Bat Out of Hell (Promised to the Demons #2) - Lidiya Foxglove Page 0,8

well now--short blonde hair that was brushed back but getting a little long and falling out of place in every direction, cold blue eyes the color of ice, burn scars marring one side of his face from temple to cheek.

"If you're well enough to speak, you'd probably better eat something," he said.

"I am hungry." I knew the avornax I had fed under the cabinet probably was going to turn into some villainous character, based on all I'd heard of him from Bevan, but I wasn't sure to make of him anyway. He certainly wasn't what I'd call friendly, but his formal distance was easier to deal with than Variel's fervent attempt to convince me that I'd marry him whether I liked it or not.

Piers ladled out some soup from a pot in the corner that was hanging over a low fire to keep it warm. He only used his right hand, while he kept the left tucked in his jacket.

"Are you injured?"

"Variel ate my hand," he said.

"Ate it!?"

"I suppose 'devoured' is the proper term."

"You weren't injured before! When? Why?"

"Apparently I was whole when he gave me a different body, but not now.” Piers took the chair, but he still kept a good five feet between us. He took a pained breath and looked at me. "Jenny, I'm sorry. You were very generous and I would have starved to death without you."

"Oh--well--it was nothing." I spilled a little soup on the blankets. I needed to sit up straighter and struggled to support myself on shaky arms.

"Here, if you don't mind..." Piers took the spoon from me and brought it to my mouth.

"You don't have to be nice to me. Piers, you know I love Bevan. I really want to see him."

"Bevan sat here with you for eight hours while you were unconscious," Piers said. "He's taking a quick rest."

"Oh..."

"Can I ask you a question?" Piers asked, after feeding me a few bites of the rich, sweet vegetable broth with bits of grain and root vegetables. (Lots of leeks in the broth, I thought.)

"Sure..."

"If Bernard came to you and apologized for all the ways he had ever mistreated you, if he acknowledged that he'd made a terrible mistake and swore to give you the life of an honored familiar with access to all the magic you'd ever need...would you return to him?"

I shivered at the question as I realized I couldn't answer right away. "I...I would certainly rather marry Bevan and work alongside him."

"But your loyalty to Bernard still has some hold on you..."

"I guess I can't help it." I bit my lip, ashamed by my weakness. "No matter how much he hurt me, I really do want..." I almost felt close to tears, knowing how much happier I was with Bevan, and hating that even a little part of me felt a pull to go back to Bernard.

"I see..." Piers almost seemed to be saying it to himself. He kept giving me the soup, and I really was hungry, so I couldn't stop drinking the broth. At the end of the bowl, he finally met my eyes, and the cold eyes softened slightly. He looked like he had a lot of regrets weighing him down, and I realized I wished Bernard would look at me this way. As if he really was sorry, and wasn't ashamed to say so, and we could rebuild the relationship we had as Bernard and Celeste.

A few tears finally leaked out, enough to blur my eyes.

"I am not Bernard," Piers said. "But I almost killed my own familiar. I don't think I'll ever see him again. I would like to find some way to repent for my sins and I wondered if you would hear my confession."

"Oh...that sounds very serious. I'm not sure I'm qualified to hear a confession!"

"I almost forgot that St. Augustine is about the most pious wizard town in the nation," Piers murmured. "But you don't need to be qualified in a religious way. I want you to hear it because the life of Bernard and your own and mine and Chester's...well, in both cases, the wizard has failed the familiar. If you can give me a shred of your forgiveness, I will try my best to help you, and even if I think you are charming, I will not get in the way of you and Bevan or anyone else. All I crave is penance."

Charming! I couldn't believe that all I had to do was set foot in the world outside and