‘You didn’t have to get involved.’ I don’t know why I feel so annoyed. ‘I’m the one with no choice, if I want to avoid civil war.’
‘Oh, you think I’d just step aside? Leave you to my brothers’ tender mercies? You might hate me, Emelia, but I would never do that to you.’
‘I don’t hate you.’
‘No?’ His stormy gaze holds me. ‘Because it doesn’t feel as though you like me much.’
Oh, that isit. ‘What the hell am I supposed to do, Michael? You walked out of my life, then suddenly you reappear, full of apologies, and say you shouldn’t have done it! Maybe I’ve moved on!’
‘With who?’ His lip curls. ‘That big vampire on the dais last night, acting as though he owned you?’
Guilt stabs at me. ‘‘What the hell is your problem?’
His brow lowers. ‘My problem is that I fucked up! I let you go, and I want you back!’ He takes my hands again. I pull them back. ‘I know you feel what’s between us. I saw it in your face last night. We’re meant to be together!’
‘As my lieutenant. That’s it!’ We’re almost nose to nose and, despite how I want to rip his face off, there’s a treacherous part of me that wants to sink into him. To kiss him, wild, rolling in the snow, not caring who sees us.
‘That’s it? Tell me that’s all you want from me. I want to hear you say it.’
We stare at each other, breathing hard. Then I spot something, over his shoulder, moving among the trees below us. It looks like a person, clad in black from head to toe. They’re oddly bulky, yet light on their feet. ‘Who the hell is that?’ I point.
Michael tenses. ‘Fuck. Put your arm down. Slowly. And try not to move.’ His voice is close to my ear.
‘But why would humans be?—’
‘Not humans.’
ChapterTwenty-Eight
LOOK AT ME
Istay as still as possible. ‘Not humans?’ I murmur. ‘What the … are you saying these arevampires? But it’s daytime.’ I spot another blur of black, closer to us, moving from rock to rock. Michael is tense as iron.
‘Reapers.’
‘What?’
‘Shh. Tell you after.’ Michael breathes the words. Light catches the silver blade now in his other hand. My stomach lurches, terror sinking vicious claws into me. We’re almost defenceless, out here alone. No one could help us, even if they wanted to.
Another blur of motion, even closer. A figure wearing black fatigues, their head completely covered by a dark helmet and goggles, crouches nearby.
‘Don’t look at them. Look at me.’
I turn my head. Oh God. He’s so close. His warm breath on my face, his eyes darkening as he stares into mine. I almost kiss him, then. Because if I’m about to die a horrible death, it seems like the right thing to do. I close my eyes instead, a single tear rolling down my cheek. Cold air rushes past us both, a faint crackle of snow. I keep my eyes closed, even though the urge to look is killing me. Looking will definitely kill me.
After what feels like an eternity but is probably just minutes, I feel Michael’s gentle touch on my cheek. ‘They’re gone.’
I open my eyes. My heart pounds, my limbs trembling. It’s fear, pure and simple. Nothing to do with how close he is to me. I move away. ‘Please tell me what the hell just happened.’
He laughs, the sound soft. ‘You haven’t changed, have you?’
‘Michael!How are vampires out during the day? AndReapers?’ I keep my voice low, aware of the nearby coaches. They may be shuttered, but they’re not soundproof.
‘Fuck.’ He pulls back, running his hand through his hair. ‘Where to begin?’
‘Um, at the beginning?’
‘Right. So, after my father threw me out, several years ago, I had to make my own way to the Safe Zone where we met.’
