Only this time, it didn’t sound empowering.
It sounded lonely.
Chapter 18
Cristian
The kitchen was quiet except for the sound of the refrigerator and the irritating rustle ofPsychology Today. I pretended to read an article titled “Attachment Styles: What Yours Says About You.” Ridiculous. As if any human could categorize the kind of madness that had taken hold of me.
I’d left her room immediately after the taste of her had destroyed me. I hadn’t wanted to leave her, but if I’d stayed, she would never have gotten rid of me. I’d have stayed there, wrapped around her for eternity. Her taste still haunted my mouth, her scent on my hands. I could close my eyes and summon the sounds she made when she stopped thinking. Every part of her had taken root in me, and I did not know how to make it stop.
But it had to stop. I was going to break this bond and free her from it. Free both of us. She would stop wanting me, and I could finally stop pretending that I could be domesticated. I would free her, then find my gold. Figure out how to free my brother, then destroy the Sovereign Court. Make them pay. And then I would have the truest freedom I could have in this cursed body. And Nadia could have it with me, if she chose to. I barely let myself hope.
That was the plan.
Until Nadia walked into the kitchen wearing a striped skirt, a black top, and that little green cardigan with theTeach Peacepin. Her hair was pulled back, and she looked infuriatingly pleased to exist.
She took a seat beside Ezra and huddled over his infernal machine.
The incessant buzz of the laptop competed with Nadia’s laugh. My jaw tightened.
She leaned closer to the screen, all curiosity and wonder, while he explained his ward maintenance protocol. She was enthralled. He was proud of himself. I was considering whether the laptop would survive being hurled through a wall.
Lena was still in the shower upstairs. I envied her solitude, though I could not walk away now, not when Ezra’s knee brushed Nadia’s, and she didn’t move away. She smiled.
In the doorway, I went completely still.
The bond drew tight in my chest, a line pulled too hard. My fangs ached, but not from hunger. It was possessiveness. A primitive, unbecoming thing that I should have learned to master centuries ago.
Her laughter filled the space again, light and warm. I could feel it. Not just hear it—feelit blooming in my chest like sunlight that contrasted harshly against the hatred brewing for this peasant. Her happiness made me feel alive. Her happiness that came from someone else made me want to destroy something.
She should be looking at me like that. Laughing because of me.
But I simply watched. The predator in me coiled tight, waiting to see whether the threat would step too close.
Ezra’s hand gestured too near her shoulder. My fingers twitched.
He was harmless. Human. A tinker. A boy playing with wires and calling it magic. Still, the thought of him brushing against her again made my vision go sharp around the edges.
If he leans closer, I shall remove his head from his shoulders.
Nadia laughed at something clever he said—something that clearly wasn’t—when he handed her a small tool of some sort. She nudged his arm.
My nostrils flared. That was enough.
I crossed the kitchen silently. Nadia noticed first. She looked up, beaming, like I hadn’t spent the night silently coming apart because of her. “Hey, you. I was just telling Ezra about accidentally waking you up.”
I did not smile. I didn’t look at Ezra. I looked at her. “Was he… amused?”
Ezra opened his mouth to answer. I silenced him with a look. Nothing threatening. Just a reminder that I wasn’t interested in hearing his voice. I knelt beside Nadia, forcing Ezra to shift back. I took the small, enchanted tool from her hand without asking. Examined it. Pointless contraption.
She frowned a little, noticing the tension. “Cristian, are you okay?”
Her concern softened something I didn’t want softened. “Perfectly well, sweet Nadia.”
She flushed pink. Ezra stared like he’d stumbled into a Greek tragedy.
I set the tool down with care. “Do let me know if you need assistance. Or if your companion becomes… inadequate.”
