Page 22 of Down from the Tower

He leans in a little closer, those unnatural red-orange eyes shining at me. “Then I suggest you be careful not to trip on the roof.”

Scoffing, I take a step back. He’s too much, like something I can“t escape or ignore. On the roof he’s going to be even more all consuming, and when a sharp breeze gusts past the window I almost reconsider following him for fear of being blown off. “And how do you propose we get out there?”

Smirking, he holds out a hand. “Trust me?”

“Absolutely not.”

He roars with laughter, that massive blade at his back catching the moonlight. Yet another thing he might still kill me with. “Smart, Princess. But you are going to have to hold my hand if you want to get out of here.”

This is absurd. He’s playing tricks with me for his own amusement. Still, my heart aches to leave the tower, so I clasp hands with him anyway. “That doesn’t make any-”

Gasping, I watch as Zarev’s form disappears into a spiral. It’s like looking into a black abyss. One moment he’s beside me, the next he’s being swallowed up by the darkness and becoming one with, with…

With the shadows. My body feels oddly weightless, endless, like there’s no beginning or end to me. I know I’m still here, but I’m moving without trying and his shadowy, almost transparent form tugs us through the window like vapor.

Half a moment later, the surroundings are dimmer, and that weightlessness disappears. I cry out before a hand slams over my mouth, my footing uneven as I stumble.

And slide.

“Damn it, Princess,” he growls, and I feel Zarev shifting us around as my head spins. The weightlessness only lasted a moment but I’m feeling dizzy. “Get it together.”

His hand is too warm over my mouth, his body far too close behind mine as he pivots and I feel us even out. My eyes try to adjust, first taking in the space below us.

Shingles. And…

I give a muffled cry behind his hand, and he scoffs. “Do. Not. Scream. I’ll throw you back inside and leave you to deal with all this if you do.”

My breathing comes faster as I stare off the side of the roof. I sat out here once, trying to feel anything other than loneliness, but it was during the day and I eased myself out the window slowly so I didn’t fall. That was before I slid and people noticed I was gone.

Zarev, he…

I don’t exactly know what he did, but we’re on the roof now and I don’t feel weightless. But my heart is in my chest as I try to calm my breathing.

“In and out, Princess,” he says, his voice gravelly in my ear. “If you don’t calm down I’m not taking you a step further. I’m not sure I can save you if you fall off the roof.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, wondering why I decided to trust this man. Did solitude make me this rash? After several breaths I open my eyes again, clenching my hands into fists, and nod against his hand.

“Are you going to scream if I remove my hand,” he snaps, and for the first time I realize his other hand is banded across my stomach. I don’t know how I missed that, but I suppose I was too worried about falling to my death. Shaking my head, he blows out a breath.

His breath is still hot on my ear when he speaks again. “Be good now. I can distract you from the heights, but you won’t like how I do it, Golden Girl.

I don’t understand what he means, until I feel that soft touch against me again. My eyes widen as the shadows lazily travel around us, the stretches of inky black reaching out towards us, towards me.

I’m too surprised to do much of anything. His shadows wrap around my legs again, sliding beneath the skirt, and two others disappear up my arms.

Even with his hands wrapped at my stomach and over my mouth, I feel the touch of hands wrapping around my throat, caressing over my breasts through the shirt, and shoving aside my underwear -

I arch against him with a gasp, and he chuckles and lets me go. “Aren’t you full of surprises?”

I spin to glare at him, almost losing my balance thanks to the cloak a second time. “How dare you?”

He raises a brow, leaning in. “I didn’t hear you say no or push me away, Princess. I didn’t even hold that tightly. Speak up. Even the monsters listen to your needs.”

The wind snaps past us again, nearly throwing me into the roof. I manage to keep my footing; it's almost unnatural how balanced he is up here. But I'm guessing those shadows don't make him an ordinary man.

He watches my hair for a moment before snapping out his hand, catching the braid. My eyes widen, momentarily envisioning the pain and freefall as he tosses me to my death. Instead, he approaches me, stepping back into my bubble, and tucks the braid beneath the loose neck of the cloak.

“What was that?” I ask breathlessly, licking my lips as I watch him. Part of me wants to step back in and see how else his shadows play. “How are we out here?”

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