Chaos passes me a long look before trailing after his friend. I can’t help but stare at his broad shoulders as he saunters off into the thick woods.
I wish our lives were different. If things were different, I’d explore the feelings that press into my chest every time I look at him.
Unfortunately, I won’t be around long enough in the near future to explore anything.
The forest is very much alive today. Birds sing a crying song, like ravens giving way to warning. Leaves rustle in tune with every curious creature that runs through the long limbs that stretch high above.
“You’re a good actress.” Rime’s words are spoken low and pointedly.
I shift on my heels, my thin dress catching on a vine of thorns for a moment.
“What makes you think I’m acting?”
He leans against a tree, his arms folded, his head tilted in a studying way as he looks at me through cruel, narrowed eyes. It’s hard to believe this one was ever my favorite.
“It’s easy to see. Your posture when you spoke to him changed into a defeated and helpless look that I’ve never seen. Your voice, which normally grates against my every nerve, was a sweet and breathy sort of sound. I actually liked that sound. You should sound like that all the time.”
My jaw clenches, but I have to put real effort into forcing a friendship right now.
Even if he is a giant, insufferable dragon dick.
“What did this mage do that has you three so adamant about capturing her for your friend?”
What brought these dragons to a man like Kreedence? He stares at me for a moment longer, just long enough that I think he won’t answer at all.
Until he does.
“He isn’t our friend. We owe him. We’re doing him this favor because we owe him. And so does the mage. This mage owes him money or an irreplaceable object of some kind. She owes him something important, and instead of delivering, she skipped town.”
She owes him her soul.
The way Rime talks about me … he hates me and he doesn’t even know it. Pain stings my heart. It’s not that I care. I don’t know these men at all, but there’s something completely awful about being hated and not having a thing you can do to change it.
I’m not an idiot. I know I’m a terrible person. I feel it deep within myself. I feel the twist of guilt every time I think about the things I’ve done. I just … I think I could be different if given the opportunity. If I could just get to where I’m going. If I could get to that place of safety that’s waiting for me in my future, I know I could be different.
His pretty eyes are so pale they match the morning skyline in the clearest blue I’ve ever seen. The sun shines against them, catching against his irises and magnifying them into a harsh color of cruelty. His glaring gaze drifts away from me, just over my shoulder, and the interest he shows makes me turn slowly.
And then I see him.
That pain in my heart pivots until it’s stabbing through my stomach with sinking fear.
I’ve been a drifter for five years. Drifter sounds carefree, and beautiful. Even if it’s not. I wasn’t always a drifter. I was once a woman in love. Blinded and foolish.
I literally fell in love with a demon. It was a twisted and controlling form of love. My mother always warned me against hellacious men. She probably never thought I’d give my heart to a literal demon though.
To say I could do better is a bit of an understatement.
It’s terrifying to see the man I fear standing next to the men I’ve started to care about.
Suddenly my past is standing right before me.
Chapter Thirteen
Faking It
Kreedence, nods as he walks side by side with Kain. The two men are opposites in every single way possible. There’s a violence in the simple way Kreedence walks, like he’s lashing out at the forest itself. While Kain walks with care, his steps thought out. Like he knows exactly where he’s going in life. Chaos trails behind them as the two men speak. Before any of them can even spot me, my feet start off in a sprint as if the fear in me is urging me on before my mind has even thought about the magic I’ve saved up just for a moment like this.
At the last second, Rime grips my arm in a painful way and throws me against the tree he was just leaning against. Power stings through my fingertips. I refuse to hurt any of these men. They got caught up in the middle of something much bigger than they ever realized.
