Page 54 of Break Her Heart
And then I let go.
16
August
“What about this one?” Winnie spun a short-bladed sword in her palm, dancing it through the air like she was testing its hunger. The silver gleamed under the low candlelight, whistling faintly each time she slashed it through an invisible opponent.
I didn’t look up. My eyes burned from hours of reading, flipping through yet another leather-bound tome Benedict had hauled out from whatever cursed part of the castle he’d scoured. “That’s the fifth one you’ve asked about. I still do not know.”
She let out a breath through her teeth, frustrated. “We could just destroy them all.”
I finally glanced up. She was so at ease with the sword, her grip confident and playful, but beneath that was calculation. She didn’t mind breaking things.
We were able to sneak to the higher floors of the castle without anyone stopping us. It was one of the only perks that no one other than my siblings could harass me until the sun wasno longer in the sky. And considering Benedict was the only one not completely afraid of my wife, nosy Lavina and her sidekick were nowhere in sight when we returned. We changed and went straight to the archives to work.
I watched Winnie longer than I meant to. Her fingers curved around the hilt like it belonged to her, like she was born with it in her hand. The way she moved—it was elegant, almost seductive in its ease, but there was always that edge. A willingness to cut. To hurt. And gods, it drew me in.
There was a line along her collarbone, a faint scar I had memorized long ago, one of many that I could trace in my mind even with my eyes closed. It vanished beneath the fabric of her dress with every tilt of her body, teasing me, even though I already knew exactly where it ended.
It reminded me of how breakable she looked. And how little that meant.
She pivoted, the hem of her gown brushing her ankles, and something inside me twisted. I hated her in that moment. Hated how she could stand there with fire in her blood and a smirk on her lips and not flinch while surrounded by monsters. Hated how much I wanted to sink my teeth into her throat just to see if she’d shiver or smile.
The paper in my hands tore.
I blinked down at it, confused to find my fists clenched tight around the fragile edge of the tome. The page had split, an ugly gash through words I hadn’t even read.
I let out a slow breath and forced my grip to loosen. Tried to collect the chaos inside me, to seal it back behind the mask I’d spent centuries perfecting. But it was hard when I let it slip away so easily for her.
“Well?”
I looked back up to see her waving the sword in her hand.
“Carrow wouldn’t leave the object that can bring him back just lying around,” I said, trying to bring myself back to the task at hand. “Besides, destroying ancient witch-crafted artifacts? You could unleash a soul, rot someone from the inside, or worse—curseme.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You’re deflecting.”
“I’m surviving. There’s a difference.”
Winnie stared at me for a beat, then turned and placed the sword back on the wall. “So what’s your brilliant plan?”
“We keep searching,” I said, glancing at the rows of objects. “And hope we find it before the Blood Moon.”
She trailed a hand along a row of blades, fingers whispering over their hilts like she was listening for one to call to her. There was a hunger in her gaze that startled me. “Have you read anything important yet?”
I caught myself watching her too long. “The Gerotian Sword.” I think I said it too quickly.
She turned, eyebrows raised. “The what?”
Yeah, I had said it too quickly.
“The Gerotian Sword,” I repeated, slower this time.
She glided over to me and bent over my shoulder, her hair spilling across my cheek, brushing against my skin.
Her blood hit me like a punch to the gut. My throat burned, my fangs ached behind my lips, and I had to grip the edge of the table to stop myself from pulling her into my lap. I hadn’t fed in days other than sips from goblets, but that animal blood did nothing to curb my appetite. Not when she was this close. Not when every breath she took stirred the air between us like bait.
I had been able to manage until we went to town. Being surrounded by so many humans had stirred something feral inside me, clawing its way up from the depths. A beast that only ever wanted her.
