Free Regrets of The Fallen (Victis Honor Book 1) by Jake Taylor Page A

emotions. Being told you were that important to someone was not something most people experienced, let alone Haruka. Isabella was an intense woman; her emotions were strong and she shared them readily, an action that was obviously a result of her never having had anyone to share them with before. Suddenly Haruka felt glad that she was the one to be opened up to, as someone else could easily take advantage of that. She smiled gratefully, speaking softly in a tone that she hoped would carry her own emotion. “That’s… important,” she said thickly. “To me.”
    Isabella sighed in contentment, setting her hand on Haruka’s and squeezing it before allowing herself to fall asleep, which, at this point, only took a few seconds. Haruka adjusted her position in the chair, keeping her hand in Isabella’s as she rested her head on her free one and watched her sleep. She was surer than ever that she’d made the right choice; things were getting interesting.
     
    IXH
     
    It was raining that night when Isabella awoke. The absolute darkness confused her tired mind for a few moments until her memory came back and she relaxed, listening to the weather. A storm had blown in from the east and unleashed all its power on the small town of Stahl, lashing the wooden buildings in sheets. Bella had no idea what time it was when the incredible thunder woke her, shaking the house, but she knew it was dark, even pitch black in the room. The only light came from the occasional brilliant flash of lightning preceding a near-deafening crack of thunder.
    During one of these flashes she caught the glint of green eyes and realized Haruka was awake. That wasn’t surprising, as sleeping through the thunder would be quite a feat. “Haru?” she said softly, as if afraid to add her voice to the sounds of nature’s fury.
    “Awake?” Haruka’s voice replied in a similar tone. It was an odd thing speaking to someone in total darkness with a thunderstorm raging outside; an odd combination of quiet and loud. Somehow the storm outside made it seem like everything outside of their room was far way, distant; separate, even. The separation from all else made it more intimate, and the darkness not only added to this but seemed like it laid everything bare, in a way, and left openness and honesty; it felt like there was no reason to hide  when you were already hidden in the dark.
    “Of course I’m awake,” Isabella responded. “Who could sleep through the apocalypse going on out there?”
    “You,” Haruka said, and Bella couldn’t explain how but she knew Haruka was smirking, “for an hour.”
    “Really?” Isabella pulled the sheet up to her chin and noticed there was an additional blanket on top. “What time is it? Do you know?”
    “Midnight?” The elf guessed. “Close to.”
    “I’ve been sleeping for hours, then.” Isabella yawned, her head moving deeper into the pillow, thick blue hair spilled around her. She peeked back over the blanket towards the spot Haruka’s voice came from. “You don’t have to spend all night in that chair, you know… This bed is big enough.”
    There was silence for a moment, and then an unsure, “Awkward…?”
    “Please,” Isabella responded with a teasing tone, “If we’re going to be travelling together I’m sure we’ll share a bed more than once.”
    After a few moments of nothing the bed finally creaked, and Bella moved over as she felt Haruka climbing in. She then scooted back cautiously until she touched her, then turned onto her side to face her. “Hi,” she said quietly.
    Again that unseen smirk in the darkness- amusement. “Hi.”
    Isabella yawned again before curling up just enough for her head to rest on Haruka’s shoulder. “Better. Would’ve felt guilty the whole time if you slept in that chair.”
    Haruka decided not to mention all the places and positions she could easily sleep in with little trouble. Besides, this was better anyway; what was there to complain about? Haruka