Page 94 of Mama Si's Paradise

Valentine looked at me. “Because she was heartbroken.”

“Heartbroken, how?” Who got heartbrokenand then went and destroyedcontinents? Who even had such an incredible power?

“You’ll know when the time comes, Sunshine,” said Valentine.

“When’s that?”

“After the Blood Call.”

Shivers ran down my back again.I’m not going to be here for the stupid Blood Call,I thought, but kept my lips sealed anyway.

“Everything looks the same,” I said instead, focusing on the walls, the black flowers here and there, the lamps. “Where are the windows?”

“There isn’t much to see in the Woods from the castle,” Valentine said. “There’s a balcony here if you want to take a look.”

I nodded right away. Of course, I wanted to take a look—I had to see exactly how far away from shore we were and where the gates of that large wall surrounding this castle were.

“Very well. This way,” he said, touching my arm a little to show me to the other side, and electricity jolts went throughout me at the contact even over the jacket. I tried so hard not to flinch, not to remember what he was, and not to basicallyseethose fangs in my mind’s eye.

I failed.

“Don’t do that,” Valentine said. “Don’t pretend with me, Sunshine. I know.”

My brow rose and I pretended again. “Know what?”

“Your heart. The way it beats.”

Well, damn. “You literally just met me yesterday.”

“And I’ve been listening to your heartbeat for as long as you’ve slept. I know the rhythm of it for most that you do and most that you think,” he said, and he sounded so fucking confident I almost believed him.

“Oh. Do you usually go around listening to people’s heartbeats all night?” I was being sarcastic, but if he understood, he pretended not to.

“Not at all. I’ve never done it before, but I’ll be doing it every night now.”

I stopped.

I looked at him.

“What?” he had the audacity to ask.

“That is creepy as hell.” Did he really need me to tell him that?

The asshole grinned as he looked at my lips and licked his. “You’ll find it romantic soon enough.” And he continued to walk ahead, toward a set of doors that was pretty much the same as the others to its sides design-wise, but these were almost twice in size.

“That’s…that’s just…” I didn’t really have the word for it. What the hell could I even tell him?

Didn’t matter, anyway. Shaking my head, I followed, and when he pulled the doors open, the dragon on his shoulder spread his black wings and began to fly right away.

Open air filled my nostrils, and I was suddenly cold again. Pulling the jacket tighter around me, I followed Valentine outside, taking in the darkness around us.

We were already two stories down the tower, so we could see the ground much better—except there really wasn’t much to see, just like he said. The top of the wall surrounding the castle was almost level with us here. The balcony was wide, the railing made out of stone blocks. I put my hands over it, forgetting the cold as I analyzed what more I could see—the ground, the people about five stories below who seemed to be standing guard, and farther to the left—big wooden gates on the stone wall. Closed gates, and about eight men standing near them. The rain had stopped, but I had no clue what time it was, if it was noon or twilight, if the sky was blue or dark. Here, only a black cloud was hanging over us, and beyond the wall were trees. That’s all I saw—darkness and trees.

“Where is everything else?” There had to be more to this Isle, wasn’t there?

“Out there, in the forests that cover most of the Isle. There are towns and houses, smaller houses. There are animals—alot of wild animals in the forests. There are three large mountains on the Isle, too,” he said.

“And what do you do with yourselves all day?”

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