Page 22 of A Storm in Every Heart
I shake my head. “I don’t think I could explain it to you even if you did.”
He gives me a shrewd look, then goes back to eating his lunch. I lift my fork, but I’m thinking so hard that I can’t taste the food.
What was that about?
Much like everything to do with Odessa, I have no idea.
Iclutch Odessa’s ship, carefully wrapped in brown paper, as Daemon and I make our way back to the manor.
The sky has turned dark, and the air is thick with the sounds of chirping crickets and humming beetles from the nearby meadow. As we reach the courtyard, a distant splashing drifts toward me from the lake. I pause in my tracks as an uncomfortable throbbing, like a phantom heartbeat, begins pounding in my chest.
“You coming?” Daemon asks, jerking his head toward the house.
I shake my head, casting around wildly for a good excuse. “I need to talk to Fox about something.”
Daemon lifts an eyebrow in disbelief, and I realize too late that I should have said Jett. No one evertalksto Fox about anything.Shit.
Daemon shifts his gaze from the package in my hand to the field behind me, beyond which is the lake. His forehead wrinkles, and I know he can hear the splashing too.
“You know what? I don’t want to know,” he grumbles. “See you later, mate.”
I shake my head, watching Daemon’s retreating back for a second before I turn and stride across the meadow toward the water, already knowing it’s a bad idea. If I were smart, I’d turn around and go back to the house, but lately I’ve turned into a fucking idiot.
It’s an undeniable fact that Odessa does not like me.
It’s also an undeniable fact that I’m obsessed with her. I can’t stop thinking about her—can’t just leave her the hell alone.
It sounds pathetic even in my head, and completely out of control in a way that makes me want to strangle something. I can’t rationalize why I’ve developed this fixation on the one woman in the kingdom who seems to truly hate me, or why I keep inserting myself into her path when she obviously doesn’t want me there.
Especially when I shouldn’t want her either; when it should be impossible.
I’m still yards away when I see Odessa’s silhouette in the center of the lake, lit up by a shaft of moonlight.
She’s floating on her back, eyes closed, almost like she’s sleeping. Even at a distance, I can tell she looks like her normal self—legs and all.
She must hear my footsteps because as I grow closer she lifts her head up and the serene picture shatters. Quick as a blink, Dessa flips over and sinks into the water until only her eyes are visible. After a moment, her eyes flash with recognition, and she rises just enough to speak. “I should have expected it would be you.”
“Why, were you thinking about me?” I ask before I can stop myself.
She scowls. “I’ve just grown to expect that you’ll try to ruin everything I enjoy.”
I cock my head. Do I do that? I don’t think so.
Admittedly, I enjoy teasing her, and I might have used my magic to splash her a few times. I can’t seem to stop myself from trying to get a reaction out of her—even her contempt is preferable to indifference—but I haven’t ruined anything except my pride.
“Your definition of ‘ruining’ could use some work.”
“Oh really? Alix never asked you to find me earlier,” she accuses.
Fuck.
I keep my face expressionless. “Why do you say that?”
“Because I asked her, you ass. Why would you ruin my afternoon?”
That is a good fucking question, and one I have no answer for. I can’t tell her I just wanted to know where she was because then she’ll ask why, and I truly don’t know how to explain it.
Dessa swims toward me, stopping where the water is still deep enough that I can see her arms moving just beneath the surface as she treads water. “What are you doing here, Kastian?” She calls, annoyance in her tone. “Whatever you came to say, spit it out.”
