Page 53 of Bound By Roses

She sighs and takes my hand in hers. Our interlocked fingers are a beautiful thing. “Your skin is like ice. Even in that snowstorm, you didn’t feel this cold.”

“I’m probably just coming down with something.” The lies are coming too easy. “I just need to sleep.”

I’ll be getting no sleep tonight.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

ABBY

We’re all tired this morning, but none as much as Quinn. His eyes are bloodshot and I don’t know if it’s because he hasn’t been sleeping, he’s right about getting sick, or if the screaming wraiths kept him up, but he looks to have gotten far less rest than usual. I brush up against the bond we share as if there’ll be some answer there. Some clue as to why this beautiful man is suffering in silence.

I feel a caress in response, followed closely by soft words that are meant just for me.‘You could just ask. No need to snoop.’

Busted.

I do my best not to reveal the thought, but I can’t help but wonder if he would tell me the truth if I asked. “You had me worried last night.”

He takes my hand in his, and it’s just as warm and comforting as always. “I’m sorry. Really.”

“Is there something going on? You seem distant.”

He blows out a heavy sigh. “I just haven’t been sleeping well. And neither have you, so let’s not make a big deal about it. We’re going to get some answers from the Spider and then we’ll be one step closer to normal.”

I guess that’s my answer.

I hide my disappointment with a laugh that hopefully sounds genuine. “One step closer to normal? Do we even know what normal is?”

He chuckles too, but it’s just as forced. “No, but we’ll find out soon. I promise. And speaking of promises, I need you to promise me something.”

I cross my arms. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

“Let me strike the bargain with the Spider.”

Well, that’s not what I was expecting. “Why does it matter who does it?”

“We don’t know what she’ll want.” His eyes are pleading, and that alone nearly makes me agree. That only lasts a moment though, because he doesn’t need to protect me. He may have me beat when it comes to brute strength, but I’m a Chosen.

“Exactly. Why should you have to pay it?”

“Because this is my family.”

“And I’m not?”

“Of course you are. That’s not what I meant. This is less about protecting you and more about getting the answers I need to be one step closer to vengeance. You know what Imelda did to me. It was more than just the curse. She had me convinced I murdered my sister. I could have saved her. She spent nearly six years locked away in the dark. I will never forgive myself for that, but if you let me make the deal to find out why, at least I can say I’ve done something.”

He’s right. If the roles were reversed, I’d want my vengeance too. He gave me my vengeance once when he let me kill the man who’d stolen something precious from me. He gave me my strength back when he’d kicked that knife across the dirt and asked me if I remembered how to kill. If he needs to be the one to find out the truth about Imelda and what she did to him, I can agree to that.

“There’s one more thing,” he adds, shrugging off his jacket. “Wear this.”

I take it from him, feeling the weight of it. Not only is it hot today, it’s way, way too big for me. “Why?”

He reaches a hand out and drags a finger along one of the golden vines on my arm. “The less she knows, the better.”

I shrug on the jacket and immediately feel like I’m drowning in it, but at least it smells like him. He unclasps the belt of daggers from my waist before refastening it over the jacket. That helps with some of the bagginess, but it’ll be obvious to anyone that I’m hiding something.

“Hold still,” he says, his hands undoing the ribbon I’d used to tie my hair back. My hair falls around my face and he pulls it forward, using it to mask the rose still visible on my collarbone. “This will have to do.”

“What about yours?” I ask.

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