This is all too suspicious...
The breeze catches his damp, shaggy hair, and he gives me a side glance.
“In three years, you never said a fucking word to me. You never gave me the chance to be nice to you.” He shrugs slightly, his shirt skimming my arm. “I just assumed you thought you were too good for us.”
My brows rise high, and I think about every single time I ignored them. Every single time I closed myself away because it was easier. Every single time I shut them out.
“You thought I was mute,” I point out.
“Eh, did I? Or did I just play along with the ruse?” The corner of his lips quirks up.
“So, I’m not a snob, and you’re not an asshole.” My boots kick lazily against the side of the palace as I look out at the little glistening lights of the city.
His smile grows.
“No, I’m definitely an asshole.”
Again, that irrational fluttering consumes my stomach.
“I’m just fine, thanks for asking.” Cameron’s one-sided banter goes unnoticed, but I still listen intently for her shuffling as she tests our bond once again.
“Would you really risk your life to stop your father from having this book?” Nollix shifts closer to me, his body warming mine where our shoulders touch. My arm moves casually against his slick skin.
Yes, I would.My life was gone a long time ago. I can’t stand the idea of him taking other people’s lives just like he took mine.
“I’m going to at least try.” A breath shakes through my lungs. “You guys don’t have to do this with me.”
“That’s sweet, but I actually do,” Cameron says in the background.
“Goddess, does she ever shut up?” Nollix’s hooded eyes hold mine before drifting down to my lips, making it hard to think or speak or even breathe. “We’re family. Where you go, we go.”
Family.
The rain makes our arms glide against each other with every slight move, and I can’t pull my gaze away from the serious look in his eyes.
Only raindrops separate his lips from mine. Reckless energy swarms between us, pushing against my chest. I lean into the feel of it. We’re so close, his breath warms my tongue.
He tilts his head, angling my mouth perfectly over his. Not touching me but almost. My breath catches as my eyes start to flutter closed.
“You guys can still hear me, right? I’m still here, guys.”
Nollix’s eyes close slowly as he exhales a breath of annoyance before turning away from me. He shoves off from his spot, standing along the edge before striding away.
A tense breath leaves my lungs as I let my head tip back, the rain cleansing my messy mind of the strange feelings in my chest.
“Really, though, you can still see me, right?”
Cockblock; that’s the word that’s filling my mind right now.
Just like Nollix, I push off from my spot along the edge of the roof and attempt to put some space between me and... everyone else.
It’s for the best, I remind myself. Nothing good could come from some fling between me and either of the men in the Wild Hunt.
The gates close with the shaking sound of metal against metal, and the five of us are dust in the breeze before the lock’s even turned. I move slower behind the others with Cameron weighing me down, but I’m careful not to release her. My magic wraps her body so tightly it consumes her until she, too, is swirling dark particles.
We slip into the castle between a loose brick in the foundation, pouring out into the second-floor hall like sand in an hourglass.
Jeriko is the first to stand; she always is.
