Page 37 of A Kiss From a Revenant
I watch her manipulate the man, smiling and nodding—I don’t have to read his mind to know he’s thanking his good fortune for putting her on his path. Indeed, the skills she honed back in the Snowlands have become instrumental.
After she had awoken from the change, we made our way back to her cottage that the townsfolk had decimated. Most of the beams holding up the missing roof were still smoldering as we made our way through. The place had been thoroughlyransacked before being set ablaze. Nory—clever woman that she is—had hidden away her earnings under a floorboard in the kitchen.
Taking what she could manage from the house, she had lingered in the doorway. I hadn’t said anything as she said goodbye to her mother’s house. I only offered her the solace of my body, which she accepted greedily. After that, we made our way to her mother’s grave, where she set down a fresh bouquet and said goodbye to her one final time, stating she would never come back. Whispering to the headstone, she had found her happiness. She had risen from the grave, and the determination in her gaze burned me alive.
That night, her first kills were the men who had torched her house. It had been a thrill to watch her hunt. She was decisive and cutthroat—wild and unabandoned. The sight of her covered in their blood with eyes like two green flames was more than I could bear. We fucked right beside their corpses, her moans echoing around us in the night as she begged me for more.
Nory has a healthy bloodlust, but just like me, our hunger for each other supersedes everything else.
Looking at her now under the orange glow of the torches illuminating the side of the tavern, it’s hard to believe my good fortune. That, against all the odds, Nory is mine. My maker gave me a way to have her forever, and I’ll never stop being grateful for it—for her.
The man before us is a fool—they all are. As a human, she had been a temptation, one that none of them could deny. Now, her beauty is striking—deadly. Her pale skin is smooth and supple, dusted with golden freckles. Her movements are all predatory grace. If he had been paying attention to her in the tavern and not absorbed with thoughts about how he was going to bed her, he would’ve noticed her not touch the food or wine on the table before her.
Even now, he should notice the sheen to her green eyes—the primal edge.
Just like all the others, he discerns nothing. A grateful lamb to the slaughter, ignoring the danger in front of him because he’s too preoccupied with her beauty. He won’t be the first to succumb to this fate and surely will not be the last.
Nory’s eyes flash as she looks in my direction before nodding and peeling off the wall. Her white fur-trimmed cloak drags behind her down the dark alley. The man follows on her heels. She glances back, smiling at him, but her eyes find mine. One sinful wink is all I need to push off the wall I’m hiding behind and stalk after them.
I can sense his movements before he makes them. With my silent steps, the man never realizes I’m there waiting—waiting for him to lift his hand and reach for her. His outstretched hand barely grazes the fur atop her shoulders when I strike. My hand encases his throat as I slam his body against the brick wall.
Blood blooms on the wall behind his head, and a choked moan rattles from his lungs. He can’t scream—not when I have his crushed windpipe in my palm. I lean into his face, letting madness kindle in my gaze. Even in his pain-ridden, delirious state, he still manages to turn white. Snarling into his face, I condemn him to death.
“Did you think you could touch her?My wife,” I spit.
He gargles a denial, kicking his feet in an attempt at freedom.
“It will be the last mistake you ever make.”
Nory giggles softly at my side, her hand trailing up my back.
“So possessive,” she sighs. “Let’s feast, my love. This one is beginning to annoy me.”
Without another word, we take our spots on either side of him. The man attempts to scream, but only a harsh whistle leaks from his throat. In unison, we sink our teeth into his neckand silence him forever. Together we drink his sticky, warm blood until there is none left. Pulling back, we let his corpse clatter to the ground.
I turn towards Nory, taking her in my arms. My mouth swoops down to capture her lips, licking a scarlet drop from the corner of her mouth. She grins up at me, eyes shining like emeralds.
“Wonderful as always, Nory. You’ve become quite the actress,” I compliment.
Nory hums low in her throat, and my cock hardens at the red flush of her cheeks. I’ve had her in every depraved way imaginable, and yet she still manages to blush. I kiss her flush as she takes my hand, leading me away from the corpse in the alley.
We break onto the main strip of road. With the news of our kills spreading, the streets have become more barren. Even so, with my new form, I can travel more easily. There’s no mistaking me for a human man, but under the cover of darkness and a well-placed hood, I can blend in, especially when I’m with Nory. No one glances in my direction with her perfection at my side.
Fluffy snowflakes fall from the dark sky above. They collect along her brow and in her red hair. Nory tips her face up towards them, the cold turning the tip of her nose red. Her warm skin slides against my palm as we make our way towards the end of the main street.
“I’ve grown bored of this town,” she announces. “We should go somewhere warm next.
I chuckle.
“Wherever you want. I was thinking the beaches up north could be nice.”
“So agreeable. You are the perfect husband—I am the envy of all females.”
My hand tightens on her as I share her smile. While hertone is teasing, her eyes are serious and filled with love. We married the night after her transition, not by any priest or councilman, but as two beings deep inThe Woodsconfessing their love and binding their souls together. It was a stronger vow than any human one could offer us.
We were one—entwined forever. Who needs rings when I have her soul woven with mine?
Nory’s steps slow at my side. She turns on the gravel that’s quickly being covered by snow. I look to see what’s captured her attention. Before us is a dilapidated structure. An old oak door hangs off rusted hinges. The shutters on the windows are missing. Countless holes decorate the roof, and the spire atop is cracked and leaning to one side. The front steps are rotten.
