Page 111 of Vicious Knight

It’s more than a masterpiece. It’s art and music and the essence of everything in this world that was ever touched by inspiration.

“Oh my God.” I breathe out the words on the edge of a whisper. I almost feel like I shouldn’t speak. As if the magnificence demands the same reverence you’d show in a church. “This is so beautiful.”

“This is one of my favorite statues on campus. I love all the others, but this is something else.”

He’s absolutely right.

Giant-sized statues of the original Knights of Raventhorn guard the entrance of the campus. The statues take up the whole length of the enormous drive up to the main building, where it ends with Raventhorn himself with the raven on his shoulder and his sword in his hands.

All those statues have a powerful, godly look, but this one we’re staring at is everything.

I feel so silly now that I never heeded Thorne’s advice to take a closer look at the river. Everyone else has probably seen this a hundred times.

I never got a proper tour of the campus. Now I realize that I really missed out.

Over the last few weeks I’ve familiarized myself with all the places I needed to be. Most of my spare time has either been spent with Thorne, cleaning Myrridin House, or studying.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” I say.

“Neither have I. The man who led the Knights when the school was built got his wife to build all the statues you see on campus.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It was so she could share a piece of the legacy. He wanted her to build this one and the angels on the rooftops because all the statues around were so masculine. He wanted his wife to be remembered as the person who supported him most. This statue was their favorite, so they were buried together at the base.”

I’m so impressed with him and the story I have goosebumps. “Who is she, Thorne? The statue.”

“This is Freyja. Goddess of love, beauty, youth and fertility. But she also has another side, so she was also the goddess of war. Two sides but the same brilliant person. Just like you.”

I look back at him and find him already staring at me. Something in his eyes seems less guarded. Less defensive. Less unhinged.

At first, I stare, processing the beautiful words he just said about me.

Then I find myself biting back a smile, until I'm actually smiling.

Thorne catches my face and searches my eyes. “You’re smiling at me.”

“I always smile.”

“Not for me.”

“Well, I guess I am now. You just compared me to a goddess. It’s a massive upgrade from a Disney animal.” I sound like I’m joking but the warmth of his words is swelling my heart.

He leans in and brushes his nose along mine. “You were always a goddess. I don’t have to tell you that.”

He tilts his head but he’s a breath away from my lips.

Filled with the magnetism of his charm, I move in to kiss him. I press my lips to his like I’m tasting him, then I actually kiss him.

It feels like we’ve kissed a million times over but this is the first time I’ve initiated a kiss.

Slipping his hand behind my head, he takes control and sweeps his tongue into my mouth, claiming me with the taste of his power.

He makes me feel alive and like I can be me. Like I don’t have to hide.

When I’m with him I feel free.

That’s what I crave about Thorne Ivanov.

---