Page 136 of A Requiem of Fire and Ice

“Ready,” I say, and when I say it, I peel the layer of adoration away until I stare at the enemy that’s hunted me for nearly a month.

We circle each other, but I make the first move. I duck underneath his arm, grip his hand, press my hip into the side of his waist and flip him over until he slams into the ground with a resounding, shuddering thud. I then land atop him and reach for his throat again when his leg kicks up, twists around mine, and with force, he flips me over until he’s on top of me.

Before he straddles me, my knee rises and slams between his legs. Reen grits his teeth but persists, places his hands around my wrist, and pins me down on the ground.

I wiggle underneath him until his hand moves to my neck. I suck in a breath when his long fingers move around my throat, but he doesn’t tighten his grip. With that said, my body slackens and hitches a breath at the thought that I could kill the infamous Prince Reen. Not now…not after everything that’s happened between us. It’s a sick and twisted love story…one with a bitter ending because no matter what, Reen can’t change his course of who he is and what King Ragan shaped him to become.

“Do it,” I say.

His hand slackens around my throat, and he hisses, “Fuck me, Pandora.”

My eyes widen. “Right here?”

He throws me a dagger look as he rises off me. “Your vulgarity has no bounds. Get up, we’re going again.”

“How many handicaps are you going to give me?” I say as I rise. “You could have killed me. What’s your game?”

“I want you to fight for your fucking freedom, not roll over and die,” he says, flames licking up his shoulders. “Fight for your freedom. Like Desmond always wanted from you.”

My breath hitches, and my heart tightens, but his words give me resolve.

“Okay, Reen. I won’t hold back this time. I will show you what a Hart is really made of.”

I move my hands over my eyes and peel off the layer I haven’t taken off for a while. Watery vision blurs my eyes until I blink rapidly. With every blink, Reen’s face comes into focus, and when it does, the heat inevitably penetrates my core until I’m crying out in agony.

Chapter 58

This Is Awkward: Reen Kyong, August 4th

I sigh, and through my sigh, the word “Fuck me” breathes out of my mouth when I look at the mark. The ugly fucking burning “eight” symbol on my wrist tells me my life is not mine but of another.

In the corner of my vision, Pandora stands, bewildered, with wide eyes, brows shooting to her hairline, gazing at the mark tethering us together. We were brawling it out a moment ago. Blood and swelling bruises sink into us, showing us how truly violent we can be in each other’s presence.

And now we’re fucking tethered.

I turn to her, wondering what to do. I’ve wanted her dead. Even through the ache of having her around, I imagined my hands around her throat and snapping it. Now we are marked, and I don’t want to fucking die.

Fuck.

Folding my arms across my chest, my finger taps my arm as I try to figure out what I will do with her. However, I’m also not the only one with my gears turning. Pandora brushes herself off, raises her hand, salutes me, and then just fucking turns away as if she’s leaving.

“What the fuck are you doing?” I say through clenched teeth.

“Oh…we’re tethered, so…”

“Yes?”

She shrugs. “You can’t kill me. Therefore, I am just going to do my thing now. You are more than welcome to come, but I know you’ve got a lot of things going on at the Kingdom of Flesh and⁠—”

A dark, acidic laugh seethes out of my mouth. “We are tethered, yes,” I say, taking a step toward her. “But that only means my life is now on the line regarding your carelessness. To avoid being killed, I must lock you up.”

“What?”

I take another step toward her. “Yes.”

Pandora turns away from me, running toward the exit. With a sigh, I kick my boot off, tap my foot into the ground, and then, before overthinking, slam my toes into the hard ground. Pandora cries out, vulgar and swearing, as she falls to her knees. Her hands cradle her foot, where I had slammed mine, and she rocks back and forth in pain.

“You see, Little Creature,” I say as I stand over her. “My pain is your pain.”