesn't love just girls, then the puzzle that is her uncle will finally be complete. Because he is in love with that boy. And Layla is an idiot for not having seen it sooner.