I steady my hands and walk the final steps with the demon stumbling after me. I’m almost there. I can’t stop now.
At the end of the hall, my hand grips the shining handle of his door. Without a sound, I slink into the bedroom. My feet are soundless against the sleek wooden floors. He lies on smooth white bedding within a shining and an ornately designed wooden bed frame.
I gaze upon my dear sweet brother sleeping soundly in his kingly bed.
Nathiale.
He’s the heir to this hateful density. He’s the only one who hasn’t been shunned away.
And he’s the worst of all three of us.
From the open balcony doors, warm early morning sunlight kisses his pale skin. As I watch him, one after the other my fingers close firmly over the hilt of the blade with careful intent. I release the door as well as the leash, and I put my entire focus on the flawless skin of his delicate neck. The sharp line of his jaw carves up into high cheekbones that are so similar to my own. The deep red hair hanging over his forehead is my mother’s.
Too bad he only inherited my father’s personality.
My hand lifts with intent, and the blade feels weightless. It feels like an extension of myself. It feels so damn right.
With my heart drilling and my mind racing, I slash the knife through the air.
But a big hand catches my wrist.
His chest presses to my back, and his grip on me is so tight that it’s the only thing I feel in this consuming moment.
“Are you fucking out of your pretty little fae mind?” he whispers in the harshest growl.
My lips purse as my eyes narrow on him into thin slits.
How dare he!
My palm presses to his scarred chest, and I shove hard. He doesn’t move. He doesn’t even blink at the force I put into that effort. I jerk against him in silent frustration, knife still in hand, both of us looming over my brother’s slumbering body.
The rage inside me hits an all-time high after a few seconds. My palm flings up fast and collides with his nose so hard, he groans and stumbles back from me, pulling me right along with him. We’re several feet away now. Too far away from my dearest brother for me to make my move.
I have to do it. Now!
My foot plants at the center of Ryke’s chest, and I kick off from him. He stumbles with me in tow, nearly falling into the smooth balcony railing, but at the last moment, smoke whisks around, giving me a dissipating sensation—like my cells are scattering inside my body crawls across my skin.
And then the demon and I are back in the rose garden where he lands with a solid thud against the cobble stone and drags me down right along with him. He’s still gripping my wrist as the calming scent of flowers surrounds us.
His hold on me is rough. Our bodies burn everywhere we touch, from hip to chest to hands. Blood as dark as ink smears his face along his lips and beard. I lie in a fuming heap against his hard chest, and his olive-green eyes blaze with accusations. We glare fiery hatred into each other for several seconds until a fine plum dress sweeps across my arm.
“Nille told me there was a trouble-making princess sneaking around the castle. I must confess, I didn’t expect to find you rolling around the garden with a demon already, Ari.” The smooth melody of her voice stops my heart, emotion crashing over me so fast I’m not prepared for it.
I flop off of Ryke’s chest and land on my ass at my mother’s feet. Her shining emerald eyes reflect my image, and I feel like a child again, sitting in the dirt staring up at her. Ever so slowly, I drop the glamour that is her image. It shakes off of me like dust, and soon my long silver hair hangs around my face once again.
Her smile is soft, and her skin is as smooth and flawless as ever.
“You shouldn’t be here, Ari.” She lowers herself down, and I’m all too aware of how she fans her crimson wings out, shadowing me and concealing me from any watchful eyes in the windows of the castle. Like my brother. “You need to leave. Don’t be reckless. Do not be like my sister, Sweet Ari,” she whispers as her slender hands tremble and caress my face with the lightest touch.
My mother’s sister. I’ve heard about the mysterious woman more times than I can count. We don’t speak her name though. She was a light fae and light fae are beneath dark fae in my father’s mind. Everyone is really…
She was really just a woman who ran off to the Bin because she loved a demon.
In my father’s eyes, that woman is a disgrace to fae. She chose a demon, of all things, over her own kind.
Even as a little girl, my brash decisions were always compared to hers.
Some things never change.
“Mom,” I have barely breathed her name out when she shakes her head at me.
“Leave. Before he sees you. Leave and stay in the Bin, please. Stay safe. All I want is for you to stay safe, Ari.”
Her hands grip mine tightly, and there’s so much tension in my throat that I can’t get a single word out among the pressing feelings.
Her big emerald eyes sweep to the demon sitting at my side.
“Get her out of here,” she says in a rush.
She releases me, and I stumble against the bricks to reach for her fleeting figure. But a stinging warm hand wraps around my hips.
And then smoke erupts around us once more.
7
Cruel Curses
My shuddering breath hurts my lungs, and when my damp eyes open, I’m in the training room of my sister’s house. Ryke still holds me, my back flush against his chest. His head lowers against my hair as I fight for a single gasp of air.
I was shoved away from my family once more.
More importantly, Ryke took me away.
My elbow thrusts back into his chest, and he falls back from me with a satisfying thud.
The asshole.
The swiftness of my moves surprises even me as I stand and whirl to him in the span of a single heartbeat. Irrationally, I grab the wooden sword from the rack and smack it against his chin until his glaring green gaze is pinned on me.
“Do not ever smoke me again. It’s unnatural and disorienting for fae. If I want to leave, I fucking will.” I almost turn away from him when he grabs the end of the blunt sword and pulls me down with quick force. His fingers thread through my hair, and he pulls me even closer, his warm breath fanning my cheek as his fingers sting into my scalp.
“Stop treating me like a dog. I know I’m a demon. I know you fucking hate me, but smack me around again and I won’t be this nice with my warnings in the future, Crow.” He holds me there with my head tilted back so harshly that my lips nearly skim his. It’s like he wants me to choke on his words while he devours my shaking breaths.
The heat of his body burns into mine, but the fucking tears streaming down my face have nothing to do with physical pain. I hate that he’s watching me like this. I hate how exposed I feel, and I can’t turn my head away from him no matter how hard I try.
I breathe through it, fanning my breath against his lips until his hold on me loosens just slightly. The aggression shining in his pretty eyes softens, and he sees me for how fucked my emotions really are right now.
When my emotions are scattered, so is Catherine. I feel her shaking to life inside me, and I hate the uncontrollable way she makes me feel. Like she owns my body more than I do.
I need to get out of here. I need to calm down. I need to think of something else. Anything else.