“Stone, please,” I begged in a whisper.
He had every right to be angry with me, but he was here, and it somehow changed everything, even when it didn’t. I looked back at Julian. Thankfully, he was speaking confidentially to Jonah, the funeral home owner, both their eyes pointing in this direction.
I should have let Stone go, just let him walk out this door before Julian got to him, but I couldn’t. “If you don’t come with me, a Heathen will knock you out seconds from now and rip you from this house before either one of us can blink an eye.” I swallowed, eyes darting from Julian to Stone. “Anyone who’s taken by a Heathen is taken forever.”
Stone shifted, bothered. “Is this another one of your stories?”
I no longer gave him a choice. I grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the parlor, past the sliding doors, and into a hall. Stone didn’t resist and followed me around the corner, staying close behind.
When we reached the maid’s chambers, where they kept their supplies, I closed the door behind us and turned to face him.
The room was small. A pantry.
Stone’s chest heaved. He was breathing hard as if it was all he could do.
Not because he was out of breath but because he couldn’t breathe steadily.
It seemed like the two were the same, but they weren’t.
I placed my hand on his chest to soothe him.
He took a step back, and my hand slipped away.
“It’s an arranged marriage. They ordered it two days before I found you.”
Stone didn’t speak.
He stood incredibly still, staring at me with a look of injury.
I imagined myself telling him that I was a witch, Cyrus was myfinneuma, and my coven ordered this arranged marriage to save my home. Then I imagined the disbelief on his face afterward because he could never understand.Another story,he’d think.
Trying to ease the nausea, I held my stomach. “He’s my best friend and was my sister’s boyfriend. He’s a good man, Stone, but I never intended to marry him. I just don’t have a choice in the matter.”
Stone gazed down at me solemnly, his eyes hollowing out.
Like all life inside them was slowly backing away.
“Say something,” I shouted, tears bubbling in my eyes.
Stone didn’t wince. But his lips parted, a shallow breath breaking through them. “How did you manage to break something I never gave you?”
“Stone.” I tried reaching for him, and he stepped back again.
“I don’t even know who you are,” he said. “And clearly, neither do you.”
My spine melted. “You were supposed to leave,” I whispered. “I was okay until you came here.” And I didn’t know whether it was a lie, but I could’ve pretended to be okay long enough until I believed it. “You weren’t supposed to come here and make this harder for me.”
At that, Stone did wince. “Then I’ll make it easy for you,” he said. “You need to choose. Do you want to stay here with him, or will you come with me?”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
“No, it’s not. It’s very simple.” He shoved his hands into his pockets—a way to keep himself from touching me, it seemed. I felt sickness climbing into my chest, and Stone stood tall. “Have you been fucking him too?”
“God, Stone. No.” But this didn’t seem to ease the worry in his eyes.
“Does he know you’ve been fucking me for weeks?”
“No one knows a thing about you,” I said. “And it has to stay that way.”
