Page 12 of Devoured

“Have you lost your fucking mind?” He slams a door closed behind him, trapping us in an enclosed space. I notice the antechamber stairwell below me. Wrought iron laced with glittering moonstones. There are no candles in here. No light in the black. “You almost just killed Evie.”

I cross my arms, my face stiff as I frown. Undoubtedly from the blood staining my cheek. “She almost killed me first.”

He stares at me. Speechless.

“I’m not going to die here, Calix.”

“I didn’t ask you to—”

Running a hand through my hair, I feel for the pulsating bruises along my scalp. I’m lucky Evie didn’t rip my hair out. “You think the way to handle this new court is to argue over breakfast? You think Cora and her wolves will be convinced by her righteous nephew offering unsolicited advice or, worse, criticism?” I scoff, glaring at his chest. Not daring to look back at his face. His body tenses. His fists tighten at his sides. “I’m not going to die here, Calix, and I’m not going to be harassed. I will not be afraid anymore. Especially not of Evie. She’s the one who needs to receive one of your damned lectures.”

“I’m looking out for you, Hart. When are you going to understand that? Everything I’ve done has been—”

A laugh slips from my lips. “Do not say for good.”

“And what if I do?”

“Then you’re no different from anyone else.” From Sin, I think vehemently. From Cora.

He shakes his head. “Do you want to fight? Is that what this is?”

I glance up, just enough to spot the outrage on his face. “Excuse me?”

He braces a hand against the door, daring to lean a step closer to me. Crowding me. “If you want a fight, I’m right here. Don’t risk your life over a tantrum.”

I shove him away. The barest touch that feels as if I’ve just stuck my hands on a hot stove. He moves, but only because he chooses to. Sliding away from the door, he inclines his head.

“I don’t want to fight you, Calix. And I don’t want to talk to you.”

“So you’ve said.”

“And I’ll keep saying it. I don’t need you to—to play hero and rescue me. I’m not a victim anymore.”

His eyes flash. Darken. “No?”

I meet that gaze. Hold it, even as it sickens me. “No. I watched my best friend die in my arms”—he frowns—“and I watched my next best friend torn apart in a massacre. I’ve seen enough death to learn better. To know better.”

He pauses for a moment. Then—“You’re still engaged to Sinclair.” His brows furrow.

He’s trying to connect the dots, I realize. He sees the puzzle I’ve laid out for him, but he’s missing the most important piece. If I’ve learned better, why would I still trust Sin? Or, perhaps, if I’ve learned better, why would I still trust Sin and not him?

I can’t answer that. Not without exposing the truth. So I shrug instead. “I love Sinclair. In a few months, he’ll be my mate, and we’ll live happily ever after.”

“He betrayed us, Vanessa.”

I shiver at the defeated plea in his voice. At the sound of his heart cracking open between us. Part of me wants to confess everything, but I can’t. Because Calix betrayed me too. “He did what he thought was right,” I say instead.

Those bloodred eyes flash, just the way I knew they would. “That’s horseshit.”

I lick my lips, and then I say the one thing I know will hurt Calix the most. “He was just following orders. You know something about that, don’t you?”

Calix rears back. “They… they died, Vanessa. Everyone. Even my—my mother. And now, I…” He doesn’t finish the thought, and I can’t imagine what he’s thinking. How he’s feeling after the mother he thought was his own finally returned—only she didn’t return for him—and the mother who never wanted him, the mother he’d always thought was his aunt until that very moment, died before his eyes.

He must be broken.

As broken as I am.

“Sucks, doesn’t it?” I say flatly. And before Calix can respond, I climb down the stairs, taking them two by two. Leaving him completely and utterly alone.