Page 81 of The Wicked
He remained silent.
We walked into the woods with only the light from the moon to guide our path. I commented on getting lost, but Elio simply pretended he didn’t hear me, walking like someone who knew exactly where he was going. My joints ached, and the pain on my arm from the grazing was numb due to how tired I was. I could feel fatigue catching up to me, but I willed myself to remain alert.
We reached a clearing in the woods. The space looked like an area where people would pitch their camp tents and huddle around a fire.
I shivered slightly from the cold as we stopped.
“We’ll settle here for the night. I’ll get some wood and start up a fire,” he said, glancing around until his gaze settled on me with a pause. “You’re cold.”
“If you haven’t noticed, it’s freezing out here.”
“No, it’s not. It’s what happens when you wear a nightgown out of the house.”
“It’s not a—” I paused, doubling back with the conversation. “You know what? Fuck you. I own what I fucking wear out. Nightgown or fucking lingerie, it remains my choice.”
He took me in, something dark passing through his stare. Itmade the gray in his eyes seem darker as he advanced towards me, like a predator approaching its prey.
I swallowed, standing my ground and raising my chin as he stopped before me. “Look at you, Zahra,” he said, voice barely above a whisper, an edge to it that had my stomach sinking; flashbacks of moments before we fell into that pool plagued my mind, but I held firm, refusing to let him intimidate me. “Dressed in the most revealing outfit,” he continued, “alone in the woods with a man who tried to drown you… a man that wants you dead.”
He took one more step, closing whatever distance remained between us. I sucked in a breath, one that was filled with his scent.
“No one is here. I can do”—his eyes searched my face—“anything I want to. You could scream, and no one would hear you or rescue you. You are wounded, tired, bruised, and weak, entirely at my mercy. I won’t try to control what you wear, no. I have no care in the world if you decide to roam the streets naked. All I’m saying—is I have eyes; I see how attractive you are and how you love to flaunt it on occasion, but one thing you should never do is be careless. And right now, Zahra, you are. Being here with me this way is the most careless you’ve been.
“You’re smart, but you lack wisdom. You know how to protect yourself from people who threaten you, but you do not know how to protectyourself,” he said, leaning away from me as he took off his trench coat, wrapping it around my body before his gaze locked with mine, and he spoke. “I could have been anyone else.” He stepped away. “Stay here. I’ll get wood for a fire.”
When he left, I let out a long breath; it was shaky and cold, but I quickly slipped both my hands inside the arms of his trench coat, hugging it to my body; the warmth gave the distinct feeling of how intense it felt to be standing close to him.
As I do with every piece of advice I have ever been given, I held on to his, seeing my mistakes and making sure never to repeat them.
Elio was… confusing. His threats somehow managed to seem like advice, a warning, and a guide at the same time. Hehad no reason to stick with me at this point; he could have gone on his way, but he was still here, and I doubted it was because he wanted to know what was really in the painting.
I wouldn’t delude myself and think he was here because it was kind of the right thing to do. The only reason I could think of right now was Devil. He was sticking around because his brother would want that.
I sighed, looking around me, trying to find a stone or a log to sit on. I arranged something not even close to comfortable, but my legs were killing me so I sat down and relaxed against a tree, the roots supporting my sitting material as I tried to get as comfortable as anyone could in a situation like this. I rested my head against the tree, sighed, and decided to rest my eyes.
The crackles from a fire and the distant howling of what might have been a wolf had me jerking awake, my brain confused for a moment before I remembered where I was. The smell of burning wood and wet earth lingered in the air, and opposite me sat Elio, gaze steady on the dancing flames.
I relaxed back against the tree, ensuring I didn’t make a sound while I moved, not wanting to draw his attention because he seemed very far away from this space, and I couldn’t help but watch him.
He didn’t have any mask on; that was the first thing I noticed. He didn’t wear a blank look of indifference… rather, he looked… sad and tired. His hair was also slightly wet. There were dark circles underneath his eyes, very visible.
I cleared my throat, and he blinked away from whatever daze he had been in, gaze rising from the fire to me.
“How long have I been out?”
His stare shifted from me to the fire. “Four hours,” he said. “It’s fiveA.M.now. We’ll leave at daylight. You can go back to sleep.”
I sat up, stifling a yawn, feeling more refreshed. I didn’t know time would go by like that. It didn’t even feel as though I’d slept that long.
“No,” I said, hugging his coat to me and maybe sniffing it a little because it smelled good. “I’ll keep watch. You should get some sleep.”
“There’s no point,” he said. “It’s already morning.”
“You look tired. You’ve kept watch all night. Why didn’t you wake me?”
“There was no point,” he repeated, and I watched him in the silence that followed, wondering if I should let my questions out or keep them to myself, but I was very curious, and the worst he could do was ignore me, right?
I cleared my throat, waiting a few beats before speaking and breaking the silence with a question. “Why did you hesitate?”
