Page 107 of A Fate of Ice and Lies
“Of course not,” I growled up at her, baring my own teeth. “But I haven’t hidden important truths from him either. You say he did it to protect me, but I think he did it to protect himself from me. The stupid, hysterical human who fell so willingly for his charm and kindness. Who wanted so badly to see the goodness in him. He had no right to enchant me, to take my memories from me.”
“You have no idea what it cost him.”She strained her neck skyward, and with a few flaps of her enormous wings, she was airborne.
“What about what it cost me?” I yelled after her. “Or do my feelings not matter?”
“You matter more than you should,”she hissed.“He hurt and scared you that night, so he removed himself from your life in order for you to live peacefully. He protected you the only way he knew how.”
Round and round we went, fighting the same fight.
“That’s the problem, isn’t it?” I said low, watching her fly away. “He cares for me so much that he left. He didn’t try to talk to me once I’d calmed down. I would’ve listened. I remember that pull he had over me, how I felt like I could trust him. I would’ve listened. He didn’t trust our bond or me enough to fight for us.”
The connection between Nalari and mesizzled as she mulled over my words.“He didn’t fight for you, I’ll give you that. What about you? Will you fight for him?”
Before I could reply, a heavy weight slammed against my mind, like a door slamming in place. When I tried to reach her, I found nothing.
After everything I’d said, she shut me out just as easily as he had.
I lifted my hand in the air with my middle finger raised in her direction.
“For the record, I think any male who calls a female hysterical has already been driven to madness.” Brenton shot me a small smile that quickly fell away.
“Why are you here?” I asked, exasperated.
I both wanted him to leave and needed him to stay. He was Elias’s friend, the only link I had to him that I trusted. Where Everly had betrayed me and George had killed, Brenton was Brenton. He was both silly and sincere, and that same instinct that told me not to trust George told me I could trust Brenton.
He shrugged a single shoulder. “We’re friends. I try to be there for my friends when they’re hurting.”
I wasn’t sure how to answer. Wasn’t sure what to do about the tears that welled and threatened to fall.
“Is it all right if I give you a hug?” he asked.
Biting on my lower lip, I nodded. Then I was in his arms, crying so hard my shoulders shook. He let me, staying as silent as he’d been throughout the night.
I was grateful to him, knowing if I broke like this in front of Ryenne or Donnie, they’d worry. They’d be there for me as they’d been countless times in the past, but they’d be concerned. As it was, they had enough to fret over.
I straightened when I heard the crunch of footfall on snowbehind me. Spinning around, I found Everly and George watching me from a few feet away. Quickly, I brushed my tears away. Everly had the decency to bow her head when I glared at her.
But it wasn’t anger that rolled inside me. Not really. Her deception hurt. But worse than that, I wasn’t sure if the friendship we’d formed was real. If any of it was real or simply born from her loyalty to Elias.
Nonetheless, the only thing I let her see was my anger. It was the only thing I could trust her with.
George’s hand went to Everly’s shoulder, where he squeezed, but she shrugged him off. For a beat, hurt crossed his expression before he replaced it with a bored look.
“None of you are welcome here.” I inched my clothes up to reveal the gun I holstered to my waist. Although I was certain they could hear the way my heart crashed inside me, I kept my voice level. My hands shook, though, at the way I forced myself to stare them down. At the words I forced myself to say. “You’re trespassing on my property. I will only ask you once to leave. After that, I shoot.” I forced ice into my veins, forced all that hurt to turn into a fury I almost believed. “I do hope you’ll stay.” Lie. Everything was a lie. I didn’t want them to stay any more than I wanted to hurt either of them. “I haven’t done my target practice today.”
When Everly stepped forward, I grabbed my gun and pointed it at her. My friend. Someone I had trusted into my home.
Tears stung my eyes, and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep them away. I couldn’t stop the way my hand trembled. The way the gun weighed heavier than ever.
George angled his body to stand in front of her. When he bared his teeth at me, I tilted the gun up to point at his head.
I held in my anguished sigh, but I didn’t want to do any of this. I didn’t want to threaten them or be this version of myself I knew I’d come to regret. But I needed them to leave. All of them, including my friends still sleeping in my house.
“I’m a good shot, George.” My hands continued to shake in rhythm with my blaring heart. A throb started at the base of my neck and spread to my temple. I could do this, though. Needed to, in order to get them off my property and away from my home. “I wonder, how did you kill Javier’s father?”
He flinched. Again, pain crossed his features with his eyes dulling before they returned to their natural light brown. His cheek twitched, but he remained quiet and still.
I took in his tall stature, that resolute look on his face, and I went for what I was certain would be the ending blow. “You strike me as the kind of piece of shit who would make an innocent man suffer.”
