Page 48 of Dragon Touched
“My father’s a demon who’ll stop at nothing to get his way. Everyone knows this. It’s how he’s kept a tight rein on everyone and everything.” Shoulders squared, she focused on staying composed. “Sounds a lot like someone else I know, doesn’t it?” Fin wanted to use her to leave this world. “You don’t care about me any more than he does.” No, he’d wanted to have a little fun at her expense before he left for good.
“That’s not true.” He drew her into his arms.
“Don’t touch me.” Her voice trembled, and she pushed against his chest. “You just wanted to use me like him. I thought you were different, that you might actually care about—”
“Sacha.” Confusion flashed across his face, but instead of letting her go, the tips of his fingers dug deeper. “Idocare.”
A flash of red flew through the doorway, and Cyan settled himself onto Fin’s shoulder.
Focus still front and center, Fin’s gaze didn’t so much as twitch at the new arrival.
Cyan must’ve followed Fin from the tower.
The dragon’s gleaming, armored head tilted in her direction, smoky breath a few inches from her face. His golden irises, with their black, vertical pupils, bounced from her to Fin. A soft trill, sounding closer to a cry than a purr, poured from his jaws.
She couldn’t let his presence distract her, though.
“Yeah.” Her laugh was shrill. Smacking Fin’s arms away, she took a step back. “Right.” Her upper lip curled, and she swept her gaze from his feet to his head. “The mighty Finley Marin, who intended revenge on my family for years, suddenly cares for his enemy’s daughter.”
She raised the skirt’s hem and turned.
The heels of her shoes clicked against the polished marble floor. “That’s a lie. The only thing you care about is your precious test and ring. I was some sort of sick game, a means to an end. Get out of my life, Fin. You’re no better than the thugs in here.”
Two beams of white fire shot on either side of her. She could feel the heat of their passage against her arms.
The inner door of the Chapel, leading to the priest’s office in the opposite wing of the estate, sat five feet away. On either side of the exit, two scorch marks smoked from blackened holes in the wood.
“You don’t get to walk away from me.” His voice was cold.
“Yes, I do, and I’m marching toward freedom.” She continued forward; hand reaching for the doorknob.
I’m done with him, done with my father, and done with being a victim.
“One more step”—his words resonated all around the large chapel—“and I’ll fry dear Daddy.”
She pivoted on the balls of her feet and faced him, avoiding his crimson eyes.
His outstretched fingers twitched, and she debated whether he was bluffing or not.
He sounds serious and pissed. Do you want Pop’s death on your conscience?
One long breath entered through her nostrils, and she exhaled through her mouth, but she remained quiet and still.
Light footsteps moved closer, and a shiver crawled across her spine. “Bloody well face me, Sacha. At least do me that courtesy.”
In slow motion, she leveled her gaze but kept her focus to the side, to anywhere he wasn’t.
A harsh sigh escaped his lips, and he stalked forward like an attacking panther.
It was either stumble backward or be pummeled by his larger frame.
The doorknob dug into the small of Sacha’s spine, but she still refused to meet his eyes.
He leaned, and his scent swirled around her nose. Strong fingers gripped her jaw, and his touch forced her chin upward.
She was caught in an angry, blazing stare. Those slanted eyes seemed to scour every inch of her face, from the curve of her eyebrows, the tip of her nose, to the small dimple in her cheek. The heat radiating over her was like standing next to the sun in all its glory.
Cyan flapped his wings and lifted into the air, hovering a foot from Fin’s head. The light from the stained-glass windows bounced off the shiny scales of the creature’s skin. His gaze also focused on Sacha.
