Page 52 of The Magic of Revenge
"I was? Sorry, I didn't realize." I stood, needing to move around a bit.
She was studying me again.What the hell is going on with me?
"Well, I better go see what they're up to outside. I believe my brothers are waiting for you upstairs," I reminded her, hoping to distract her from whatever the hell sounds I'd been making. She nodded and got to her feet as well, her face lighting up a little at the thought.
"I want to trust you. I want to know what's between us. I just need some time..." she trailed off, looking down.
"Hey," I said, stepping closer and cupping her cheek. "I understand. But like you said, I'm determined. I'm going to prove myself worthy of this... family that we have. Not just to you, but to everyone. I promise." The conviction in my tone was audible to my own ears and I knew she heard the truth.
"He loves you too, you know," she said softly, searching my eyes.
A sad chuckle left my lips and I shook my head. "I'll also be reminding him of that. You aren't the only person I hurt. I have a lot of damage control to do. And I will." My phone buzzed in my back pocket and I frowned as I looked at the screen. The fucking prison. My dad.
"Everything okay?"
I almost said yep. I wanted to. But I couldn't lie anymore. Not now when I was trying this whole don't-be-a-dickhead-liar persona. "It's my dad. He's in prison. We don’t have a relationship, he’s toxic. He uh... he's been calling me frequently the past few weeks but I never answer.” I told her the truth even though it felt like pulling teeth. My skin crawled as I waited for her reaction.
She nodded at that information and I could tell she was a bit surprised by my honesty.
"Okay."
"Okay? That's it? I expected more questions.” I was confused. This woman baffled me constantly.
"I'm not asking that you change who you are, Sloane. You've been closed off your whole life, that's not going to change with a snap of your fingers. I could tell that what you just told me was hard for you; I'm not going to push. I want you to feel so comfortable with me that you willwantto tell me the things that trouble you, the things that hurt, the things you can't tell anyone else. It'll feel much more genuine to me when you give me that part of yourself because you want to, not because I'm asking. So, thank you. For giving me what you did." She smiled and I knew she meant it. This wasn't some kind of bullshit test that some women did on their partners.
No, she was happy. And I was the one who made her that way. A slow grin pulled at my mouth at the thought and she giggled.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be." She lifted her brows in a way meant to be suggestive but she just looked dorky as hell.
"Have fun, Kitten." I winked.
She turned and walked a few steps before stopping. I watched her take a few deep breaths and suddenly, she spun on her heel and came right for me. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she pulled me down to her face.
"I fucking missed you, you ass. Don't ever leave me again," she breathed, our noses touching.
"Never," I swore.
My stomach flipped at that news and her lips brushed mine softly, a reminder of what it felt like to kiss her. And a fucking promise of what I could have if I didn't fuck everything up.
Kai and I had showered and I guess while we'd been gone, Bette had moved all of our clothes to the cottage. I was thankful for that. I didn't want anything from my time in that castle. After I stripped those clothes I'd dumped them right in the fucking trash can. Not that I was wearing much clothing at the moment. A pair of skintight black boxer briefs was the extent of it. In fact, the three of us were all stripped down and impatiently waiting for our witch to get up here.
"Do you think she's okay?" Kai asked from the loveseat he was lounging on.
"I think she will be. She went through a huge trauma. Things have changed—I can read her emotions now, in addition to the telepathy. Khol is still a blank void, but I'm even picking up on Bram's feelings now," Fish said, sitting down beside me on the bed.
"How are you doing?" I clapped his shoulder and squeezed. "You've been through a fucking trauma, too."
Shadows danced across his eyes and it made me feel sick thinking of how he must've felt in the moment of his death. Watching us walk away from him, knowing he was going to not only die, but die alone.
"We all went through a trauma, Cam. I'll be okay. At first when I woke up, I was horrified to find Faris in his own body. I've spent my whole life keeping him under wraps, thinking there was something dark and deadly inside of me when really it was him. A real, separate entity. Now that I've had a little time to process it, I think it's the best thing that could've happened to me. I can be myself and now Faris has a reason for his bloodlust. He's a fucking blood mage. No wonder he craved it."
"You trust him?" Kai questioned. We all knew what he meant—did he trust him with her?
"I would have said hell no before. But I think she's good for him. And he is completely obsessed with her. Earlier when she let him feed on her—"
"She. Did. What?" I growled as Kai hopped off the loveseat and strode over to the bed.
"Yeah. He needed blood. Bram offered, but she insisted. I didn't fucking like it either, man." He held his palms up as I narrowed my eyes. "You try stopping her when she's set her mind to something."
