Page 41 of Spring Guardians & Songbirds

He lowered a tray of food on the bed. “Love?”

When he got closer and closer to me, I picked up a glass from the table and threw it with all I had to the wall, shattering it to tiny pieces. “Don’t come near me.”

Now I had to fight with my own head. I had to fight my own thoughts. In the midst of all the battles raging around me, I had to fight my own self.

Snow, breathe, my snowflake, my mother’s voice breezed by as I wheezed for air.

“I can’t, ma,” I whispered back, fighting through light-headedness and grasping the table corners to steady myself. “I can't breathe.”

His expression splintered and he stepped back and faded away, leaving me alone only to return with Cai moments later.

After letting my friend inside the room, he stepped outside and shut the door.

He didn’t come back inside that night. But his slow heartbeat pulsed from behind the bedroom doors where he remained till I left at dawn.

Chapter seven

Monstra

Kilian

For a week, Snow had come at nightfall and left right at the first second of dawn. A full week. She had barely said a word to me, to anyone. She’d laid in the far corner of our bed, eyes wide open, with no rest whatsoever.

And it had done more punishment to me than to her. Perhaps that is what she had wanted.

I expected her to fight me on the decision, use the opportunity to torture me only the way she knew how. And perhaps she was. Seeing the purple shadows under her tired eyes that had lost the flame to gilded frost, the slight sway of her feet from exhaust, her thinning frame, had made me reconsider this bargain over and over again. Perhaps it is what she wanted.

I wanted to let her go. After that night, I was ready to let her go only so she didn’t have to ever panic the way she did. But I couldn’t.

I was not a good man.

And I wanted her. I was greedy for her.

Selfishly, I was going to hold on to her.

Dawn was yet to grace us, but she pushed her body up and got out of bed, making her way to the balcony doors to stare at the skies ahead that dared refuse to obey her silent order to raise day.

“Glaring at it won’t make it come any sooner.”

“You never know.”

I stood, taking a blanket and throwing it over her shoulders. She didn’t push it off, but she did take the smallest step forward and away from me. “While you’ve become the master of night, my love, I’m afraid day can never be as infatuated with you as I am.”

She cast me a glance over her shoulder. “Is that what we are calling it now? Infatuation?”

Sliding my fingers through her hair, I pulled her attention to me, and she flinched just a little. There was panic in her eyes, but not one resembling fear so I didn’t let go. “You usually don’t like when I use the ‘l’ word.” I tapped a finger to my shoulder and lower to my stomach. “I have an important meeting later, would rather go without any holes in me.”

“You can use the word lie just fine, darling.”

My grip on her tightened as I backed her to the glassy doors. “Lie? Do you think I’d lie about this?” Did she really believe that?

“No. I’m sure there is much worse you can do.” She moved the small dagger she had aimed over my heart upward till it rested right under my chin. “In all honesty, I did expect you to be all kinds of wicked, just not this. I survived you. Twice. And do you know what that makes me?” Learning in, she whispered, “Your victim.” She dropped her head back on the glass, a smile playing on her lips as she lifted the little blade over my chin to rest it on my lip. “And they call me twisted.” Her blade grazed me, and a droplet of blood beaded on my bottom lip. She went to her toes and licked the path of blood to my mouth before leaning in my ear and whispering, “I’ll show you twisted. Survive me. I want to play with you, Adriatian.”

Fuck.

Sliding under my arm, she clicked the balcony doors open and backed away towards its edge. Her eyes never left mine as she brought the dagger to her tongue and licked my blood away from the blade. After throwing me a wink, she bolted out of sight.

I had to rest a hand on the glass to steady myself. Hells. All damned hells. This woman was making me crave punishment like a man starved for pain.