Page 129 of Tempest

And the most awful thing, the most soul-destroying of it all, is that I was well aware of Tempest’s true self before I ever remembered he killed my friend.

“Ardyn?”

Tempest’s concern plops into my consciousness like a pebble being thrown in flat water, rippling out its impact.

I fall into the door, clutching the handle. “Don’t touch me.”

“What’s wrong?”

He’s on me in three strides, cataloging the scene in front of him with expert alertness. The broken frame. The people housed in that photo. My bloodless face.

Tempest stops short of grabbing me. “You’ve remembered.”

Through chattering teeth, I cry hoarsely, “You murdered her!”

He doesn’t deny it.

That somehow makes it worse. The tears I’d held back pour freely down my face. “You bastard.”

“It was either her or you, Ardyn.” Tempest’s expression is too impassive. Too controlled. Like he’s afraid to emote or give me any clue about his feelings on the subject.

“Then it should’ve been me.” I slam a trembling hand against my chest. Turning, I open the door. Tempest palms the wood above my head, slamming it shut.

“I can’t let you go until we talk about this.”

“There’s nothing for us to discuss. You killed my friend!”

“Because of what you saw. Don’t you get it? Miguel saw you, or someone who looked very much like you, kill the heir to a mafia empire. He couldn’t let that go, and I had to follow orders.”

“Follow orders?” I stare at him through a blur of tears. “You knew her, Tempest! She was Clover’s best friend!”

“She was my preference over having to kill you.”

Tempest doesn’t move a muscle. Just stares down at me as if waiting for the moment I will—“Do you expect me to thank you for sparing my life?”

“No. I wouldn’t ask that of you.”

I have no idea if he’s being sincere or not. “I thought I could understand the monster behind your eyes because I’ve met a lot of monsters in my life. But I’ll never understand this.”

“You have to. I can’t let you leave until you promise me your silence on this.”

“Are you crazy?” Then I laugh. “Wait, no. I’m the crazy one. The locked-up one. The unstable one. Even though everything I witnessed was true!”

Tempest hooks my biceps, shaking me. The control he’d grasped slowly slips from his stoic, shaking features. “Is that what you want to hear? That you’re not crazy? Fine, Ardyn. You’re worse. Your life is in constant danger, and I did everything in my power to save you. I’ll keep doing it now. You cannot tell Clover. You can’t discuss this with anyone. Not if you want to live.”

I heave in his arms, staring at him, not knowing him, not understanding myself.

“Do you hear me?” His eyes sear my skin, green toxins slipping into my veins. “I’ve spent the past four years deleting you from Miguel’s memory. Then you fucking show up at this school! We’ve never been so close to death as we are now, so if you won’t do this for yourself, do it for Clover.”

My lips curl in disgust. “Damn you for using her like this.”

“You know I’m right.”

I rip out of his hold. Glaring with all the energy I have left, which isn’t much. I’m destroyed inside. “I’m not the person who killed her friend. My friend.”

“She was a vapid, ignorant, jealous girl, and she would’ve screwed you over a thousand times by now.”

I pull my features in, staring at him with wide eyes. “I can’t believe you. Whatever her personality was, she didn’t deserve to die.”

“Jesus, Ardyn.” Tempest rubs a hand down his face. “Sit down. We can talk about this. I don’t want you running through the woods in this state.”

“Oh, so now I’m a hysterical woman who can’t get home by herself because I’m horrified over what you’ve done?” My words are enough to bolster the fury to rip open the door and storm out.

“Ardyn!”

I throw myself into a full-on sprint into the forest.

Tempest could easily outrun me. He’s proven it once. But as the afternoon darkens into evening and the woods fall over me like a cold blanket, Tempest doesn’t come looking.

He lets me go.

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