Page 89 of The Curse of Golden Blood
"No." The answer was meant to shock.
"You're cruel." She reached up and wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. "You're the cruelest being in this entire palace."
"I've been called worse."
She glared at me, her expression hardening. "I never should've trusted you. Never should've let you in my life. You're a monster, a creature of nightmares, a spawn of the deepest, darkest depths of hell."
I flinched, but took one step closer. Slow. Heavy. She held her ground, but her lips parted with the sharpness of breath she tried to hide.
“I told you this before,” I said, "You’re a fool to think I could ever kill you.”
"Why?" She dared ask the question.
"Because if the cure demands your death, then the world is not worth saving." I ran my thumb along the curve of her cheek and the thunder reverberated in my voice. "Because I would burn the sky before I let them take your heart."
"You don't mean that." Her voice was barely a whisper. "You can't."
I leaned in, lips brushing her ear. "I do." I drew back so I could look into her eyes. "And I will, little dove."
She looked at me then, really looked at me, and I saw the realization dawning in her eyes. She knew. She knew what I felt for her, what I would do for her, what I had already done.
"You selfish bastard," she whispered, but her gaze dropped to my mouth.
Something snapped inside me. All the weeks of restraint, of watching her from across rooms, of fighting the urge to touch her. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips, and I was lost.
I grabbed her face between my hands and crashed my mouth to hers. Not gentle. Not soft. Desperate and rough and hungry like I'd been starving for centuries and she was the first meal I'd seen. She gasped against my lips, and I took advantage, deepening the kiss until I could taste her surprise, her anger, her want.
Her hands fisted in my shirt, pulling me closer even as she bit my lower lip hard enough to draw blood. I groaned into her mouth, my fingers tangling in her hair, tugging her head back so I could claim more of her.
She kissed me back with equal fury, like she was trying to punish me and claim me at the same time. Her nails dug into my chest through the fabric, and I pressed her back against the stone wall, my body caging her in.
We kissed like we were at war with each other. Like we were trying to devour something that couldn't be consumed. Her breath came in short gasps between our mouths, and when I pulled back to look at her, her lips were swollen and red, her eyes wild.
Then she shoved me away.
The warmth left her face like someone had doused flame with ice water. Her hands pressed against my chest, pushing me away with such force I stumbled backward. The tears returned, fresh and bitter, streaming down her cheeks in silver trails.
"Riden." Her voice broke on his name. "I could have saved Riden."
The accusation hit me like a blade between ribs.
"If you had told me sooner. If you hadn't kept this from me, he would still be alive." She wiped her face with trembling fingers, but more tears replaced the ones she cleared. "He died believing all hope was lost. He died thinking I was useless. That my blood meant nothing."
I reached for her, but she stepped back again, shaking her head.
"Don't lay your hands on me." Her eyes burned with fury now, bright and terrible. "Don't you dare touch me, not after what you've done."
"Miralyte, listen to me—"
"No." She held up her hand like a shield between us. "You listen. If you forbid me from my own death, I will make you regret every breath you take after." Her voice turned cold, deadly. "I swear it on Riden's grave. I will find a way to make you feel what you've taken from me, even if it means my ruin."
The threat should have amused me. A mortal girl threatening an immortal creature. But the venom in her words, the promise in her eyes, made something twist in my chest.
"I’ve told you that it’s not certain that your death will cure them all!" I stepped closer despite her warning. "Why are you so quick to throw your life away? Your sacrifice may not purge the Rot and bring peace to this cursed land."
"I know it will."
"You know nothing." The words came out harsher than I intended. "Look around you. Look at what the bloodletting has already done."
