Page 29 of Blood Vows
“Because you might not like what you find.”He snapped with a growl of words that made me flinch. But this was when I decided to push back,
“And since when did that become something you’re afraid of?” This ended with a gasp as he was at me faster than my eyes could track. The feel of his hand as it curled around my fragile neck stole my breath as he physically held it prisoner for a few frightening moments.
“Still feeling brave, rabbit?” he hummed darkly, his grin one I felt was for show. I knew that when his fingers relaxed after he tracked my need to breathe. So, I steeled my spine and pushed myself up on tiptoes so that I could get closer to the face that loomed over me, giving him my answer in more ways than one.
“You won’t hurt me.” I bit out, making him sneer down at me.
“Do not mistake my kindness for a weakness, for you are a means to an end and nothing more.”
“So, you’ve said!” I snapped, ignoring the hand that threatened my life and was still held firmly at my throat. His eyes heated at this, the silver in them brighter than ever before.
“If you think I won’t deliver you to my brothers as a pretty, broken doll, you are wrong.” He warned dangerously, something that ended with a knowing smirk when he felt the fearful lump push against his palm as I forced it down.
“You don’t scare me, Vasileios,”I lied. However, the sound of his name whispered from my lips was enough to break through his anger, as he closed his eyes and groaned,
“And you are far too dangerous for your own good.”
12
DAMNING PERFECTION
VASILEIOS
Staring down at her now, with her life held in my hands, I felt powerless and powerful all in the same breath. Her fear, trembling right there in my grasp, was something I knew the brave little rabbit was trying desperately to hide. I felt myself begin to unravel. Because somehow, it felt as though it was my life that rested in her hands, not the other way around. Perhaps that was why I pushed as hard as I did now, trying to reclaim the power she had stolen from me without even knowing it.
Bringing her here had been a mistake. A necessary one, but a mistake all the same. She was tearing down my defenses faster than I could build them, unravelling me piece by piece. Yet she had no idea of the spell she wove around me. A spell that clung tighter each day, threading itself through my veins, binding itself to my heart.
A heart I had long believed dead.
For me, it had died that night, in the mortal sense. For my brothers, it had died in the physical when they believed me gone. And yet here I was, not a ghost but something farworse…a phantom caught between vengeance and something dangerously close to longing. It felt as though fragments of the man I used to be were clawing their way back from the grave, and I despised her for it.
I wanted to hate her for it.
I told myself I did. I had cursed her enough for it already…every night, in fact.
I would lie awake, too afraid to sleep in case I missed the soft call of her voice, the whisper that haunted me even through the walls of this stone prison…this living mausoleum I called home.
I would never forget the sound of her calling my name. It was not the cry of fear I had expected, but one of need…of trust.She called for me as though I were her savior.
Her hero.
And damn me, but I answered.
If I hadn’t already torn that bastard Avellino apart with my bare hands, I would have gone back just to do it again. To feel his bones snap beneath my fury for making her bleed, for trying to break what was mine. Every time I looked at her, every time I saw the bruises fade into another shade of healing, that rage would rise anew. The only thing that could quieten the murderous thoughts was her smile. That soft, fleeting smile that undid me more than her screams ever could.
And so, I found myself seeking it.
Teasing her, provoking her, saying things I had no business saying, just to see it return. Every time it did, it felt like a victory. A pathetic one, perhaps, but one I could not stop chasing. No matter how much I told myself I should. No matter how much I longed to.
My mind was in a constant state of turmoil. I had once been so sure of myself, of my purpose, of the single goal that had consumed me for so long. Revenge had been my lifeblood, the only thing that gave meaning to the hollow existence I called life.But now these damn feelings were clawing their way out of me, tearing through walls I had spent centuries fortifying.
She hadn’t just complicated things. She was obliterating everything I had worked for! Tearing apart my resolve without even knowing it. She had no idea of the power she wielded, no clue of the destruction she brought with nothing more than a glance or the sound of my name from her lips.
All I had to do was stay away from her. That was all. Treat her as what she was meant to be…my prisoner,my bargaining tool.Yet in that, I failed over and over again, each day bringing with it a new reminder of how completely she had undone me. Every promise I made to myself crumbled in her presence, and with each broken vow, I felt myself breaking too.
For no matter how hard I tried, I could not stay away from her.
In truth, I was doing the opposite. I was finding reasons to be near her, to hear her voice, to watch her smile. At first, I told myself it was necessary. She needed to eat. She needed a distraction. I told myself that a calm, entertained prisoner meant less chance of her wandering the halls. Less chance of her discovering things I could not allow her to find.
