Page 29 of Blood Lord

Yet, I still let down every wall I had. I stupidly fell in love with a lie, and this is what I get for it. Gods below, I hate him. I hate every beautiful lie he fed me to take my body for his, and I gave it so willingly.

Tears spill faster down my cheeks and I nearly crumple to the ground. I can't trust him again. I can't trust anyone. I thought Aaron was my friend and he nearly broke me. I thought I loved Raziel, but he used me and lied to me.

Why did I cling to the idea of a knight in shining armor? It's clear that even those guys have poor intentions, and it's time for me to finally learn to stand up for myself. Fuck stupid guardian angels. Humans are stronger than that, and I am determined to prove that to him.

My thoughts go back to the circus, and I crave to be back there. Nielmor may be crazy, but he never lied to me. We all knew who he was, what he was capable of. It was my only home, and I was forced away from it.

"I never should have left," I whimper, and when my foot catches a tree root this time, I tumble to the ground.

I flip between the trees, and as I roll across the dirt, something tinges my skin. Immediately, I feel the difference. The air now feels…lighter, crisper. I lift my head, looking around, and I know that I'm in a normal forest again.

I don't fully understand the whole wildspont thing, but the trees are still and their branches don't move. The plants are normal and the wind is no longer colored.

In fact, as I push up on my knees, I start to recognize the forest around me. I guess the magical forest just spouted me out into a random forest in Protheka and I got lucky because I am at the edge of Liiandor where I performed a few nights ago. Maybe because of where I was thinking of.

It's been a week since I left according to Raziel, unless he lied to me about that, too. I know that we don't have another show for a little while, so it's possible that they are still there, not bothering to move until necessary.

I'm on my feet as soon as the thought occurs to me. My body is renewed with eagerness, and I rush forward, desperate to get as far from that angelic looking demon as possible.

My legs pump, pushing me hard all the way to the clearing, and I'm out of breath, nearly collapsing as I break through the trees. Tears prick at my eyes with relief as I see all the tents and carts still here. It's my home, and I'm back.

I don't expect a warm welcome, but I do expect Nielmor to be relieved to see me. But as soon as the first human spots me, she shouts. "Selene?"

I nod, gasping with my hands on my knees, and suddenly they are all rushing toward me. My heart soars. I know that the others didn't always like me, but it's a relief to know that when I went missing it was enough for them to want to welcome me back.

Or at least I thought that until one of them grasps my arm and throws me to the ground. I tumble, scraping my arm, and I'm shocked as another kicks me in the side.

"Murderer!"

"How dare you come back here!"

"Wait til Nielmor hears!"

"Oh, his precious star. How she has fallen."

I don't have time to piece any of their words together as hands grasp at my shoulders and upper arms and I'm dragged backwards. I try to get my feet underneath me, scrambling to get back right, but I can't.

They're still screaming hateful words at me, all the sentences overlapping until I give up and shut them out. I had thought the circus was my home, but the way they fling me down just inside Nielmor's tent makes me question this decision, too.

Can I get a damn thing right?

I lift my head, struggling up to all fours as Nielmor whips around at the commotion. They all fall silent, dropping back as he stalks toward me, a wide grin on his face. His eyes dance with fire, but with Nielmor, he always looks crazed.

"I'm back," I croak out.

And he chuckles before landing his blow. My cheek stings from the fierceness of his slap, and I'm thrown to the side, crumpling to the ground. It's the first time he's ever actually struck me, and I don't know what to make of it.

Nielmor throws his head back with a terrifying howl, and I cringe, especially as the others start to join in. They all chuckle and laugh, and when he darts forward, it's so fast I don't even realize what he's doing.

His movements are so jerky, and the grin across his face is absolutely manic. Even his eyes have gone wide, and they dart around as they take in my face.

"You're back?" He cackles again, his lips barely moving. He laughs straight through his teeth, his eyes stretching impossibly wider, and it's the first time I've ever been genuinely terrified of him. "How great for us that ourstaris back."

There's something about the way he says star. It's not like the way he usually does. It almost sounds like an insult. And then he drops the ball.

"A star of her own show, of course. I thought it was understood who is in charge here." His fingers tighten on my arm, and his smile starts to droop into an awful grimace. "But then you decided to strike down one of my own!"

His palm bruises my cheek, but he doesn't drop me. My shoulder nearly jerks out of its socket as he keeps his hold on me and strikes me.

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