Page 107 of Taken By the Vicious Highlander
She tried to speak, but nothing came out. No argument. No defense. No fight whatsoever, because it would have been pointless.
Damon didn’t even see what he’d done. He’d sucked the life from her limbs, and he hadn’t even watched. Not even now. He had already moved on, and she was just an afterthought.
Lilith twisted away, her vision blurry with tears.
She felt Damon shift behind her, as if reaching for her and then stopping himself.
Coward.
She knew she should storm out and let him see what it felt like to be completely abandoned, but she couldn’t move. Screaming at herself, pulling at her limbs, she stood frozen because even now—even as he was throwing her away—she loved him.
Lilith did the only thing she could think of. She inhaled sharply, steadied herself, and whispered the lie that she knew would have an equal effect on him. “I hate ye.”
Then, she walked away, and this time, he didn’t stop her.
She walked through the dark halls of the keep, her boots striking the cold stone floor. Each step echoed, rattling inside her like the remnants of a broken bell.
She didn’t hurry. She didn’t run. But every movement was deliberate, controlled, because if she stopped—if she hesitated even for a moment—she would shatter completely.
Damon’s words clung to her. They rang in her ears over and over again, pressing against the fragile pieces of her heart.
Ye’re distractin’ me.
Lilith hastened her steps, refusing to let the tears fall. “Nae yet, nae yet…” she frantically whispered to herself, rushing through the corridors.
Making it back to her chambers, and stepping inside with an eerie calmness, she waited for the soft click of the latch. The moment the door closed behind her, the dam broke.
She yanked open her wardrobe and pulled out a traveling cloak, extra tunics, and anything else she could grab with her trembling hands. She shoved them into a satchel, her breaths coming out way too fast, her chest too tight.
I have to get out of here.
I need to get out of here.
He doesnae want me here.
He wanted her gone so badly.
Fine then, I’ll be gone.
A sharp knock at the door made her freeze.
“Lilith?”
Ryder.
Her pulse spiked.
“Are ye all right?” His voice was edged with something cautious, something all too knowing.
She swallowed hard and answered in a steady voice, “Aye. I just need some rest.”
A pause.
“Will ye be needin’ anything?”
Lilith turned the words over in her head before she pulled the parchment from her pocket and slid it under the door, trusting Ryder’s discretion.
“Will ye put that on Damon’s desk for me? He’ll need it.”
