“Is that what you did?” I whisper, feeling his heart pound steadily against my chest.
He wavers. “I’m still working on some of it, but I think I’ll get there eventually.”
I want to ask him what he wants. What he’s fighting for. What his destiny is. But, when the vehicle jolts then grows still, he lets out a sigh.
“That means we’ve landed. So, unfortunately, this conversation has to be postponed.” He gives me a quick kiss then stands up, briefly lifting me up with him before setting me down. “Change really quick, okay? On this world, you’re going to want to wear something dark that covers up more of you.” He winks at me. “Unfortunately.”
I struggle not to smile, which feels a bit weird. After everything I’ve learned about myself, I feel like I should be sinking into the pits of despair, yet somehow, East has me on the verge of smiling.
The tricky faerie.
“Are they modest on this planet?” I wonder.
He shakes his head. “Nope. It’s just colder than hell here.” With that, he leaves me alone to change.
And taking the lightness with him.
I push through the surfacing heaviness, fighting it the best that I can.
That’s all I really can do.
Asher
My brother is here, and he’s my brother.
I’m still struggling to process that—that he’s no longer under our father’s control.
While I’m glad, I’m also concerned, because he looks so … worn down. Broken. And he’s not saying much of anything, either.
Arrow was a lot like that after I rescued him, so I’m not surprised. Arrow and Maxton have both endured abuse and, like with Arrow, it’ll take some time for Maxton to heal.
“You promised you’d kill me,” Maxton suddenly says.
We have been sitting on the sofa in silence for so long that I fucking startle. But I quickly collect myself.
“And I will,” I tell him. “When you’re on your death bed, taking your final breath.”
His gaze skates to me, the silver color glimmering with a hint of life that I haven’t seen in him since … Well, I can’t even remember the last time he looked like this. Beneath the life, though, shadows hide. His pain and anguish, I’m guessing, and I hate seeing it there.
“It was cruel to lie to me just to get what you wanted,” he mutters, staring down at his hands.
His wrists are peeking out from the hem of his shirt, revealing the healing wounds he got when he escaped the chains that I put on him, something he told me when he gave me a recap of what happened. I feel fucking awful that I was responsible for him getting hurt, but when I tied him up, I didn’t see another option.
“Well, I’m sorry, but I needed the information, and I wasn’t about to kill you,” I tell him, reaching forward for my drink that’s on the table.
“Yeah, I guess.” He doesn’t look at me as he speaks.
He’s made very little eye contact at all with anyone. I know why, and it hurts my fucking cold, dead heart. I just hope that, over time, that will change, that he’ll heal.
I make a silent promise to myself to help him with that. And I’ll do better with this promise than I did with the last one, the one I made to Harlynn. The one I broke.
I failed her.
As I’m taking a drink, the vehicle slightly lurches, announcing we’re getting close to landing.
I set the drink down on the table. “We’re getting close,” I tell him. “I’m a little apprehensive about this. The Midnight planet … there’s a lot of dangerous creatures there.”
“You’re considered a dangerous creature,” he reminds me, scratching his arm. “Unlike me. I have absolutely no power now, which makes me completely useless.”
“That’s not true at all,” I tell him. “You’re the only one who knows anything about Harlynn. Plus, you know about our father and his plans.”
“Yeah, but after this is all over, then what? What am I supposed to do with myself without any powers?”
“You’ll figure that out when the time comes. And you should focus on that, okay? That you get to figure that out.” I stand up and give him a pat on the shoulder. “Because, brother, you’re free.”
He gives an uneven nod and wraps his arms around himself.
I get the strangest feeling that he’s terrified by that—freedom. Maybe, when you don’t have something for so long, and then suddenly you have it, it’s terrifying. Maybe I might know more about that than I want to admit.
“I’m going to go tell everyone to get ready,” I tell Maxton. “If you want to hurry and shower and change into some clean clothes, you can use my room.”
He briefly chews on his lip before nodding. “Okay.” He gets to his feet, and then I lead him down the hallway and to my bedroom. “The bathroom’s in the back. Feel free to use any of my stuff.” I point to the doorway of the closet. “That’s the closet. It’s fully stocked.”
He nods again as his gaze roves over everything in the room. He seems fascinated by everything, which makes me wonder where my father kept him in his home.
Probably the dungeon.
I swallow hard at the thought that that could very well be true.
As I start to turn to leave, he mutters a, “Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me. You never should’ve been in the position you’re in right now … I should’ve saved you a long time ago.” With that, I leave the room, shutting the door behind me.
When I step back into the hallway, East is walking out of Harlynn’s room. I walk toward him, and he meets me halfway.
“We’re getting close to landing,” I inform him.
“Yeah, I assumed with all the jolting the vehicle was doing.” He gives a distracted glance back at Harlynn’s shut bedroom door then sinks his teeth into his lip.
