One Insatiable(61)

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Mercy


Hayden has invited me to go for a walk with him. We’re out of the castle on a wide path strolling through a forest of black, grey, and sepia. Somewhere far above my head, I hear the rushing of water.

Beside me, he’s in his black armor. The cape is back as is the crown. I’m wearing a different chiffon dress, spring green this time. It’s long and flowing to compliment his attire. My hair hangs in dark tendrils down my back.

“You’re so beautiful.” He cocks his head to the side with a smile. “We go so well together here.”

“I would never wear something like this.” How easily I slip back into fighting him.

“You’re also not wearing your crown.” The slightest hint of disappointment is in his voice.

I confess, I wondered if my feelings for him would change when I was in his world. If seeing him as a ruler would make him annoy me less. I wondered if I might gradually fall for his attractive face and elegant manner.

Not happening.

“Tell me about my aunts,” I say instead. “The others you took.”

A grin touches his lips. “Haven’t we had this conversation before?”

“Yes, but now that I’m here, I’m want more details. How they lived with you, what they did.”

My statement seems to please him. “Which one are you interested in?”

“Both of them. Start at the beginning.” Pushing my hair back, I count on my fingers. “I’m number three, which means two went before me. Cora was first?”

A slow inhale, and he nods. “Cora was my favorite so far, although I’ve told you that already.”

“She wanted to be here with you. She fell in love with you.”

“Yes,” he sighs, and I glance up at him. His head is bowed, and true grief flickers in his eyes before disappearing. “When she first arrived, she wasn’t happy with the arrangement. However, it only took a week before she changed her mind.”

“A week?” I find that hard to believe. “Had you already been visiting her like you did with me?”

“We had no Thursday night dinners, if that’s what you mean.”

“Still, you built the house for her.” I’m thinking back to what Koa told me. “Why did you do it?”

“The house wasn’t for her. She was worried about leaving her family.”

“You didn’t care about them?”

“I only cared for her happiness.” He stops and looks away from me. “It was her father who killed my wife. I would never forgive him for it.”

“But you built a mansion for him to live in. A luxurious, palatial mansion.”

“I built it for her.” His tone is sharp, as if he’s becoming agitated. “She wouldn’t be happy unless she knew they were safe and cared for. Your family had nothing, still has nothing, but you can thank Cora for that house and the servants and the cars and whatever the hell else they wanted.”

Thank you, Cora, I say internally, not that I wanted any of it. “Why do you say they? I lived there, too.”

“I wanted you to have those things.” The warmth in his voice unsettles me.

“You never answered my question,” I resume walking. “If there were no Thursday night dinners, how did you see her before?”

“We would meet in the woods.”

I look around these frozen, grey woods. Twisted tree limbs look like dragon’s heads, and damp lizards peer down at us through dark green ivy. “You met in the woods on Earth, and she was happy with this?”

“She liked the lake. She liked… being with me.”

My voice is quiet when I ask. “How long were you together?”

Another deep breath. “You do have the most inquisitive mind.” He’s irritated, and I wonder why. “We don’t mark time here the way you do above. Still, I suppose if we did, she would have been with me what you call one hundred years.”

My eyes blink wide. “That’s a very long time.”

“We were very happy.”

Guilt isn’t the correct term for how I feel for Hayden in this moment. It’s more empathy. I know the pain of missing a loved one. My body aches with longing for Koa. I see his green eyes in my sleep, and I dream of his strong arms holding me close, carrying me out of this place.

All at once, my memories are split by a terrifying snarl. Out of nowhere the heart-stopping noise of a roaring growl rips through the silent woods.

“Hayden!” I scream, but it all happens so fast.

A horrible, three-headed beast with blazing red eyes races out of the gloom. I run to a tree. It’s nearly on me, and the noise of teeth champing is right behind me.

“NO!” I scream again, bracing for the ripping pain of a bite. I’m close to shifting as I push my feet against the tree trunk, climbing fast. More growls and snapping. It’s my worst nightmare — a pack of wild dogs.

Grasping at a limb, I don’t care what I might touch. I have to get higher. The thing’s breath is at my heels, and I hear the loud scratch of its huge claws as it tries to climb after me.

Through the din, Hayden’s voice is a sharp command. “Cerberus, HEEL!”

At once the violence stops. My entire body is shaking. I still hear heavy breathing and low rumbles of the monster’s growls as it exhales, but I’m high in the black tree looking down on the gruesome, three-headed dog.