Page 126 of Bound By Roses

He glances over his shoulder at me, eyes widening only a fraction as he takes in my appearance. I haven’t seen myself, but I’m sure it’s a stark difference from when he left me at the border.

There’s a tearing sound, and then a heap of fabric hits me in the chest. I catch it as Jade speaks. “Wipe your face.”

I do, and the torn shirt comes back as red as the ground beneath me.

He turns back to the Guardian. “Do you remember me? Because I remember you.”

I should have known Jade wouldn’t be able to resist satisfying some of his vengeance. Quinn told me that he had some of his memories. Only the most painful ones. The ones of cruelty and abuse and injustice. That’s why he hated me, and why sometimes I think he still does.

Whoever this Guardian is, he’d been part of it. I try to place him, but the only detail my brain provides is that his name starts with the letter ‘D’.

“How could I forget?” he sneers, though the fear in his eyes in unmistakable. Jade is more than he could have ever imagined. A winged beast with claws that could end a life with a single swipe. But when his eyes slide to me, that fear turns into somethingelse. “Well, look at that. I guess she enjoyed yourstalking, after all.”

Stalking? What is he talking about?

Jade looks to me again, but this time rage has turned to confusion. “Stalker…” he says, tasting the word before whipping his head back around to the man. He presses harder against the Guardian’s throat, though not hard enough to outright end him. I’m more surprised he hasn’t burst into flames yet, and with the bright glow of the crimson lines that cover Jade’s body, I’m almost certain he’s responsible for the fire raging around us. “You used to call me that. You carved it into my skin and then, when it would fade, you’d do it again. Why?”

“Why?” The man almost laughs. “Because you’re a sick fuck. Sneaking off to the palace at night. Spying on the princess. I could have reported you—shouldhave reported you—but then we wouldn’t have had so much fun together.”

When Jade’s gaze returns to me, it’s as if he’s seeing something clearly for the first time. He may not remember our cursed bond or the feelings he once had for me, but the truth in this dark memory shines a light over some of what he couldn’t see. “Why are you here, Abby?”

“Why areyouhere? You’re supposed to be getting the people out.”

“Rhett can handle it.”

“If that were true, then why are there three terrified women over there who almost got mauled by a pig?” I point behind me, though I don’t know if he’ll be able to see them clearly.

His eyes never leave me, anyway. “I guess that explains the blood. Sorry.”

“Are you? I know you need your vengeance, but this is bigger than you. It’s bigger than all of us.”

Jade’s clawed hand tightens at his side, but then it’s moving. He drives the sharp point of a single claw into the man’s exposedchest and drags it through the skin in a curved shape. And then he does it again and again andfuck, he’swriting.

The cries and pleas that pour from the Guardian’s mouth do nothing to deter the dragon. When he’s done, a single word wet with scarlet shines back at me in the blazing light.

Stalker.

“I should thank you,” Jade says to the trembling man before driving a claw deep into his left thigh. Blood spurts from the wound, but it’s not enough to kill him quickly. This injury is meant to incapacitate. “You helped me remember something else.” He lets the man slide down the wall in a careless heap before taking a step towards me. He unsheathes one of the daggers around my waist and holds it out. “Finish him off for me.”

“Why?”

Jade’s wings stretch out wide behind him as if he plans to take to the sky. “Because the only reason he never reported me was because he, too, was watching you. I thought I wanted him dead because of what he did to me, but I think it’s always been because of you.”

I look down at the knife. “If that were true, he’d already be dead.” Jade—the old Jade—would have made sure of that. Unless he couldn’t. I think back to the one Guardian who touched me and the memory of one of these very same blades twisting into his heart. Jade would have stopped him too, if he could. “You were ordered not to kill the Guardians.”

“Merrick and his rules.” He flaps his wings, sending gusts of hot air blowing my hair back as he hovers a few feet above me. “I’ll get those women to the tunnels and make sure no one else gets left behind. I suggest you get out while you still can.”

And then he’s gone.

The sound of scrabbling across stone draws my gaze back to the Guardian. I hadn’t noticed it before, but now that it’s justthe two of us, his wheezing becomes apparent. Jade must have broken a rib or two when he slammed him against the wall.

“Tell me why you deserve to live.” I don’t want to kill him, so if he can give me just one reason why I shouldn’t, that’ll be enough.

He laughs, though it sounds wrong with the damage to his chest. “You’re not going to kill me.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Do you even know how to use that knife? You should drop it before I take it from you and slit your fucking throat.”

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