Page 20 of Midnight Auto Parts

“Furious.”

A cautious note entered his voice. “Why?”

Because your god is a monster. Because he doesn’t deserve you. Because he’s twisting you to his whims.

Judging Kierce, how he got into this situation or why he hadn’t gotten out of it, was unfair. It wouldn’t fix anything. Only a better understanding of him and his circumstances would do that. I wasn’t sure why the edge of my temper cut toward him anyway. This—all of this—was Dis Pater’s fault. Not Kierce’s.

“It came on me so fast.” I held out my hands, and they trembled. “I’ll be fine in a minute.”

Fear I would have to lean into his quick fix for the spirits if I roused them made itslightlyeasier to calm.

“You always do that.” He circled my wrists with his fingers. “You brush off any concern for yourself.”

“Habit,” I muttered, knowing he was right but still unwilling to explain the root of my temper.

“You were remade. Some might say reborn. You’re new. You should have broken. Transformationwouldhave broken anyone else.” He turned over my palms. “But your will is so strong, the urge to protect the ones you love so engrained in you, you’ve cut yourself off from your potential to protect them.”

From the gentling in his tone, I didn’t have to glance up to be wary. “Where are you going with this?”

Thumbs tracing patterns on my skin, he sounded torn between sharing or withholding. “I have a theory.”

“Hit me.” I squared my shoulders. “I can take it.”

“I suspect it ties into your difficulty in looking at me without a filter.”

“You’re gorgeous and celestial and…everything…all at once.” I started fidgeting. “Who could blame me?”

“You’re all those things and more.” His earnestness almost convinced me. “So much more.”

“Agree to disagree.” Once I started fidgeting, I couldn’t hold still. “Your theory?”

“You have a skewed perception of yourself. You don’t see yourself as I do, as everyone else does. You—” he shook his head as if struggling to find the words, “—don’t believe you’re worthy.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “Of me.” He barely got out that last part. “You wish to appear as an equal in my eyes to bridge a gap you imagine exists between us.”

“I’m a peacock is what you’re saying.” I hid behind my palms. “I’m shaking my tail feathers at you.”

Males of the species were showstoppers, so asking Kierce to wear glamour, dulling himself, was the only way for me to be the flashier one.

Basically, I was jumping up and down while yellingpick me, pick meat the top of my lungs.

“Frankie.” He dragged my arms away from my face. “It’s just a theory.”

“No. You might be onto something. I wouldn’t want to run away and never look back otherwise.”

“A mirror can’t show your worth.” He tugged me closer. “A mirror can’t reflect your heart. A mirror can’t reveal your soul. You’re so much more than a trick of silver under glass.” He searched my face. “Your worth is so much greater than mine. I’m the one who falls short. Not you. Never you.”

“You’re worth more than your looks too. You’re a good man, Kierce. A kind man.”

“And, as Josie frequently reminds me, a weirdo.”

“That might be your best quality.” I pressed my face into his chest. “I like being with a fellow weirdo.”

“Then let’s be weirdos together.”

“Why are you two always making heart eyes at one another?”

The sound of Matty’s voice whipped my head toward him. “We’re not.”

“Josie has made me watch enough anime for me to recognize heart eyes when I see them.”

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