Ch 36: The Most Difficult Things

Recounting the events in the clearing was one of the most difficult things Astasha had ever done. But she fueled the rage and hate inside her to get through it, and when she came to the demon’s assault, Helia had stepped in, insisting there was no need for her to re-live such things. Tasha was grateful for her mercy, though there wouldn’t have been much that would have aided them had she continued. All that had happened once the demon had descended upon her seemed fragmented and blurred in her mind.

She had expected her story to be difficult to tell, but what she hadn’t expected was how difficult it was to listen to Calder's. The pain in his eyes when he looked at her, remembering what he had had to witness, what he had endured to try to save her; he was a stronger man than most.

His fingers had remained laced with hers the entire time. Even when they had laid him down to treat his wounds, his hand stayed firmly linked with her own. No one said anything about it, either because the