Page 19 of Hell's Storm

My eyes snap to him, and rage rushes through me.How dare he tell me what to do? How dare he sit there and imply that’s all I think about doing?

Magic swirls around me; before I can control myself, we are both gone and transported somewhere away from everyone else.

Transporting twice in a row has my stomach in knots, but the rage that has come over me is just as wrenching. “I am not a slut!” I snap, now face-to-face with Ledger somewhere else.

“I didn’t call you one! I asked if you could stop thinking about fucking people!” Ledger snaps.

“Canyoustop fighting with everyone?! That’s all you think about! Fighting everyone for no reason.”

He rolls his crimson eyes. “No reason?”

“Yeah, no reason!”

“You didn’t even ask how we felt about you fucking Ryker!”

“It just happened! I wasn’t—”

“Thinking?” He scoffs.

“No. I didn’t want to think. He made me feel—”

“Good.”

I shake my head. “He made mefeel. Ryker made me feel, and that’s what I needed.”

Ledger glares at me. “He can give you what I can’t? How are you just going to try to replace me like that?”

My shoulder sag, and the anger washes away. I finally understand something about him, something that is probably rooted deep inside of him for various reasons. Ledger was scared of being replaced.

He examines my features before sighing. “I just wish you would have talked to me first…” Silence falls, giving him a moment to look around and ask, “Where are we?”

“One of Persephone’s gardens.” I look around for a moment. There’s rushing water leading over a small waterfall and fields of endless flowers and tall trees surrounding it. It’s beautiful compared to anything I’ve ever seen. I loved coming here as a kid and collecting all the flowers.

“Oneof?”

“She has over a dozen. I told you I would take you here… one day.” I nod. I feel his eyes on me, but I’m too focused on how the wind blows against the flowers and the sound of the water hitting the rocks. “I’m not trying to replace you. When we… Ryker made me realize what I was feeling about all of you.”

“All?”

I lick my lips, barely looking up. I didn’t want to admit it, not to Ledger out of all people. “I have men… who love me. I lost the most important people in my life, but I’m still surrounded by love. He just made me realize that.”

“I’m sure you could have figured that out with Hazen.”

“Well, I didn’t. You have to realize I’m notjustyours.”

“And you expect me to share you with everyone?”

“They all give me something I need.”

“I can give you what you need.”

Heat kisses my body again. “No, you can’t! You haven’t even comforted me since my family died! You’ve just been picking fights with everyone!”

Ledger lets out a huff before sitting at the edge of the water. “Fuck! I don’t know how to do that.”

I move to sit next to him, feeling so many emotions in my chest. The anger isn’t one I wanted to feel again. “Why are we doing this?”

“What?”

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