“Only the starving, evil, or insecure prey on the weak.” His hooded eyes narrowed as if to puncture my soul. “Which one are you?”
A chill ran down my spine and rooted itself in my gut.
It was an answer I’d always known without a question to attach itself to.
A question no one had ever cared to ask.
“Starving.”
Stone’s stiff posture weakened with my confession.
Like he somehow understood the whisper woven into the single word.
“How did you find Weeping Hollow?” I was firmer. More in control.
Stone relaxed against the wall, his dark eyes never leaving mine.
“I didn’t find Weeping Hollow. It seems this place has found me.”
Seconds ticked by, and the crackling of the fire counted each one. All the time spent tending to him over the past four days had meant nothing. No gratitude, no appreciation.
My gaze steered around the room at all the unopened bottles of water he hadn’t touched. He didn’t trust me. Not yet. It seemed somewhere along the way he’d built a tombstone of himself—a way to survive. Cheekbones made of granite. Stiff lips to prevent unnecessary words from slipping through. Hardened gazes to guard himself against opening up or getting close to anyone. And I wondered if anything sincere had crossed his mind—if he was as empty inside his tomb as he appeared, as dead as he was cold.
It would take more time to gain his trust and learn about him.
With that, I couldn’t let him leave this cave.
Forcing my chin high, I looked him in the eyes. “Since you have everything under control and don’t need me, I will leave and give you some time to yourself.” A bite had seeped into my words as I collected my belongings and shoved them into the nearby tote bag, feeling his watchful gaze on me.
I stood, flattened my stained dress, and peered down at him. “Leaving this cave would be a deadly mistake,” was all I could think of to say. A threat for the time being, as if he was in any condition to travel anywhere. Either way, I needed more time to consider my options—if I should turn him over to Augustine or keep him all to myself because if I turned him over, I’d have to reveal that I’d used magic to save him.
And as much as I didn’t want to admit it, my ridiculous attachment to him kept me from wanting to hand him over to anyone. He was a challenge, and I suddenly wanted nothing more than to break through his tomb and unearth all the secrets he was keeping.
He was a place to escape to.
I gathered the bottom of my dress and crouched down to leave through the cave’s opening when his voice came, stopping me.
“But you never gave me your name.”
I didn’t turn back to face him, keeping my eyes on the Atlantic. “You’re right. I didn’t.”
SACRED MOMENTS
Alec & Circe
She was a bottomless ocean.
The water slipping through your fingers.
A mystery caught between fantasy and reality.
She was loud, fierce, and invisible.
Her assumptions remained proven one day after one other she’d paraded in the square, stealing from three merchants without being seen. But it wasn’t because she desired the possessions. She had access to the finest clothing and jewelry and exquisite foods. In truth, she’d done these wild and forbidden things believing it would fill one void inside her.
She longed for sleepless, drunken nights and holding her breath for longer than five seconds in places she felt entirely weightless. She longed for filthy pirates with even filthier minds to take her for just one day.
She went about her long hours hoping for a fleeting moment of pleasure.
