Saphire: Blood Huntress의 모든 챕터: 챕터 11 - 챕터 20

As I stood there with Mara pinned to the tree I was trying to wrap my head around everything she had told me. Someone on the inside, someone close and someone is feeding them information. I didn’t lower my knife because trusting the wrong person right now would get me killed. “You’re going to start making sense or you’re going to start bleeding.” I said keeping my voice even and not letting her think that she had gotten to me. Mara didn’t flinch and her eyes stayed locked on mine. “I already told you what matters. The rest is just details you’re not going to like.” She said. “I don’t like anything about this.” I said. “Good. Then you’re paying attention.” She said. Something moved behind me. Faint and controlled. My body reacted before I had a chance to think about it and I angled myself without giving up my position and my knife stayed in place while my focus split. Footsteps that were slow and measured. They were controlled and I knew almost instantly who it was. Dante. I

We didn’t waste time after the agreement settled and the forest closed in while the air carried a faint trace of rot. Mara led us off the main path with quiet confidence. “Three, maybe four. They are staying tight which means they are guarding something or waiting.” Mara said quietly. “Or testing the area.” Dante said keeping beside me. “They already tested. This is something else.” I said adjusting my grip on my knife. We got to a rise in the forest and Mara crouched so I stepped beside her and followed her gaze to see what she was looking at. They were there. Three vampires stood in a clearing and their posture stayed controlled while one knelt near something I couldn’t see. The others watched the treeline like they expected movement. “They aren’t wandering.” Dante said. “No. They’re waiting.” i said. “For what?” He asked. “For me.” I said. “Quick and clean.” Mara said. “That worlds.” I said and I tracked their movements. “You have a plan.” Dante said looking at me. “I

When the space between us finally broke and it wasn’t slow or careful. It snapped tight and pulled us the rest of the way together. Hisw mouth hit mine like neither of us had any intention of stopping it before it started. There was nothing soft about it. No hesitate and no control. Just heat and pressure and everything that had been building up crashed forward all at once. I should have stopped it but I didn’t. My hand came up without thinking and caught his shirt. I pulled him closer instead of pushing him away. The bond surged harder like it had been waiting for this exact moment. His hand found my jaw and held it there. His grip was firm and steady and not asking for permission and I felt that all the way through me. It was too much, too fast and too read. But I still didn’t stop. The kiss deepened any turned rougher. It wasn’t careful and it wasn’t controlled. It felt like a fight as much as anything else and neither of us back down from it. My breath hitched and he did too

SAPHIRE POVI knew I was being followed before I even left the cabin. It wasn’t loud or obvious but it sat under my skin the same way a storm sat in the air before it broke. I moved around the cabin like I had not noticed while every instinct I had locked onto the trees outside. I washed my hands in the sink and checked the bandage along my ribs.I forced down a peice of toast and then moved to the table where I checked my knives and sharpened the ones that were getting too dull. I looked through the window without looking like I was looking. The trees stood still beyond the cabin and the morning light made the clearing look softer than it actually was. That was fine. Soft things hid their teeth all the time. I grabbed my jacket and stepped outside. I locked the door behind me like it was any other morning and I started walking toward the narrow path that ran behind the cabin. The person watching me moved as well. Not close or careless, but I knew they were there. I kept my pace

The forest stayed quiet after Elias disappeared. The silence that followed felt heavier than the fight itself. I stood there with blood still drying on my skin while my ribs screamed with every breath and the echo of his words refused to settle. Dante didn’t move right away and when he finally did his pacing was sharp and controlled in a way that told me he was holding something back. That something wasn’t small. “He was testing us.” Dante said as his voice carried anger under it that he was not trying to hide. “I noticed.” I said and I kept my eyes on the treeline in case Elias came back out.“This is escalating. This is not random anymore.” Dante said. “It was never random.” I said. “That doesn’t change what it is becoming.” He shot back. I finally looked at him and the tension between us snapped back into place instantly. It was worse now because it was layered over everything else. “You think I don’t see that.” I said. “I think you’re still acting like you can handle it al