Page 19 of Sweet Venom

That had given me more than just powerful titles and enough to move on from my past, but five years of trying to forget hadn’t erased what had come before.

Nothing could.

My grip tightened on my knife and I broke the skin but didn’t make a sound. I stared up at the sky instead with dead eyes. The stars seemed distant and cold, like they couldn’t care less about what happened down here. The fucking stars reminded me of them.

Every single one of them.

“Shit.”

The air felt thick, pressing in around me, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe.

Then, like magic, I felt her.

So small, so quiet but so fucking enigmatic.

The little intruder’s presence was soft but insistent, like the whisper of wind through the sharp thorns. My back stiffened, and my breath caught in my throat. I didn’t have to turn to know she was behind me. I didn’t need to see her to feel her. Poe.

She always moved so quietly, but I could sense her, as sure as I could feel the blade in my hand.

Hell, I felt her when she wasn’t there.

The quiet little fox had infiltrated herself into my world without saying or doing too much. How? I had no clue, but she had done it. She had done something most failed to. She caught my attention.

I stayed where I was, staring at the stars, pretending I hadn’t noticed her. Maybe she would give up and leave. It was for the best anyway. She had no business being around the dark, not when she shined so fucking bright.

I got a few more minutes of silence before her sweet voice broke through, dragging me out of myself like it always did. Her voice to me sounded like an enchanting melody that held me hostage every time. I bet she had no idea she did that.

“Azariel,” she said softly.

The sound came out like a ripple in the stillness, small but impossible to ignore, just like her.

I gritted my teeth, keeping my back to her. She shouldn’t have been out there. It was late, it was cold, and she was too small to be wandering around alone in the dark. But of course, she didn’t care. She never listened. Where was her father? He was probably with Mom catching up and talking business, like every time the Nicolasi came around with his little girl.

“A-Azariel,” she said again, her tone more insistent.

I closed my eyes, exhaling a long, slow breath. I didn’t know why I bothered trying to resist her. I never won.

With a low, annoyed grunt, I turned around.

Poe stood there at the edge of the garden, her hair darker than the night itself, her small figure framed by the twisted arches of roses. She was wearing a blue dress that made her eyes stand out even more than normal.

When I didn’t utter a word, she tilted her head up at me, her wide eyes gleaming with something too innocent for a world like this—for someone like me.

Run, little fox. Save yourself from my destruction.

But she didn’t run. She stayed rooted in place, looking at me as if I was someone interesting. She looked at me like my mother did.

It was odd. I hated people. I didn’t enjoy their presence, but hers was like air rushing into my lungs, filling the space that moments ago had felt suffocating.

When those green eyes turned sad, I gave up. As always.

“What?” I asked, my voice was rougher than I meant it to be.

She flinched and I felt bad. That was new.

But was it?

Every time I saw her, something in my chest ached. It couldn’t be the organ there. That had never worked. Not like most people. It pumped blood and kept me alive, yes, but that was it.

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