Page 3 of Priest and his Anarchist

“Fuck.” I slide into the driver’s seat. Mom gave strict orders about tonight and how she didn’t want any bullshit. She didn’t say anything about Luna being a fucking klutz.

Luna coughs from the passenger seat, resting her head against the window.

Vaden whistles from the back seat. “Well fuck me, damn…”

Tapping the car into reverse, snow kicks up from my tires when I turn the wheel, sliding out of the parking of Riverside Elite University. Cars sprawl out all over, guarded by security at both gate entrances. I don’t know why I thought this was a good idea. It’s messy. Unlike me. But she pissed me off—they pissed me off.

Luna coughs again. Clutching her stomach, she flips around to face me. “Priest, I’m going to die.”

“Maybe.” I shrug. “At least I’ll be the last thing you see.”

Her eyes stay pinned on mine, and that same tightness in my stomach returns. It’s not that I care. I can’t. It’s because tonight didn’t go as planned.

“You don’t have the gavel yet. You’ll be in trouble for this.”

“What part of me makes you think I would care?” I’m bored with the conversation, but I’ll entertain her. It’s the least I can do, considering she has my ancestor’s dagger sticking out of her ribs.

“I didn’t say you cared. You’re more like the pied piper…” Her words die out faster than she ever will.

“How so?”

I’ll write her obituary.

Luna Nox Rebellis. Daughter of Eli Rebellis, Elite King, daughter of Lilith and Kyrin, Brother of Kiznitch with Midnight Mayhem, an adult circus family that she would have been a lot safer being a part of. She spent her last breath begging for her life.

“Because you lure people to their death.”

“I don’t sing, Madness…” I drive us down the dark street of Elite Boulevard, slowing beneath snow-covered trees that bend over the cobblestone road.

“No, but you lie…”

“Lie?” My brow quirks. Okay, now she’s got me fucked up. “How’d I lie?” She’s curled into a ball, her lips bloodstained red, and her ivory dress a virtue of deceit.

“You told me I’d always be safe.”

I choke on my laugh. “That’s not what I meant.”

Vaden’s gaze heats the side of my face, and I know he wants to say something. I pull up the brake, leaving us idling in the middle of the drive.

“You sure about this?” His question is to me, but I know he doesn’t care that she hears. She’ll be dead by the end of the night.

Have I thought about this moment before? Yes. Many times, but it lacked something. The very excitement of my imagination. The things I would do to her… “No.”

“Why?” There’s no desperation in her question. No fear she is going to die.

“Because I hate you and you should have run.” I focus on the dark road ahead.

Vaden taps at my chair. “Let me out.”

“I was running!” she cries, but her throat tightens around the words, and a dribble of crimson spills between her lips. “I ran fast.”

I lean my seat forward and swing the door open, moving out of the way for Vaden. He disappears down the driveway, heading toward the castle.

Inside the car, the warm, metallic scent of iron mingles with the sweet fragrance of sunflowers. I tilt my head until my lips brush hers, and the moisture of her blood stains my mouth. I draw my tongue over my bottom lip, her familiar touch too potent to ignore. It always has been. “Did you? Or did you run slow because you wanted me to catch you?” My knuckles glide over her exposed breast, igniting hellfire.

“Priest, please.”

“Please, what, Madness? What are you begging for?”

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