“You okay?”
He blinks at me then forces a smile onto his face. “I’m always okay.”
“That’s not even close to the truth.” I cross my arms and stare him down. “So, what’s up?” When he appears reluctant, I cautiously ask, “Is this about Penelope?”
His brows fleetingly furrow, and then he shakes his head. “No. I’ve barely thought about her since we left Steel.”
“Okay.” Then what the hell has got him acting all weird?
“I’m going to go change,” he tells me, stepping toward his room, but then he pauses and glances over his shoulder at me. “About the thing we discussed … the thing Maxton told us about breaking Harlynn’s curse.”
So that’s what this is about?
“Yeah, what about it?”
“Well, we never really said if we were going to try that or not.” He turns all the way to face me, yanks his fingers through his hair, and shifts his weight. “And I know that we don’t have time right now to discuss it, but I definitely think we should.”
I eye him over. Just what exactly happened between Harlynn and him after she learned what she was and took off out of the room? We had all decided East was the best creature to go talk to her because of the demon blood he has flowing through his veins.
“Okay,” I say, unsure if I’m feeling jealous or not. Perhaps a little bit. If he were any other creature, besides Arrow, I would be raging with jealousy and demanding to know what happened between them. But East is my best friend, has been for a very long time.
“Okay,” he agrees then turns and walks into his room.
I turn around and wander the rest of the way to Harlynn’s door. Lifting my hand, I knock.
“Come in,” she says from the other side.
When I open the door, she’s standing by her closet, wearing that dress she had on at the party. The one that hugs her body and shows of her sexy legs. Legs that I’ve touched and that I want to touch now.
Shit … I’m really getting in over my head.
“Hey,” she says as I walk in. When her gaze sweeps across my face, worry creases between her brows. “Is everything okay?”
Shaking my head, I cros
s the room and stop in front of her. “Not really.”
She nibbles on her lip, nearly driving me mad. “Are you worried about what I am?”
“What?” I gape at her. “No. Not even a little bit.”
Her lips form an O, and shit, all I want to do is kiss her. I want to do a lot more than that. But I can’t. Not unless the curse is broken …
My thoughts drift back to the dance floor when East and I touched and kissed her …
Maybe I can do it.
“I actually just came in here to say that I’m sorry.” I brush the back of my hand down her face.
She angles her head to the side. “Sorry for what?”
“For breaking my promise to you.”
Shaking her head, she rolls her eyes. “You didn’t break your promise. Stuff just went down differently than we planned.”
“I never should’ve used you as bait.” I place my hand on her waist and pull her closer. “I won’t do it again.”
She narrows her eyes at me. “Just because we’re … whatever we are, doesn’t mean I’m going to be this damsel in distress. Every mission you guys go on, I’m going to be a part of, got it?”
Every bone in my body aches to dominate her, tell her that she’ll do what I say. But I know her well enough that she’ll argue with me until she gets what she wants. Though, when we argue, I usually get turned on. I never thought I’d be like that, but it turns out that I am.
“Okay. Fine. I got it.”
Suspicion flickers across her face. “Did you just agree with me? And without an argument?”
I shrug. “Perhaps. But don’t get used to it. We just don’t have a lot of time to get into one of our arguments.”
She bites back a smile. “Aw, I tamed the bossy genie.”
A spark ignites in my chest, and heat flares through my veins.
I lean in, putting my lips close to hers as I grip her waist. “Are you trying to test my patience?” I whisper lowly.
She smirks. “Nope, I was just stating a fact.”
That spark inside me blazes into flames. “Little thief,” I warn, “how many times have I warned you that you’re playing with fire when you say shit like that to me?”
“And how many times have I told you that I don’t care?” She reaches up and pats my cheek while flashing me a haughty smile—
I kiss her, losing all control over myself for a moment. I slip my arm around her, pressing her closer to me while sucking on her lip.
A gasp fumbles from her lips, and I want nothing more than to back her to the bed, rip off her clothes, and slip inside her. But I can’t for two reasons; one being that she’s way too inexperienced for me to be that rough with her yet, and two, I can’t go there until I talk to East and Arrow. So, even though it nearly kills me, I break the kiss.
“I should probably go change,” I say through my ragged breaths.
And maybe take a cold shower while I’m at it.
She unsteadily bobs her head up and down. “Yeah, I need to get changed, too.”
“Okay.” I don’t step away right away, just staring at her and trying to figure out what this is. Why I feel so different around her.
It’s not just that she’s feisty, smart, gorgeous as hell, and is the most realest creature I’ve ever met. No, it’s more than that. I just can’t figure out what.
“You okay?” she asks.
