Page 24 of The Ballad of a Bard

It didn’t suit her.

She didn’t turn around, as if looking at her attacker would send a jolt of pure panic into her heart. He knew better, considering who she was, and who she was related to.

Instead, he answered her. “West.”

“You!” She flipped around them, even if the space wasn’t large enough for both of them to be in here. It was a single room, with a toilet and a sink. “Why are you here? I don’t understand.”

He grinned down at her.

She wasn’t much shorter than he was, but there was still enough lack of height to make a difference.

“Because I knew who you were from the moment we spoke this evening.” He toyed with her hood, pulling the cowl that covered the bottom portion of her features down. Without it, it was clear as day that she was a woman.

Well, a young one at least.

She didn’t look older than twenty-four, but even half Saints aged much slower than most mortals. He assumed she was a few years older than that, as all Saints- regardless of their immortality, appeared younger.

Crimson angled herself even closer to him, if that was possible. As he played with the charcoal scarf, her fingers danced towards his wrists. He knew what she was about to do, and was curious to see how her powers worked. They were different for all Saints. It wasn’t a guarantee either that a lesser Saint would gain the same sort of gifts as their parent, if they’d be completely different like Altivar and Muse.

West let hertryto control him.

Clearly, she didn’t know.

She tugged her gloves off, one at a time and tucked them into her high belt. Her delicate fingers brushed against his powerful points in the joints, finding the soft veins that pumped blood from his neverending heart.

“Westley Saint,” She almost purred his full name as she tilted her gentle chin upwards, as if she would kiss him and quietly said, “What do you intend to do about it?”

“Nothing, at the moment.” He acted into it, as if the magic that he didn’t feel a single ounce of was actually affecting him, and she could do whatever she wished. He would be lying to himself if he said he wasn’t leaning towards letting her anyways.

There wassomethingabout her that pulled him in, even if it wasn’t her heart-altering, effecting magic. Something that he obviously couldn’t ignore, but he would try for the sake of avoiding heartbreak. Of avoiding death.

West didn’t particularly want to die.

At least not yet.

“Good. I’d appreciate it if we could keep this little secret between us then.” Crimson batted her lashes up at him, pretending to be the alluring girl that men most likely saw when looking at her. It wasn’t a hard sell, especially when the girl looked like she would weigh one hundred and eighty pounds soaking wet.

Men only saw what they wanted to see, not look past the pretty surface to the deadly thing brewing beneath. And he wasn’t blind. There was something there, lurking inside of her that was a menacing, murderous thing. Beautiful, too.

“What will you give me in return?” West was intrigued now. “After all, keeping a secret like this, it’s dangerous.”

No it wasn’t.

He was toying with her, like a hungry cat and its poor dinner. But he wanted to see just how far she would go to keepher secret away from the prying eyes and delving ears of the men all around them.

Crimson broke character to chew on the inside of her lip, tucking it between both rows of teeth.

West found it adorable.

“What do you want?” She looked nervous, which only made him want to chuckle. He avoided it, retaining his own charade of the lovesick male that she could control.

There was one thing that he could come up with off the top of his mind, one thing that would make her fumble and toss aside this flirtatious, blushing character.

“I’ll settle for a chaste kiss.”

“A... a kiss?” Her eyes widened, and he could see the inside circle of brown and gold within the outer ring of olive green. Stunning.

“Don’t tell me it’s your first one.” He teased, a sable eyebrow rising up.

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