Page 18 of Let Me Win You

“What… What the fuck…How it’s even possible?” I gripped my throat. “What are you doing?”

My mind reeled. I felt like a pebble tossed into a creek and pushed around by the current with no direction. Nothing made sense, and I lacked the frame of reference to even attempt to organize it into any resemblance of sense or logic.

His massive glow-stick dropped down, and Invi’s expression dimmed.

“Is it not what you want? Because I can adjust it?—”

“I don't want you to adjust it,” I screeched, shoving back the chair again and jumping to my feet. “I don’t want any of this…whateverthisis?” I waved my hand around me. “I need to go home. Just take me back where you took me from. Please…” I sniffled as stress and panic were about to give way to tears.

“Aww, you poor thing.” Kindness hugged my shoulders. “Look what you’re doing to her, Invi. You should be ashamed of yourself. She’s shaking.”

“She’s having a nervous breakdown,” Pandora stated coolly. “That’s the problem with having nerves. They are an extremely fragile feature of a mortal body.”

Charity rose from her seat with a defiant expression. “We can’t let him drag her back to his swamp.”

“You can stay here with me,” Kindness offered. “I always have room for a lost soul.”

“No!” Invi’s shape flashed with red. “Nic is mine. You can’t have her.”

“Just because you stole her, doesn’t make her yours,” Charity snapped. “Even Avar was able to grasp that by returning quite a few of the things he’s stolen.”

“I don’t care what Avar does.” Invi raged. “Nicole is mine!”

Bright red streaks crisscrossed the serene green of his shape. Enraged, he clearly forgot to look like the Invi from last night. He grew in size. His shoulders widened. Long spirals of horns sprouted from his head. The outline of his legs wavered, and I didn’t wait for them to turn back into the tail.

“I’m not yours!” I screamed, backing away from him. “You don’t own me.”

“Nicole, sweetheart…” He moved after me, tripping over his feet that seemed to want to merge into the tail.

“Stay away from me!” I shrieked, thrusting both hands forward, as if I could physically stop him.

“You’re terrifying her, Invi.” Kindness hugged me tighter. “Come inside, honey.” She led me toward the door to the teahouse.

“Nic, no, don’t leave!” Invi surged forward—slithering, no longer walking.

“Oh my God…” I whimpered, stumbling for the door.

“She doesn’t want you to follow her.” Charity stood in his path to me. “Stay back. Mother? What are you waiting for? Put on the wards. Now!”

“Come, come, quickly,” Kindness ushered me inside and closed the door behind us.

“Nic!” Invi raged behind the door, disturbing the stillness of the quaint house that reigned inside the walls with flowery wallpaper.

Scents of baking filled the front sitting room that had frilly curtains on the windows and white doilies on the high-backed armchairs.

“He can’t come in here.” Kindness released me from her arms. “Here, you will be safe.”

6

Nicole

“Here you go.” Kindness led me into a cute little bedroom upstairs with a four-poster bed under a lace coverlet. “I hope you’ll like it here.”

“But I can’t stay.” I gripped the doorframe. “I need to go back. I have a very, very important day today. I need to go home.”

“Oh…” Kindness straightened a ruffle on the coverlet. “That is unfortunate, isn’t it? I really don’t know what to do in your case.”

“Can you take me back?” I asked, hopefully.

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