Page 35 of Wicked Ties
“You kill me, and you’ll never know. Because I’ll never tell.” I pointed toward Tilly. “She’ll have what’s hers. There are no other options here. And I’m the only lead you’ve got.”
She lowered her weapons. “I suppose. You have two days. Then I will come looking for you and I will not be so kind.”
Kylian pressed his hand to the hole in his shoulder and blood seeped from between his fingers. “Generous, is it?”
She shrugged. “Such is the way.”
Tilly motioned between her and Nyx. “Then we have a deal?”
“We do.” Nyx let her eyes run over me from head to toe. Then she looked at Tilly.
It was the first time since I turned Tilly into a demon that she smiled at me. “Thank you.”
Nyx cleared her throat. “Just because he’s your soulmate doesn’t mean he won’t screw you over.”
Tilly’s face fell and her eyes went wide. “I’m sorry. Can you repeat that? I’m his what?”
Well, shit. That was not the way I wanted this to go. . . .
CHAPTER 15
TILLY
This was . . . this was unbelievable. There was so much I didn’t remember from before I was turned into a demon, but this . . . I shot a look at Maze. “How could you not tell me?”
Nyx chuckled and vaporized into mist, then she was gone.
Penny sighed. “The Greeks are always a problem. Are you all good?”
“Yeah, thanks, Aunt Penny.” Beckett gave her a quick hug.
She shot off the ground like a superhero and was out of sight.
I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at Maze, willing him to speak, to say something after that little soulmate time bomb.
Maze stood there, unmoving, schooling his features to a calm, impassive face. He pulled a folded-up napkin from his pocket and began to unwrap it. There, crushed and pathetic, were three small chicken wings. He pulled one out and shoved it into his mouth. “It just didn’t seem like the right time.”
Beckett shifted from one foot to the other and muttered under his breath, “Well, that’s a mistake.”
Astrid’s fist shot out and punched him in the arm. “Shut up.”
He’d lied to me, pretended to be on my side this whole time, and now we were supposed to have some kind of life-binding tie? Did that mean I was supposed to commit to him once this was all over? I didn’t even know myself, or if I wanted to. How was I supposed to commit to a liar or trust one? I thought he was on my side . . . my friend. Now, I didn’t know what his motives were or what to do. Confusion riddled my mind. Left with no spirit, it was hard to even tell how I felt. But threads of something pulled at my insides. Was this . . . disappointment? Hurt?
I didn’t know, but I also didn’t want one of the first emotions I experience to be pain. How was I supposed to trust him when he kept something so important from me?
He didn’t even think I was important enough to tell me. This secret. It was my life. My future. I deserved more than hiding things and lying.
Astrid must’ve sensed my confusion. She turned to me and threw her arm around my shoulders like a protective sister. “Do you want to leave with us?”
Maze’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped into a little O shape. Cards shot from his pocket and fluttered around him in mad disarray. He took a step toward us and held his hands out. “Stay out of this, Astrid. Tilly, talk to me.”
Astrid scoffed and tightened her grip on my shoulder. “Hoes before bros. If she wants to leave, she does.”
“Maybe they should talk.” Beckett stepped in closer to me.
“What is it with you men? Keeping this shit a secret? You know it just makes you look like an asshole in the end, right?” Astrid dropped her arm from my shoulder and put her hands on her hips.
“It’s not like I wanted to keep it a secret. It’s a lot of pressure, you know?” Beckett mirrored her stance.