Realizing I’ve dazed off and am just staring at her, I nod. Then I realize I actually am sort of okay, which is weird. I’m not sure if I’ve ever felt okay, with a shadow of pain and a doomed future constantly hanging over my head.
She looks at me with concern. “Are you sure?”
I give another nod then lean forward and brush my lips across hers. “Yeah, I’m sure.” I offer her a smile then turn to leave the room.
“Ash?” she calls out.
My heart damn near explodes, but I manage to turn around calmly. “Yeah?”
She fidgets with a leather band on her wrist, nervousness flowing through her as she stares at the floor. “You never told me if you found a way to break the curse. If what Maxton told you was true.” She lifts her gaze to me then, revealing the truth behind her words.
She wants to break the curse.
Desperately.
I just wonder if she’ll want it as much if I tell her the way. Sure, she’s kissed all of us, but kissing and falling in love are two totally separate things.
“Yeah, I think it’s true,” I tell her.
“Okay.” She drags her teeth across her bottom lip. “So, what is it?”
I could tell her and hope she doesn’t freak out. She may even handle it well. However, I need to make sure East, Arrow, and even myself are all on board with this. While I’m pretty sure East is, Arrow is going to be the most complicated, and not just because of the whole sharing thing, but because he struggles more with emotions, even more than East and me.
Plus, the moment I say it aloud, I feel like I’m putting pressure on her. Every time she kisses any of us, she’ll think about whether she’s breaking the curse. And I don’t want that. I don’t want any of this to be fake, or else it won’t work. Plus, I’ve spent my entire life around fakeness until Harlynn barged into my life. Like I said, she’s the realest creature I’ve ever met. She doesn’t pretend. Doesn’t sugarcoat stuff. And I want it to stay that way.
“Can I talk to you about it after we leave Midnight?” I ask. “It’ll take a while to get into it.”
She nods. “Yeah, of course.” She gives a short, considering pause. “There’s a way, though, right?”
Her desire to want this makes me smile.
“Yeah, little thief, there’s a way,” I assure her.
I just hope I’m right. Hope that everyone will be okay with this. Hope that, for once, things work out. Hope that I can protect her from my father and all the other creatures out there that want her for her power.
I can’t help worrying that it won’t. In fact, I can feel it in my bones, a storm is brewing, which more than likely means we still have a lot of dangerous obstacles to overcome.
About the Author
Jessica Sorensen is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who lives in the snowy mountains of Wyoming. When she’s not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.
For information: jessicasorensen.com
Also by Jessica Sorensen
Capturing Magic:
Chasing Wishes
Chasing Magic
Chasing Promises
Untitled (releasing spring 2020)
Monster Academy for the Magical Series:
Monster Academy for the Magical
Monster Academy for the Magical: The Deadly Four
Monster Academy for the Magical: The Monster Trial
Monster Academy for the Magical: The Monster Clique (coming soon)
Enchanted Chaos Series:
Enchanted Chaos
Shimmering Chaos
Iridescent Chaos
Entangled Chaos (coming soon)
Chasing Hadley Harlyton:
Chasing Hadley
Falling for Hadley
Holding onto Hadley
Untitled (coming soon)
Cursed Hadley:
Cursed Hadley
Enchanting Hadley (coming soon)
Tangled Realms:
Forever Violet
Untitled (coming soon)
Curse of the Vampire Queen:
Tempting Raven
Enchanting Raven
Alluring Raven
Untitled (coming soon)
Unraveling You Series:
Unraveling You
Raveling You
Awakening You
Inspiring You
Every Single Breath
Untitled (coming soon)
Unexpected Series:
The Unexpected Complications of Revenge
Untitled (coming soon)
Shadow Cove Series:
What
Lies in the Darkness
What Lies in the Dark
Untitled (coming soon)
Mystic Willow Bay Series:
The Secret Life of a Witch
Broken Magic
Untitled (coming soon)
Standalones:
The Forgotten Girl
The Honeyton Series:
The Illusion of Annabella
Untitled (coming soon)
Rebels & Misfits Series:
Confessions of a Kleptomaniac
Rules of a Rebel and a Shy Girl
Secrets We Buried
Untitled (coming soon)
The Fareland Society:
Opposite of Ordinary
Untitled (coming soon)
Broken City Series:
Nameless
Forsaken
Oblivion
Forbidden (coming soon)
Guardian Academy Series:
Entranced
Entangled
Enchanted
The Forest of Shadow & Bone
Entice
Charmed
Untitled (coming soon)
Sunnyvale Series:
The Year I Became Isabella Anders
The Year of Falling in Love
The Year of Second Chances
The Year of Kia and Isa
Untitled (coming soon)
The Coincidence Series:
The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden
The Redemption of Callie and Kayden
The Destiny of Violet and Luke
Chasing Promises: (Capturing Magic, Book 3) Page 14
