Page 131 of A Requiem of Fire and Ice

Butterfly Effect

Chapter 52 (Standalone ending)

The Hunt.

Pandora, you can leave. I will give you a month to hide, but when that month is up, I will hunt you. If I find you, I won’t hesitate this time. It’s in my nature.

Chapter 55 (Continuation onto book two)

Fight for your freedom.

I will be waiting. You know where to find me.

Chapter 55

First Choice: The Hunt

Seasons [Rival & Cadmium feat. Harley Bird]

Reen Kyong, September 4th

“Prince Reen, I cannot condone this behaviour!” Alad shouts. It’s the first.

I turn to him, fold my arms across my chest and say, “Walkyer already gave his pardon.”

“Because you didn’t tell him everything!”

I arch my brow. “And? You know as well as I do, Walkyer wouldn’t agree to the terms if he knew my resolve. And you promised to keep it to yourself until this game between Pandora and me is settled.”

His nostrils flare. “Please. Reconsider this, Prince Reen.”

I tap my finger across my arm and grimace. “The first week after knowing her decision to leave, it excited me. I couldn’t wait to hunt her again. It wasn’t until more time passed that I started wishing she were here, next to me, kissing me, fucking me.”

Alad glares at me. “But it’s not enough.”

I strain a smile. “Through it all, there’s an itch I cannot get rid of, and it burns brightly through me. We do this before it gets too much to contain, and then I do something I truly regret.”

Ri comes down the stairs with a small satchel. She hands them to me and says, “Here. Like you ordered.”

“Good.” I turn away from them. “Alad, let’s go. We have places to go before she flees.”

Alad sighs. “I doubt she will. Like your mind is set, it seems Pandora has come to terms with her. She hasn’t moved from the Fountain of Silver in weeks.”

It seems we have all given up on life. Those few months together burned as brightly as a supernova, and now we have realised we’re lost, lonely, and devoid of life without one another.

Now, it’s less of a hunt and more of finding Pandora Hart. It won’t be long until I have my hands around her, touching her for the first time in a month.

* * *

The wind blows, and it bites across my arms. A chill that is hard to shake, and the air is too thin to swallow. Everything heightens. Silver light from the moon shines on the door that’s left unlocked for a reason. Stars rain down like hellfire, streaking, bleeding…fading. Music thumping loud, burning memories of when Pandora and I danced appear, making it harder to keep a level head.

She sits on the bed, facing the door, expecting me when I open it. A warm smile reaches her eyes, but the warmth of tears slips down her cheeks. The hunted gave up, and like the little creature I have gotten to know, she’s waiting for the hunter instead.

I close the door on Alad and lean against it. “Evening, Pandora.”

Her hands tighten on her knees, and when she opens her mouth, it’s a struggle to speak without her voice breaking. “Prince Reen.”

I breathe a laugh. At a time like this, she wants to use formalities.