Page 85 of A Dawn Of Blood

So far, limiting myself to observing her has only resulted in more confusion.

I thought she’d be the embodiment of laziness, and she never stops working, unless that’s yet another ruse. I thought she’d be manipulating others into doing her bidding as well, and she’s going out of her way to inspire them instead, unless that’s just a form of manipulation. I thought there wouldn’t be anything there to figure out, and she’s contradictory as hell.

There is only one thing about her that makes sense to me — the way she treats me.

Always defending me, never getting judgmental, being willing to agree to anything to make me talk, in general, not just about the things she wants to know… After all, it’s stopping me from fulfilling my destiny that’s her end goal, and to do that, she needs to get me to trust her.

Then again, I thought she’d be actively trying to seduce me, and all she ever does is try to rope me into a conversation.

So yes, no matter how much I don’t want to, I need to get closer to her.

As soon as we get deeper into the forest, I slow to a stop.

I take a moment to brace myself then look over my shoulder, seeing her shift back.

I honestly thought she’d take this opportunity to try to talk to me again, but she just remains standing there, silently observing me.

My lips tug into a smile. Let her.

Too fast for her to react, I dart around her, stopping some distance behind her back. She inhales sharply, but when she turns around, the expression on her face is of amused confusion.

The plan is to find a weakness, starting by testing out whether she really is as unafraid as she wants to make herself seem.

But I need to be extremely careful because of that magic of hers. Even now that I’m putting all my focus into blocking the image of her reaching my consciousness, there’s the scent that’s driving me crazy.

I dart around her again, stopping a little closer than last time and starting to stalk over to her without making a sound.

This time, she cranes her neck a little, just enough for me to see her frown, but she doesn’t move.

I keep stalking, forcing my eyes to stay fixed on her profile, but as if of their own volition, they start dropping lower and lower and lower, tracing the curves of her neck, shoulder, waist...

My heart pounding, I manage to stop them just before they reach her ass. Gritting my teeth for showing such weakness, I force them to snap back up to her face and keep stalking.

I come close enough to almost touch her, finding that her breathing is still unsteady.

Just as my lips curl into a smile, she blows out a low chuckle.

I stop, my hands balling into fists. Taking a step closer, I let out a low snarl.

But the next thing I know, she’s turning around, looking up and stepping straight into me, making me have to jump back so as to avoid touching her.

I quickly regain my footing and put enough distance between us, but now she’s standing there with her arms folded and her head tilted, smiling at me.

It’s something I’ve learned at that meeting of theirs. I can’t explain it, but it’s true. Everything about her seems to be endlessly dangerous — her scent, her voice, her curves, the way she moves, the way she looks at me… but it’s that wide, playful smile that poses the most immediate threat to me. Whenever it’sthat smile she’s giving me, I feel as if I’m on the verge of stepping off a cliff and being happy to be falling to my own death.

“Here’s a suggestion, Hot Stuff,” she snaps me out of it. “Stop trying to scare me and just tell me why we’re really here.”

I just look at her for a second then let out a scoff. “I wanted to go for a run.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “Fine,” she purrs at me. That’s another thing she does that I absolutely hate. “Let’s keep playing your twisted little game. After all, I bet you’re not even willing to admit it toyourself— what it’s really about.”

Her words remind me of my mission. She seems to be truly unafraid of me, but there are still things I can learn about her that could be of use to me.

For one, what she truly believes in. She acts as if she has principles, but there must be a rotten core underneath.

“You know what I’d like to know?” I ask.

She quirks an eyebrow at me. “What?”

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