Page 51 of Unbound By Shadows
“You need sustenance. At least a cup of tea and some fruit.” He took a step forward to loom over her.
Involuntarily, she cowered. “I said I’m not hungry!”
Sam blinked at the heat in her voice, then his shoulders slumped. He withdrew from her and began to disassemble his hammock. Selene kneeled to roll up her tent. A cold drizzle of rain began to fall. She wiped droplets of water from her face and pulled out the thick cloak Hollen had placed in her pack. As she stood to shake it out, Sam’s voice rang through the quiet of the forest. The tone was sad, almost defeated.
“I’ve frightened you.”
The words felt as though they came from far away, though he stood across from her. She looked over to see him staring at his feet, an expression of mute anguish on his face. A cold breeze blew tendrils of his long hair against his cheek.
“Yes,” she admitted.
Sam gave her a searing look. The vulnerability in his dark eyes was so stark it made her throat tighten.
“I am sorry,” he said.
Selene opened her mouth, then paused. She pressed her lips together, struggling for a response. Normally when someone apologized, her automatic reply was a cheerful “That’s okay!” as she charged ahead like nothing had happened. Someone could interrupt her during a meeting, step on her foot at the movies, or even rear-end her car, and she would act as if everything was fine. But this time, she would not say that. Because it was not okay.
“Why did you do it?” she asked. “Attack that Lycah like that.”
“Hetouchedyou,” Sam said as if that were explanation enough.
“He didn’t hurt me.”
“But he grabbed you. Without your permission.”
“I know, but—”
“Is it acceptable for males of your world to grope unwilling females?” he asked.
“Well, no, but… stuff like that happens all the time.”
“I can’t let behavior like that go unpunished when I see it. Especially toward you,” he said in a tone edged with menace. And possessiveness. Selene remembered how he had referred to her as “my female” yesterday. What did that mean? She was a female under his protection? Or something more? She filed away the thought for later.
“What do you mean by unpunished?” she asked.
A muscle ticked in his jaw. She could tell he was fighting some internal battle in the way he struggled to find his words. “I’m a Vengeance demon,” he said.
When he failed to elaborate, Selene asked, “Am I supposed to know what that is?”
“No, of course not. A human wouldn’t know,” he said. “I was born to live among the souls of the dead and exact vengeance upon those that deserve it. Punish cruelties.”
He picked at a twig on a nearby tree. “Sometimes it… it can be hard for me to judge the actions of the living. If I focus very hard, I can see into their pasts and seek vengeance for those they have wronged. But it isn’t fair to judge those who may still atone. So I try very hard to not punish them without just cause. Do you understand?”
“Not really, but go on.”
“My father would have taught me more about my Vengeance instincts when I turned thirteen, but since I was taken before that, I never learned to properly control them. In Aurelia, I was taught to manage my drives based on the rules of this land. I was taught to practice compassion and forgiveness. But there are times when I cannot suppress my nature. Last night was one of them.”
“So that’s happened before? You ‘punishing’ someone?”
He tilted his head back. There seemed to be so much going on within him. “Yes.”
“Would you have killed him? If I hadn’t stopped you?” she asked, even though she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer.
“Demons aren’t supposed to kill, but if you had wanted me to, I would have. For your vengeance.”
She swallowed. “Have you ever killed anyone?”
It was as if her question had scalded him. Claws shot out of his fingertips before quickly retracting.
