Page 85 of Bound By Roses

She can’t mean that. They’ve supposedly been doing that every night and I’ve still had to sleep in this gods awful form. Unless... Shit, she meansallof the dragons. Or, at least, all of them except Petra. They’re all going to be out tonight, patrolling the border around Marein—but why? Why would any of them do that for me?

As if reading the agonizing question in my eyes, she reaches a hand out for me as if I were human and she wants me to take it.‘Don’t do that. Don’t think that you’re not deserving. It’s one night, and they’re giving it to us. So don’t argue. Don’t try to reason out minuscule meanings. Just come with me.’

There’s no one around us on the empty beach, so I let my body relax and let the fur and flesh of the wolf seep off of me. My bones crack with the shift, and the ache of it is a welcome thing as I straighten and allow the cool air to envelop me. I breathe deeply, drinking in the freshness—the freedom—of just being able to be myself. To be human.

My body moves for her as if acting on a will of its own, and then we’re kissing, the moon above our only witness. I let her fill me, replacing all traces of the panic with whatever I can get from her. Her taste, her smell, the feel of her hands running along my skin. This is what I needed. It’s all I ever need.

I let her lead me to the tower and then up the winding staircase to our room at the top. The musty old bed is a beautiful sight when you’ve been sleeping in the dirt for weeks, and when she eases me down onto it, I feel like I’ve gotten back just a shred of my dignity.

“Wait,” I say, when she moves to unlace her dress. “Let me.”

She turns and pulls her hair over one shoulder so that I can free her from the heaps of fabric hiding every beautiful curve of her from me. My fingers fumble with my recent shift, as if they’re re-learning how to function as fingers rather than claws. She’s patient as I work my way down her back, untying and unclasping, and running my hands down every inch of her.

I let the dress fall off her in a careless heap and pull her down onto the bed beside me. It dawns on me in this moment that I don’t even need to be inside her. I just need to bebesideher. She’s already granted me an escape. Given me the freedom I feared I’d lost.

As if she knows exactly what I need, she snuggles in beside me, draping an arm across my chest and a leg over my thigh. She’s letting me feel her.

I reach a hand up to touch her, but she catches it in hers. She weaves her fingers through mine and it’s a reminder that I’m me. That I’m human.

“Thank you,” I breathe, and then, for quite possibly the first time in months, let myself drift off into an easy sleep knowing that, at least for now, we’re safe.

When I awake, I find Abby already up. She smiles when she sees me stir and leans down to give me a tender kiss. “Good morning,” she says, and she’s right. It is a good morning. The first good morning in far too long.

“I actually slept through the night.”

Her smile widens. “I noticed. It’s still early though. I wish you would have slept a little longer.”

“I got more than enough sleep,” I tell her. “Trust me.” It’s not a lie, either. Even before all this bullshit with the wraiths—heck, even before the curse—I was used to late nights and early mornings.

“About last night,” she says, taking a seat on the bed beside me. “I meant what I said. I don’t like needless killing, but I like the idea of losing you even less. We can use the Guardian.”

I take her hand in mine and bring it to my lips, careful not to irritate the wound that’s nearly entirely healed. “He’s more valuable to us alive.”

“Does that mean…?”

“Yes. I’ve decided.” I just hope it’s not a decision I come to regret.

We decide to skip breakfast because, honestly, I’m not sure I’ll be able to stomach this as it is. Adding food into the mix is a recipe for disaster. As we move through the tunnels of Marein’s lower city, I know instantly that something isn’t right. Eyes that have come to view me with respect and even friendship now show nothing but apprehension. Is this about last night? Or am I just so far in my own head that I’m making this about me?

I give Abby’s hand a gentle squeeze.‘Is it just me, or are they looking at me strangely?’

‘They’re looking atusstrangely.’

So this might not be about last night. Either way, this is different. “Did something happen?” I ask the siren nearest to us. When he doesn’t answer, I turn my gaze to every one of the onlookers. Their only response is to avert their stares.

“Abby! Quinn!” I know that voice, so I turn towards the nearest door that leads into the central dining hall. Fern, followed by the little siren boy I’d seen her swimming with, come running towards us.

I drop to my knees and catch her against my chest. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Her hair is in her face, so I brush it back and out of her eyes.

“It’s that man,” she says, tugging at my wrist as she tries to pull me back the way she’d come.

“What man?” Abby asks as she makes sure the boy whose name I still haven’t bothered to learn is unharmed.

“The man Uncle Jade brought here.”Uncle Jade?When the fuck did that start? I have to push that thought aside because if that Guardian escaped… “He’s screaming.”

Fuck.

I stand abruptly and take Abby by the hand, leading her away from the children and the adults who knew very well what was happening and still chose to keep their mouths shut. There’s only one reason for that man to be screaming, and if Erwyn kills him, then all of this would have been for nothing.

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