Page 123 of Priest and his Anarchist

“How do you know she could do that?” He was probably right. There were rarely any times that he was wrong. Bastard.

He turns and when his eyes are back on mine, the world around me slows. “Trust me. I know.”

He shakes his head, staring off into the distance. “She was taken from me when she was barely a year old. Crushed both me and Tillie. We never recovered. Every day, we both think of her.” His eyes fall to the ground, sadness weighing at his shoulders. “She can barely look at Luna without seeing Micaela.”

My hand lands on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I am.”

“Beside the point.” He clears his throat. “I’ve seen you with Luna, and I’ve seen you withher.” He points to the house with a nudge of his head. “You need to fight for Luna, Priest. You may think that the version of her you see in there is the one you wanted, but it’s only because you conditioned yourself to feel that way over years of obsession.”

Again. The bastard is always right. “I need her back.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

priest

Isit beside her sleeping form as her chest rises and falls with every breath. The dinner party tonight was too much. She’s been back for less than twenty-four hours and has managed to cause enough chaos that I’ll be left cleaning it up years later.

Or Vaden. Vaden will be.

My thumb follows the line of her lips, desperate to grasp onto anything. Anything at all that will provoke that same starved animal that was obsessed with her enough to cause all of this.

“Get up.” I force her to her feet.

Her eyes open as she stumbles out of the covers, still drunk with sleep. “What’re you doing?”

I catch her around her waist, my eye twitching. “Why didn’t you run?”

She pales. “I, uh…” her body trembles against me as a sob leaves her chest. She brings her eyes up to mine, the softness returning.

My skin prickles and the tension in my neck is back.Did she just…

She flutters her lashes before a lopsided grin spreads over her mouth. “Why?” Her claws mark my chest as she circles her way up.

Shit. That was close. I need to do better. Change on plans…

“Answer.” I pluck her hand off me. “That day I found you after you went missing in Aspen, what happened?”

Her eyes fly to mine and the room caves in around me. Nothing matters. Not a single fucking thing matters. Not why she’s here or how she got here.

I step forward. “What were you doing before I found you hours after you went missing, Luna?”

“I was taken!” She exclaims, her arms flying up in the air.

“No.” Another step. “You weren’t.”

“Yes, Priest, I was! I woke up, and they had me tied to this—the bed, and—” She pauses. “—and we, there was a man who came down and opened the door. Wait—“ she blinks rapidly. “Where are we?”

Her eyes move around the room, as if not knowing where she is. It won’t work this time.

I’ve been waiting for this day for too long.

“Where do you think we are?” I can feel the vein in my neck pulsing with every passing second.

“You said Aspen, but?—”

“Where am I?” Panic clouds her face.

I freeze. “What’s the last thing you remember?”Maybe…

---