My nose wrinkled, both because I believed him, and because that was a whole lot of not my problem.
“My name is Solomon, by the way,” he added.
Solomon. Ronan. Seth.All I had left was the clown.
“We don’t often tell the brides our names.” He positioned himself over me, obstructing my view of the sky and looking down at me.
Silver hair fell around us like a waterfall, and the near perfect black of his eyes caused my stomach to twist. They weren’t human, not entirely, which made Solomon feel somewhat uncanny.
“Then why did you tell me?” I whispered.
“I told you, Little Light, Iwantyou to bedifferent.” He smiled as though the idea of that hurt him.
Or, maybe, that’s not what caused him agony at all. Perhaps it was the knowledge that, deep down, he knew I wouldn’t be different. I had no reason to be. Still, seeing Solomon’s softer side did dull the hatred I harbored for these men. Maybe, they weren’t always like this. But, now they were, and that’s all that mattered.
He leaned in slowly before pressing his lips to mine and planting his hands on my shoulders. As he deepened the kiss, his nails bit into my skin. I let out a small hiss and shifted.
“You’re hurting me,” I explained, not pulling away.
Solomon stilled, but he didn’t let go. And, something in my chest told me he wasn’t just deep in thought. Instincts caused me to pull away, but, just as I’d partially broken free, Solomon reclaimed me. Worse than that, he used all his strength to shove me under the water.
I screamed beneath the surface, kicking and screaming as I clawed at his wrist, trying to do anything in my power to free myself. But it was no use, he didn’t budge. My thrashing kicked up silt, turning the already murky water down right muddy, making it impossible to see. Earth and water filled my open mouth, and my lungsburned. My chest convulsed, constricting tight enough to crack my ribs,beggingme to just take a breath.
And Iwantedto, I really did. But there was no air down here, no matter how desperately I needed it. Darkness crept into the corners of my vision like TV static blurring an old show. My lips parted, allowing what remained of my air to leak out in small bubbles and my body jerked one final time before going still. The type of stillness I couldn’t fight. The kind of stillness that wasfinal. And, just as my body started to go numb, he let go.
My fight-or-flight reaction kicked in, propelling me to the surface though I’d already considered myself dead. Muddy water exited my lips in a vomit like stream as I clawed at the bank, caking mud under my nails as I successfully pulled myself out. My knees were weak, and I found myself unable to stand, but IknewI needed to get the fuck away from here.
“Lux, I’m sorry,” Solomon’s voice was barely audible over the pounding of blood in my ears. “I-I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to–”
He put his hand on me.
Panic speared through me. Solomon was going to try to drown me again, and this time, he’d succeed.
I kicked his hand away and scrambled back, patting the ground until I found the strap of my bag. My fingers wound in the canvas material and I heaved it onto my shoulder before bracing myself to run despite the fact I had absolutely no fight left to give, and then I noticed it.
A large stone within reach. Without thinking, I hauled it out of the earth. Worms writhed in the mud, likely cursing me for unearthing them, but I didn’t care. I needed this more than they did.
“Lux, I need you to listen, I didn’t mean–”
Solomon’s pleas were silenced as the rock connected with his temple. I looked back just long enough to see him fall into the creek and silently prayed the watery grave would claim him just as it almost hadme.
I didn’t stick around to see if he got back up, instead I forced myself up despite the protests of my naked body, and Iran.
My lungs were raw from drowning, and my muscles ached from everything else, but Ihadto keep going. Stray branches bit into my skin, causing slight scratches that stung every time the water from my dripping body slid into them.
All I wanted to do wasstop, but I knew in my soul that would be a death sentence.
That feeling only worsened when the silence of night was broken by voices.
“Come back here, slut, I’m ready for round two.” Ronan cackled, heavy steps echoing just behind mine.
My heart slammed against my ribs, causing me to run faster.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Small sticks stabbed into my feet as the manor came into view. My stomach bottomed out, as that was thelastplace I wantedto be, but I didn’t have the time to change direction, not with Ronan hot on my tail.
“You can run, but you can’t hide! I can smell your scent for miles!” he promised.
