Page 19 of Cruelest Kiss and Fairest Blood
“Yes.” Another honest response.
“You’re quite vexing, you know that?” I find her huff of unhappiness rather adorable.
A smile lights my face without my permission. “Insufferable, I’d imagine.”
She lets out a soft laugh; the sound is like a rain of petals against my skin. “Insufferable indeed. May I at least have a name to call you by?”
What an odd situation to be in. Though I imagine knowing my name would be rather harmless, there’s no mention of it in any books or lore. Even most who reside in my domain aren’t privy to that information. The ones who are aren’t in any position to tell. A handful of others know it. Mainly other supernatural beings. I suppose they could be considered friends.Relationships between immortals are so different than those between mortals.
It takes only a moment to realize I do want Lenore to know my name. A giddy place within my chest delights at the thought of her being the only living mortal to truly know me. My name, at least.
“You may call me Harrow.” There’s a loosening in my chest. I wasn’t expecting it to feel so freeing to tell her.
“Harrow.” My name on her lips makes me shiver. “I’m going to turn around now and face you.”
A spike of fear zaps through me. “Don’t.”
She flinches at the sudden iciness in my tone. “Why not? Will you vanish again if I do?” There’s a bit of sadness in her voice that wipes the earlier giddiness from my blood.
My throat thickens. “That’s right.”
“So I can’t look at you, but you still insist on watching me day and night?”
“That is the current arrangement, yes.” No use denying it.
She sits up straighter. “I’m engaged, you know.” The defensiveness in her tone ruffles my feathers. How is it I can manage to cause her such unhappiness with so little effort?
“How very human of you.”
“Why do you say things like that? As if you aren’t human.” She folds her arms.
“I’ve already told you. I’m not human.” I can never understand why mortals struggle to understand the concept.
Lenore glances at the sky. Sun washes over her pale skin. She closes her eyes and sighs again. “You looked human enough the first time I saw you.”
Appearances can be deceiving. “Looking human and being human are not the same.”
She lowers her head and opens her eyes, brows furrowing. “Still.”
“There is much of me, little raven, that is not human at all. Those parts you have not seen. Do not want to see.” How would she feel if she knew that the first night I saw her I had just murdered a man? One of the only times I may freely kill is when a soul has willingly prolonged their life using some sort of unnatural method. The memory of his overripe blood in my monstrous jaws makes my tongue twitch. She is too delicate to handle such information.
“Maybe you’re wrong.” The subtle defiance in her voice piques my interest.
I step closer, allowing my shadow to fall across her. Her body stiffens. My voice comes out low. “It would give you nightmares.”
To my great surprise, Lenore releases a mirthless laugh. “My dreams would give you nightmares.”
As if I’ve walked into a trap, my ribcage springs open, worry and curiosity piling inside. “And what does a pretty raven dream of that lends her such morbid charm?”
She looks to the sky again, face turning stony. “The past.”
I do not like the sound of that.“Tell me of the past.”
“Show me your face and I will.”
I smirk. Ravens are known for their cleverness, their ease at securing bargains and trades. My human raven is no different. I take a step back.
“Don’t leave.”
