Sinclair returns in the next minute, slamming the door hard and walking over the grab me. "You say one more fucked up line about Dane and I will throw you off a cliff." "Just try," I retort, glaring back at him. His gaze flickers to mine briefly, a mixture of exasperation and something deeper in his eyes. "You vex me, Ginevra." "Likewise," I tell him as he cradles me with one arm, pulling open the car door. Begrudgingly, I mutter, "Thank you." His only response is a low growl in his throat, a sound that sends shivers down my spine. He lowers me gently into the backseat, and my fingers brush against his coat on the hangar. "Ms. Williams?" Sinclair inquires once he's settled in the driver's seat, and I gaze at the back of his head while tugging on his coat. "No," I reply, unwilling to go to Ray's just yet. Another day at Sinclair's might provide a chance to sort things out between us, to mend whatever bad air this is. I should like to try. I had bu
I pour in the mixed oils while I run the bath. The scent of lavender fills the bathroom and it's calming, relieving. Setting the bottles aside, I dip a toe into the bath, the water's warmth embracing me as I sink in. There's a soft, contented purr from deep within me, as I submerge myself, holding my breath for a brief moment. When I resurface, my head leans against the lip of the tub, eyes closed, and I exhale slowly, feeling my muscles yield to the soothing bath. I'll need to converse with Sinclair. Talk to him about Eliana and what comes next in this...engagement. Converse about...getting married. Sure, no one's ever really ready to tie the knot, but this? This feels too soon. Sinclair seems back to his usual self, and that's a relief, but it only confuses me further. Did he propose because he genuinely wanted to? Does he truly want to make me his wife? He'd said he would never hurt me. Has acted in accordance to his words and promises to me. So...is
Frightened, yet alive. And he hasn't even touched me yet. Sex hasn't been an enticing word for me in a damn long time. With Rune, and then...Alaric. The first had been an experience I had initiated, created. The second had been forced on me.That isn't why I'm frightened though. I know Sinclair would never hurt me. It is what comes after sex with Sinclair that frightens me. Will he stop being obsessed with me? Will he dump me and move on to the next?I hate that I doubt everything. That I second guess everything. But then, I've been through enough to give my trust freely to anyone. I've been through enough to really let myself believe that I could have a happy ending.It seems far-fetched. One good thing happens, it gets overshadowed by a ton of bad things. Damn, my life is full of so much drama, I can barely catch a break. I try to tell my story, but it would seem the one with the pen doesn't like me much. "Come," Sinclair orders, turning away from me. "Sit."And I
Sinclair's deep breath tickles my hair as he sleeps. I twist in his arms to look watch him. He looks rather peaceful when he sleeps. His full brows aren't knotted together or furrowed and his lips are parted slightly.His hair is tousled, both from my fingers and sleep. I smile and tap his nose, snickering to myself.Think I might have tired him out, if such a thing is possible. He's drifted in and out of sleep for the past two hours, awakening only to draw me close once more.Much later, after his ministrations, he brought dinner. He devoured it eagerly, while I nibbled, my belly feeling filled with things that weren't food.It had been surprising to see push the plates aside and fall asleep within seconds of eating. So yes, perhaps, I wore him out.I start to rise out of bed when his arm tightens around me. "Where are you going?" he murmurs sleepily, his words a soft slur."Kitchen. I'm thirsty," I practically croak. My voice is like granite, and my throat hurts.We had tried other
"Yeah," Eliana quips, leaning her head against the glass tiredly. "I got her. I'm fine." Elijah's voice comes in through the receiver and close my eyes, listening in on their conversation. There's not much else I can do. I can't move, and it's a small mercy that I keep drifting in and out of what feels like a coma. I can at least take note of the landmarks. I can't hear a sound from my phone that sits in my pocket still. What if Ray's hung up? My location is turned on, so I'm not worried that I won't be found. It's a matter of when, because we've been on the road for hours. *"I told you I would handle it,"* Elijah chides, and I hear the worry in his voice. *"This is no child's play, Ellie."* "So you have said for weeks and you did nothing. You don't want me marrying Sinclair, and that's why you refused to kill her, so she could take his love and attention from me. I'm not stupid, father. I know how your mind works. Unfortunately," Eliana mutt
Gin "You're wasting your time," I mutter, tired of the amount of needles being poked into my numb forearms. Seeing my blood being drawn again and again is starting to irk the shit out of me. "I'm surprised Alaric didn't already show you how to properly turn someone." Eliana taps the railing by the bed I've been strapped to. "And you're willing to share this with me?" I shrug. "Sinclair's going to kill you anyway. It will be knowledge wasted on you." Irritation flashes in her eyes, but she responds rather calmly. "You're delusional," the crazy woman tells me. How ironic. "You're the other woman. Sinclair and I, we have these sort of fights. He'll come around when you're gone." She says it so softly and intently that my skin goes cold. The ease with which she speaks of death is scary, for a human. Even I try not to speak or think often of the lives I have taken. It might have been a fight for my life, but killing another is nothing to tak
Astrid"No, no and no."I can't believe we're having this conversation. It's bonkers, or whatever humans say. "There shouldn't even be a duel. He's her mate for crying out loud. He has no right over her."Rune sighs, fingers twining my hair to calm me. Queen Zephyr...well, she says nothing, staring out the window like the matter is of little consequence to her.But then, she has been like this since my father-in-law's secret came to light. Closed, distant, quiet. The only time she ever smiles anymore is when she is with Ember. She doesn't even talk to her mate. She stopped sharing his bed that day.For the revelries and the hearings, they act as one, but Rune and I, we see it all. We hear it as well. The arguments, her cries and shouts. She is hurt. Deeply.The time frame dates back to way before she became King Fenrir's Erasthai, so I know that it is not the fact he had a child somewhere else that hurt her, but the fact that he could abandon him, and hide it from her. It ta
ZephyrNails dig into wet soil, uprooting plants and flowers. Flowers I planted over the years, tending to them like they were the children I couldn't have after Rune.I look at my fingers. There's dirt in my nails and mud coating my palms. My nose scrunches up. How unbecoming of a queen.Unbecoming? The thought rips laughter from my throat. Before Fenrir, I was the carefree daughter of a Lord. I would roil in dirt for days, doing nothing but gardening.I had siblings but I wasn't like them. I was kind and naive, looking at life as nothing weighty or serious.Fenrir, he taught me how to be queen, even before my coronation. We would spend days and nights, past the curfew, reading scroll after scroll. He would watch me with keen eyes as I read and practiced for the duties and responsibilities that came with being his wife.And when I dozed off on the library's table, he would wake me with soft kisses on my neck. I would wake up with a hunger I didn't understand, and I would want