I reached the door and pushed it open. Daylight spilled over me like a kiss of life soothing my skin.
I stepped outside, expecting to be greeted by the towering trees of Gryffyn Forest or somewhere like that.But my soul withered the moment my gaze met the horizon. And water.
The endless, merciless water of the sea that stretched as far as my eyes could see.
My stomach plummeted, falling and falling. My steps slowed to a stop by the railing as I took in my surroundings and processed the fact that I was on a ship.
Far, far away from Stormfell, let alone my home.
Blessed Mother.
I lifted a quivering hand to my chest to stop my heart from falling out. I should have known Wolfe had been playing with me all along, letting me think I had a chance.
“The sea doesn’t rage when she wants to kill you. She waits. Patient as death itself,” Wolfe spoke behind me, his voice a lullaby dipped in venom. Soft enough to soothe, sharp enough to ruin a soul.
His words slid down my spine like nightmares wrapped in thorns.
My breath hitched.
My pulse kicked.
Every nerve in my body tuned itself to him, like he was the only sound that mattered.
I hated how much I felt him. Even without touching me, he was inside me.
And even the silence that followed clung to me, heavy with his presence. Like my body hadn’t realized he’d stopped speaking.
I turned slowly, trepidation locking my lungs like a carefully laid bear trap.
Wolfe leaned against the doorframe, casual in that terrifying way of predators. Like he could rip the world in half if he wanted to, but he was too amused with me to bother.
His eyes, otherworldly and ancient, burned brighter in the sunlight. Vivid. Inescapable.
This was the first time I’d seen him in the daylight. Had I seen him like this before, I wouldn’t have doubted for a second that he was real.
And as terrified as I was, I couldn’t ignore the truth.
His face and body might have looked like they’d been carved from marble by the gods themselves, but he was too good to be true. Too dangerous not to be.
That he was dressed in full black today was fitting. Black soul, black heart,darkintentions.
All those things he said and did to me on the terrace…
The way he looked at me.
The way he touched me.
The way he made me feel.
Everything about him was a trap designed to catch someone exactly like me. He must’ve taken one look and known I was desperate enough to fall for it.
Bastard.
Daylight stripped him bare, revealing so much more to me now. I could see straight through his façade, and I knew I would find no mercy in the maddening menace that lurked in those eyes.
I wished I could forget how those eyes softened when he looked at me moments before he kissed me. Now that memory haunted me.
Wolfe watched me as if I already belonged to him, his gaze scraping over me with such intensity it felt like a physical touch. Trails of fire awakened my senses, and I hated how my body remembered his kiss and touch, how even now, trappedand terrified, some treacherous part of me thrilled at the dark possession of him.