Her delicate hands opened and closed at her sides, and she shivered again. Catching me staring, she crossed her arms and jammed her hands into her sides, hunching until her shoulders were tight. At my first step toward her, she went unnaturally still.I opened my palms in a sign for peace, and she watched them, blinking.
Fuck, was she going into shock?
The attack, the reveal, watching Ez torture and mutilate the djinn…it was too much at once. I listened harder to that faint bond between us, unsure if the fear I felt was hers or mine. We still had a weak connection, but our more recent sexual contact helped it along a tiny amount. I ran a mental finger against that shimmering thread in my chest, and she snapped, bolting for the short stairs at the back door.
“Shit.”
I released my magick, directing my shadows to softly wind around her before she reached the exit. She lost it, fighting, screaming, and falling further into her fear the closer I reeled her in. As an extension of myself, I knew the shadows weren’t harming her, but nothing I said got through that shield of panic she wielded.
“Easy. I’m not going to hurt you.” I moved in front of her, blocking out everything else. She may hate me, but there was a small kernel of trust we built, and I leaned on it now. Cupping her face in my hands set her off again. “Okay, okay. Look, I won’t touch you.” I held my palms up. “See? I can’t hurt you, princess.Please.”
Her chest rose and fell under my shadows, but she finally stopped thrashing. I matched my breaths with hers, hoping to sync our breathing, and it slowly brought her down.
In. Out. In. Out.
“I don’t believe you,” she said, sounding a little more like herself.
“Bonds can’t hurt one another,” I replied. “Go ahead and try.” I met her gaze. The little wrinkles on her forehead deepened, and a bead of sweat rolled down her temple. I raised a brow. “You can’t, can you?”
“You’re using your power against me,” she accused with a frustrated growl.
“But I’m not hurting you,” I argued. “If there were any intent to do so, it wouldn't work. You can get into my mind at any time, even control my body if I choose to allow it, but that’s not what you planned, was it?” She glared. “I assumed as much.”
“You’d let me into your mind?” she asked in disbelief. “Willingly?”
“You’re welcome anytime, princess,” I purred. “But be prepared for the images you see in there.”
Her mouth opened and then closed. She hadn’t expected my honesty, but I had nothing left to hide. My shadows dissipated, leaving her confused and unbound in front of me. I gestured toward the exit.
“You’ve had a rough night, and I really don’t want you to hate me. Why don’t you get some sleep, and we can discuss…all this, later?”
Once again, I caught her off-guard. Did she expect me to throw her over my shoulder and drag her into my lair? I wasn’t ruling that option out, but this open truth we had going was the better route in the long run. Besides, I had a feeling I’d be choosing the other option eventually. This girl couldn’t stay out of trouble. Eryn took a few cautious steps, and when I didn’t try to stop her, she slammed into the door and disappeared.
“You think that was a good idea?” Ez stepped up beside me, dragging along that big vacuum I hoped he’d find.
“What do you mean?”
He sighed and hunted for an outlet. “She’s going to run.”
Oh, I counted on it. I’d been watching her this whole semester, the wards on her dorm telling me each time she stepped past their threshold. I tracked her every trip to and from the bus depot, the calculated hikes through the forest, and Iknew which cars in the student lot she’d likely hit first if she planned to hotwire one and leave that way.
There was no escape. My little bond was just going to have to get used to me being around. She ensnared me, enchanted me with her wild curls and soft mouth. I'd had a taste, and I wanted more. A lifetime more.
Eryn
No, no, no.
I flew out of that basement with the kind of speed one only accomplished in times of true fear. Literally running for my life, my worn boots ate the distance between the library and my dorm like there wasn’t nearly a mile separating them. Huntersandmy bond? How had I messed this up so badly?
Grisly images of the hunter’s contorted, frozen body mixed with the sounds of his screams courtesy of Ezra—not just your average manwhore, but my bond’s cousin. Fuck. Here I thought I was being so careful–not using my magick, laying low,finallyliving my life—and I was playing right into his hands.
“I’m such an idiot.”
The sharp turn around the back of Midnight Hall nearly wiped me out, but I skidded across the gravel and straightened in time to slam into the front doors. The night monitor at the desk stared at me through the glass in shock. I scanned my ID and made for the stairs before he could say a word. Once again, I cursed not having a room on the first floor.
Living among the humans didn’t hide me as I thought itwould. Kaiden found me easily enough, and his cousin was over here often to harass my roommate. How much of that was planned? Did Ezra even like Rani, or was he using her to keep an eye on me? My throat tightened enough to make me gasp as I thought through every interaction this semester. Kaiden knew who I was from the moment he knocked me over at the animal hospital.
He’d known as I sat there and drooled over him, and he’d known later that night at the party when he insisted on walking me home. I thought it was him being kind, but he was just trying to see where I lived.
