Blue Blood (Series of Blood Book 3) by Emma Hamm (books to read this summer .txt) 📕

Never once did he doubt she meant them. Mercy, in her own way, loved him. She thought of Jasper as a part of herself rather than a separate being. Every movement she now made was in sync with him.

It had taken a while to notice the differences in their relationship after he became her master. Mercy trusted him unconditionally, now. Before, Jasper had to battle uphill just to get a kind word out of her.

But when he held her in bed at night, he noticed even her Ember beat to the same tune as his. Every thump was perfectly timed where there had been nothing before.

She swallowed. “What?”

“How much do you love me?”

“Jasper, I—” she stumbled over her words. “You know it’s not easy for me to talk about—”

He interrupted her. “Yes, I know that it’s hard for you to say the words. But I want to know, in measurable amounts how much you love me. Like the size of a mountain? Perhaps smaller than that? Measurable please, love.”

She blinked at him a few times before biting her lip. “I suppose I would have to say it is similar to the size of the lava lakes Ignes remembers. It ebbs and flows much like the ocean, but it burns hot and steady.”

“So you’re saying you love me quite a bit.”

“Love is not the word for it. I’ve told you this before, Jasper. It’s not necessarily a human way to measure emotion. I look at you and I see myself reflected back. We are one, you and I. Soul, body, and mind.”

He pursed his lips and feigned stroking his nonexistent beard. “Ah. So that is quite a bit, then.”

Her cheeks flushed bright red. He thought for a moment that she was growing angry at him, likely resulting in more burns for Wolfgang to treat. He quickly realized it wasn’t anger at all but embarrassment.

“You do!” He laughed. “All this ridiculous banter and you standing up for your Phoenix ideals! You love me!”

“You know I do.” She pressed her palms against her cheeks. “There’s enough human left in me to linger on thoughts of you. Jasper, stop laughing!”

He held his sides as mirth exploded from his lips. “I can’t!”

“Jasper!”

A few moments later, he pulled himself together enough to only allow a few chuckles to escape. “I just wanted to make sure that you loved me a considerable amount so I could measure how much more this makes you love me.”

“Shaving your face?” She arched her brow. “I don’t think that’s going to change it all that much.”

He wiped at the tears under his eyes and shook his head. “Just look over there already, would you?”

There it was. The real surprised look he was waiting for. Her mouth hung open and flames curled at her temples to tangle in her hair.

“What?” she asked. “Jasper, is that —?”

“Yes.”

The ground shook and the bench quaked as a very familiar Giant lumbered towards them. Behind him, a Centaur galloped, and in the air overhead a Thunderbird let out its screeching cry.

Mercy covered her mouth with her hand. “I thought—”

She couldn’t seem to say the words, but he understood. Jasper reached out to hold her free hand. “Me too. And then I heard rumors. I didn’t realize how close I was to growing up in Giant’s territory. Are you going to go see them?”

It took a moment, but she released him to press her hands against the wooden bench. He waited, but she didn’t move.

“Mercy?”

“Jasper, I don’t think I can stand. Help me, please.”

He wrapped an arm around her waist to help her up and pressed his lips against her hair as they walked towards her remaining family. “I’ll always be your rock to hold onto.”

Tears fell freely down Mercy’s cheeks the closer they got. She wobbled in his embrace, even Jasper had a hard time maintaining his balance when Tiny ran towards them. The Giant could really eat up distance when he wanted to

Jasper braced himself for impact. Tiny lifted them into a tight bear hug.

“You survived!” the Giant boomed in their ears. “I knew it had to be true. You were always too feisty to die, Mercy! And you, Jasper, you took care of her.”

Jasper’s ribs creaked as Tiny clutched them both to his chest. “Tiny—”

“I am so happy to see you! You have no idea how worried we were. Even more than when we realized Mercy had been let out of her prison!”

“Tiny!”

“Oh.” Splotches of red bloomed on Tiny’s cheeks. “Sorry. I get carried away.”

“I could tell,” he grumbled as Tiny slowly put him down.

The ground was much safer. He backed several steps away as Tiny, still holding Mercy, spun in delight. Jasper was in no hurry to be accidentally punted by a Giant.

Joyous shouts echoed in Jasper’s ears until he heard the sound that was better than music. Mercy’s barking laugh meant something else had fit back into place inside of her. He hadn’t heard her real laugh in such a long time that he had almost forgotten what it sounded like.

He took a few more steps back as firework like sparks showered out of her. The remaining two creatures stepped forward as Tiny finally placed her on the ground. Although she was not a touchy feely person, Mercy was certainly giving out a lot of hugs.

Jasper thought he’d done a rather good job. He crossed his arms firmly over his chest and grinned as the Centaur danced. They were pleased to see her. And she couldn’t take her hands off any of them.

That wasn’t a bad thing. These creatures could be powerful allies in the battles to come. Jasper didn’t want to dwell on such darkness, but danger was the norm for their lives, and these moments of safety were the exception.

This was one of those safe times, and he was going to enjoy it as much as he could.

A Siren’s shriek pierced his ears. The creatures in front of him didn’t pause for a second, but Jasper, wincing, turned to see