Page 41 of Tempt

Why did he jump in front of Wonder when Harmony took that shot? Why did Malice throw himself into that arrow’s path, and for someone he despises?

Processing the question, he gets cocky. “I just wanted to annoy our visitor.”

She hadn’t told him it was her Guide, which is illogical. But at the time, she’d needed to come to grips with the discovery first. Soon enough, she’ll let him know.

“Thank you…for annoying her,” Wonder concedes.

“I don’t usually hear that,” Malice remarks.

“Your name said without rancor?”

“No,” he responds, “I don’t usually hear,Thank you.”

“Forgive my pretention, but gratitude is earned. It requires doing selfless things for other people. You could try filling that quota more often.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

Wonder shakes her head as he disappears into his room. In her own sanctuary, she changes into a camisole and pants that cinch at the ankles, the satin caressing her flesh.

She sinks into the down, replaying the day’s pleasantries. The vision of them exploring the Hollow Chamber flits through her mind, his wisecracks making her chuckle aloud until the evening blurs into nothingness.

And then the world explodes back to life. A piercing cry severs Wonder’s dreamscape, and she lurches from the linen pillows, gasping out of slumber. She knows that mutiny coming from Malice’s room.

It’s the sound of a nightmare.

11

She catapults from the bed, bursts out of her dorm, and sprints toward his lair. Her bare feet slap the floor, cutting through slashes of midnight.

Dammit, he’s barred himself inside. This wouldn’t be a problem if she were dealing with a human latch.

Wrenching on the knob is fruitless, the door’s framework refusing to budge. Wonder tries twice, using enough vigor to rip a mortal barrier from its hinges, but still, the bolt resists her. Other than his moon-dusted key or the Asterra Flora, there’s no way to invade the dorm.

The howls escalate, scraping from his throat. Wonder slams her palms on thefaçade. “Malice!” she screeches. “Malice, wake up! Wake up!”

Whatever horror he faces, it’s evidently causing his bed frame to rattle. His wails shrivel into whimpers and then grate back into hollers. Wonder’s throat swells as she rams her shoulder against the door, but the craftsmanship is too solid, impervious to the pounding of her weight. She can’t just leave him like this.

Wonder reels back, then dashes to her room to retrieve the quartz archery. Skidding in front of his cursed door, she nocks an arrow. At the right angle, with the right force, hitting the keyhole dead-center, it could work. If her wits have gotten her into this building, they can get her into this forsaken room.

She lets it fly. In a spectrum of light, the knob convulses.

She strikes again, and then again, and then again. The lock collapses in its frame, and the door jolts from the molding.

Dropping her weapons, Wonder blows through the partition, which dents the opposite wall as it swings inward. She freezes, plugging her mouth with her fist to contain a gasp.

At the dorm’s heart, Malice thrashes under the sheets, the chaos bringing ghosts and exorcisms to mind. He spasms, his arms pinned to his chest, crossed like they’re stapled that way. His bare torso writhes atop the mattress, a serpent desperate to break free of its cage.

This is worse than the previous ordeals in the Celestial City. But that’s nothing compared to what he blares.

“It’s true!” he screams at the ceiling. “It’s true! She’s real, she’s real, she’s real! Keep away, let me go! She’s real!”

The serration of his voice dislodges Wonder from her stupor. Slamming across the room, she drops onto the mattress’s edge and grapples with his shoulders, yanking him upright. His waves press flat around his face, his cheekbones strung tight. He seethes, his claws batting at her, wrestling with apparitions.

He whips her sideways onto the bed. Wonder yelps, then lurches at him, using adrenaline to dominate his movements. Seizing his elbows, she shakes him, and when that doesn’t work, she resorts to the same tactic from the vault.

She slaps Malice. It doesn’t work. He bucks against her hold, growling in outrage as though restrained by something other than the blankets.

Instead of another blow, perhaps he needs something else from her.

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