Page 18 of Heavy is the Crown
He steps into my space, eyes blazing golden again, his control barely holding. “Mine,” he repeats. My heart beats once, twice, and then shatters completely as the words to sink into my very core.
I move to push him out of my space, to turn and demand they remove the girl from my home. But Ciaran steps between us. His eyes are stormy as they take in the situation, taking in the pain that I’m sure is as clear as day on my face. The pain I’m desperate to hide from Shadow.
“Ava is important. We had already planned to bring her here, but I’m sorry to dump her when she’s injured as she is.” He pinches the bridge of his nose, his level of exhaustion evident on his face. “She’s had my blood, so she’ll heal, but slowly. We can stay the night to help you look after her, but after that, we need to return to the prison. My father will wonder where we’ve been.”
Pulling a deep breath into my chest and schooling my face, I turn and watch the struggle move over my stepbrother’s face; I can see he cares for this girl. Cares for her on a level that makes my heart twist painfully in my chest. It’s all I can do not to rub at the pain. I had hoped one day he would look at me like that, but after everything, Shadow refuses to forgive me. Refuses to listen to my side of the story of when his father sold him. And honestly, I’m not sure I can blame him. Not when I blame myself for letting him get dragged off in the first place.
Pain turns to something dark and twisty. Jealousy. That green poison moves under my skin as I glare down at the girlwho has the affections of the person who should be my mate. She shifts a little so her head falls to the side, exposing her neck. I suck in a hiss when I see the claiming mark stamped on the juncture of shoulder and neck, and snap my eyes to Shadow.
“Youclaimedher?” The words leave my mouth in a whoosh of unimaginable pain. He says nothing, only stares me down with those whiskey eyes. “How? How is that possible?” I take a step toward him, but he backs away. The distance between us might as well be a canyon.
“She’s mine. My dragon and I chose her.” His voice rumbles low, but it feels like he is screaming at me.
My mate chose another, and the devastation feels insurmountable.
After a moment of biting back my emotions, I finally speak. “She can stay here until she’s stable. After that, I want her out. I’m not in the business of taking in strays,” I say, ignoring how the statement tastes on my tongue. Ignoring how Shadow looks at me like I truly am the monster he's painted me as in his head. But my whole body is vibrating with excruciating pain, thinking my mate chose another.
To deny the mate bond is a death sentence in the end.
Ciaran claps his hand on my bare shoulder, squeezing. “Thank you.” He moves past me toward the guest room at the back of the house, leaving me and Shadow alone with the brutalized girl. An array of emotions swims through me as I hold the eyes of the man I love.
“Shadow . . .” I begin, but he shakes his head, before kneeling next to her. “Shadow, please listen to me.”
“No.” The word is commanding. Harsh.
My heart fractures even more, but I turn and head back to my bedroom. I refuse to allow him to see the tears about to fall. Because in the end, I really did fail him, and I don’t deserve his comfort.
The next morning, I find Shadow in the same place I left him, holding silent vigil over the sleeping girl. Her hair hangs limply around her thin face, but her breathing seems less labored. Fresh blood marks her pale lips, and the scent floods my nostrils.
“I gave her more blood; she’ll be okay,” Ciaran says as he licks the blood off his wrist.
Nodding, I burrow deeper into the black hoodie I pulled on above the flannel pajama pants I spent the night tossing and turning in. Sleep evaded me all night, knowing Shadow was only in another room, so close to me. It was a special kind of torture to know he was with some random girl instead of in bed next to me.
I don’t say anything as I grab two coffee mugs, fill them both, and hand one off to Ciaran. My hair falls into my eyes from beneath the hood as I take a long drink of the hot beverage.
Ciaran takes a sip out of his coffee mug as he looks out at the gray morning through the bay windows next to us. They look out over the port, where ships move to and fro. Seagulls can be heard through the glass panes. I love this home. Being able to see the port while having the forest behind me brings peace that I don’t get from being in the city. When I built this place, I built it forus. But now, it's a reminder of what I’ll never have. This mystery girl has poisoned it without even being aware.
Silence overtakes the room, heavy and foreboding as I watch Shadow fuss over the girl, pulling the blanket up and over her chest before moving her hair off her forehead. The gesture is so tender.
He takes one last look at her before he stands up from his spot and shoots a death glare at me. “If she dies, I will kill you. Consequences be damned.” And then he’s stepping through a portal, leaving Ciaran and me alone. Looking down at the girl, I let out a long sigh, fist clenched tightly inside the pocket of my hoodie as I try to rein in my emotions.
Ciaran doesn’t move to follow Shadow. He turns to me instead. “He loves you,” he says. “He just can’t get out of his own damn way.”
I shrug. “It’s my own fault, Ciaran. I let him down.”
He scoffs and shakes his head. “You didn’t let him down, his father did. You have always been fighting for him, even if he had no idea.” He pauses for a moment, his gaze traveling down to the woman. “Keep her safe. I don’t want her leaving here.”
His tone causes some red flags to raise in my head, and I frown. “Is she a prisoner?”
He doesn’t say anything for a long moment, just walks to the sink and places his coffee cup in it. “She’s not a prisoner, but she’s . . . different, and I don’t want her slipping away.”
The way he says it makes my dragon rumble to life, my magic swirling in my veins for a moment as if drawn to protect her. The feeling confuses me to my very core. Ciaran smirks. As if he sees everything. He waves at me before stepping through the portal.
The room returns to silence, the only sound the light breathing of the tiny female buried under the blankets. I’m not sure how long I stand looking at the spot where the portal was, the spot my mate left from, but it’s long enough that the girl suddenly regains consciousness, her arms flailing out around her before she looks over at me, her silver eyes locking onto my blue ones.
Fuck me. Silver eyes.
Ava
