Page 46 of Monsters' Manor

The words send another pang of unease through me, considering what Silas already told me about not wanting me to feel bound to him. Have the two of them talked? Is this some part of whatever’s going on between them? An understanding that they can… share me?

“Funny. Silas said something similar about wanting me to explore all my options.”

Renwick goes absolutely still. “Did he, now?”

“Yes,” I tell him, throwing the word over my shoulder as I start back down the path, suddenly feeling the need to move again, restless energy coursing through my veins. “He did. Though it’s been pretty fucking hard for me to understand what either of you means.”

The heavy thud of Renwick’s booted footsteps follows me through the woods. When I glance back, my heart races at the look in his eyes. Heated. Predatory. Tracking my every step. It makes me walk even faster, magick skittering over my skin as we move deeper into the forest.

“What don’t you understand?” he growls as he stays right on my heels. “You must know by now how differently things work in this world than in the one you’re used to.”

I fight back a shiver. Yes, I understand. The heady allure of power and magick. The freedom of this place, of living in a world filled with dark promise and temptation.

My blood is humming with anticipation as I reach another fork in the path. One branch leads deeper into the woods. The other loops back around to the staff village, to safety.

I whirl around to face him. We’re both breathing hard, and his red eyes are alight with devilish intent, watching and waiting to see what I do next.

“What makes you think I’m ready to be part of that world?”

He grins as he answers. “Just look at you, Rosie. Brimming with magick and all those flames of yours. With powers you’re only starting to scratch the surface of, powers you’re already coming to embrace.”

As he speaks, he takes my wrist in his grasp and turns my palm up, summoning his silver medallion from whatever pocket realm he keeps it in and dropping it into my palm.

“Isn’t that right?” he challenges.

We’ve been training the flames first, since those were the most obvious threat, but as that magick has come easier, the rest has, too. I don’t know how Renwick can sense it, but I hold his gaze steady as I levitate the coin just above my palm.

The telekinesis feels simpler, more manageable, something that’s bent to my will with an ease that’s been undeniably satisfying.

Renwick snatches the coin from the air and it disappears a moment later.

“See how well this place suits you?”

“And you think you know me that well? Maybe you’re wrong. Maybe I’ve seen enough of this world and its irritating demons.”

Renwick’s eyes glow with wicked delight, body tense like a predator ready to chase after his prey. It sends a deep, dark thrill all the way down to the tips of my toes and a wave of flames through my veins.

“Such impertinence, witch. Perhaps I should punish you for having such a sharp little tongue.”

All of it—the pull of my power and the spark of our banter, the temptation of the night surrounding us and the heat in his gaze—crests in me and burns up the rest of my hesitation.

“Only if you can catch me, demon.”

With that, I run.

14

The rumble of Ren’s laughter echoes through the woods as I dash away, but I don’t hear his heavy footsteps or the crackle of autumn leaves that would let me know he’s pursuing me.

No, after only a few short seconds all I hear is the tread of my own feet on the forest floor and the pounding of my heart in my ears, the rush of fast breath in my throat and the rustle of the branches I dart past.

Somehow, the silence is so much more frightening than Ren pursuing me would be. In the very darkest, most depraved, best way.

Alone in the woods, being hunted by a demon I can’t see or hear—even though Iknowhe’s not going to let my little challenge go—my anticipation builds with every step. All that fear sends a pulse of electric, delicious excitement through me as I dash through the trees.

Where is he?

What’s he going to do to me when he finds me?

---