Page 94 of Shadows in Bloom

My eyes bug, and my hands drop to my sides. “Excuse me?”

“Forget it. Why am I even asking?” she says, shaking her head. “Of course you are.”

Teeth gritted, nostrils flared, I shoot back, “And you? Are you a virgin?”

She studies me for a long moment, before cocking her head and replying simply, “Depends.”

“Depends?”

She lifts a shoulder. “On what definition we use. You see, according to your favorite book…”

I roll my eyes.

“Only a man can deflower a woman, and take that preciously coveted bounty.”

My nose wrinkles at that, but I’m quick to mask it with a look of indifference. If she noticed my reaction, she doesn’t point it out.

“But seeing as I’d rather eat glass than allow a penis to invade my body—or more specifically, what’s attached to said penis…because, truly, we can make do with the rubber knock-offs, and without all that extra”—she waves a hand, wrinkling her nose—“stuff.”

My cheeks heat, and I drop my gaze to my dirt-caked feet.

“Not to mention the fact that the Bible was written by men for men…” She trails off. “Well, I’m just not quite sure what the rules are when you take the phallus out of the fallacy.” She shrugs, drawing my gaze back to hers just as she smirks. “I suppose you’re just left with sound logic.”

She takes a step toward me, and try as I might to move out of her reach, I find myself rooted to the spot as she brings a hand up to cup my cheek. “One gold star virgin is better than none I suppose,” she murmurs.

And with those puzzling words, she grabs me by the wrist, and starts dragging me around the fire to where I first found her.

“What are you doing? Where are you—” My panicked voice cuts out when I see the blanket spread over the ground.

Ophelia forces me to sit on it, before dropping to her knees in front of me. She then reaches over toward the corner, and I catch a flashing glint before she grabs whatever it is.

Faster than I can take my next breath, she flips my right hand over, and drags a knife right down the center of my palm.

I suck a hiss through my teeth, eyes widening at the blood immediately seeping up from the gash.

The sharp burning pain registers a second later, flooding my throat with thick tears.

“What…Why did you do that?” I choke out, ripping my hand from her grip to cup my uninjured one around my wrist. I dart my gaze wildly between Ophelia’s, dread twisting low in my belly at the blank look in her eyes.

And either the flames combined with the darkness are playing tricks on me—that or I’m in shock—because her pupils…

They look bigger.

Not only have they completely swallowed up her brown irises, but they seem to have swallowed up some of the whites too.

Movement has my gaze dropping to her lap where she draws the knife across her left palm with one deep, clean sweep of the blade. Creating an identical wound to mine, one that instantly bubbles up with thick blood. She doesn’t so much as flinch.

My heart thrashes against my ribcage, and I’m shaking my head.

This isn’t right.

Something is…wrong.

But when I snap my gaze up to hers, readying myself to get up and run?—

I don’t know what’s wrong with her…what sort of trouble she got herself into…but I know I don’t want any part of it.

—I find my best friend smiling back at me.

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