Page 64 of Shadows of Nightshade
Bryce scowled before he released my wrist. “What happened?” he asked. “Let me help you.”
My skin went cold.
Maybe at some point in my life, I would have welcomed this attention. I would have latched on to any lifeline. I’d hoped for anyone to notice.
But now things were fine. Everything was under control.
And now… now I had Damen, Julian, Titus, and Miles with me.
“I don’t need your help,” I told him.
Bryce’s smooth demeanor slipped. The taste of the air soured as the hair on the back of my neck raised.
“Trust me,” he said, and the words echoed through my head. “Just tell me what happened.”
“It’s none of your business,” I protested, my voice shaky.
I almost couldn’t breathe under his heavy stare. On some level, I wanted to comply, just to make this feeling go away.
But I also really,reallydidn’t want to talk to him either.
“Please leave me alone,” I managed to speak around my thick tongue.
His brows furrowed, and he rested his weight on his desk. The urge to respond—to tell him everything—grew stronger, but my thoughts protested, reminding me that I had to resist. I loathed his attention—the way my skin crawled as he watched me.
I had to fight his siren call. I could never forget that he was my enemy.
His expression was one of complete astonishment. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, he was suddenly thrown back into the overly-filled bookcases.
A pale—almost translucent—bird swooped through the air and landed on the edge of the desk. I could not determine the avifauna’s species, which was disappointing. I prided myself on being aware of the local wildlife and all potential threats in one given area. However, this creature was somewhat regal-like… at least for such a tiny-brained creature.
I really didn’t like birds.
Was it a phoenix, though?
No, that couldn’t be right. Phoenixes were brightly colored, beautiful, and perpetually on fire. Or perhaps that was only when they were dying.
I had much to learn about this supernatural world.
It looked at me, craning its neck to watch me with its beady eyes, and a chill shot down my spine as I realized, this was not a bird, after all.
“Why are you here?” Bryce grunted as he pulled himself to his feet and held the broken bookshelf for support. He glared at the creature with such contempt I thought it might keel over, and I clenched my fists in front of me as a stone dropped in my stomach.
I’d forgotten—with the whole fae thing—that Bryce could see spirits too.
What was this feeling threatening to drown me? Disappointment?
I’d been hoping that Damen had lied.
Maybe I was dreaming. I could even be in a coma. Bryce could have whacked me over the head with the ruler, and I was just imaginingthis whole situation.
How did someone escape such fantasies? I should pinch Bryce to wake myself up.
I slid across my seat, moving toward the unsuspecting man. However, there was really no reason to hide. He wasn’t paying the faintest bit of attention to me. Instead, he was still staring down at the spirit, his nose wrinkled in derision.
Did he ever not look snotty?
Soon that would change. It’d been a short-sighted mistake for him to forget about me. Such callousness showed a serious lack of character. In another two seconds, I’d wipe that look right off his face.
