Page 83 of Vengeance Becomes Her

“I know that I said I was okay with just keeping it physical, but, when you look at me like that, I can’t helpbut want more.”

“There is nothing more for us. We can’t be together, end of story.” Her voice raised slightly from the whispers they’d shared. “You agreed.”

“I agreed because I don’t want to force you into something you don’t want. I don’t want to push you too hard.”

“I’m no good for you. Maybe if I was the woman I was before, but not now. I’llonly hurt you.”

“Dammit Rhiannon, you’re not some frail, broken thing. At least not anymore. Stop acting like it. You don’t have to follow this path.”

“But I do. I can’t stop this quest for vengeance. It’s the only way to right the imbalance of power he’s created between us.” She swallowed back the tears that threatened to steal her voice. “He robbed me of something that shouldn’t have been able to be stolen. I cannot rest until I have taken something of equal measure from him—his life. It’s what is most precious to him. I mean, for fuck’s sake, he sold hissoulfor his power. And I want to see the look on his face when I strip it away from him.”

He reached out to pull her to him, but she rolled away instead, throwing the blankets off of her and coming to a seated position at the edge of the bed.

The bed shifted and the blankets rustled as he came up behind her. The sturdy warmth of his arms was almost enough to make her abandon all reason and fall hopelessly into everything he was asking of her. But then she felt his heart beating steadily against her. It was the calm beat of someone who loved openly and was willing to put their heart at risk if only to sustain that feeling. She wouldn’t be the one to betray that trust.

She shrugged out of his embrace.

“Tristain, you are trying to fix something you don’t understand. You’re intent on reshaping yourself to fill the broken parts of me, but the chasm he created is too deep and jagged. There will always be cracks, always be places where the darkness seeps through. It will fester and expand, widening endlessly until it’s all that exists. I can feel it happening day by day and I’ve accepted it. I want you to stop trying. Do you hear me?”

Silence rolled off him in waves. It beat against her resolve, willing her to turn around, begging her to cave and take it all back. Butshe would not.

Finally, he responded. “I hear you.”

She felt the moment he slipped away, moving back beneath the covers and facing the other side of the room.

She bit her lip as she choked on silent sobs. It was better this way. She would shatter her own heart over and over again if only to avoid breaking his.

They both had lain there sleepless for far too long, and it showed the next morning as they moved slowly and silently around the room before heading out.

Tristain wasn’t his usual smiling self while they trained today. He was blunt and aggressively focused. Rhiannon couldn’t help but feel sorry for the other women who were suffering even more thanks to his bad mood.

By the time they were finished, every inch of her body protested as they made their way back to the inn. It was bad enough that her each step was agony; what awaited them when they got back was worse. Tristain didn’t seem to thaw after dinner and he didn’t say a word to her as he crawled into bed, angling his body so close to the edge—as far away from her as possible—that if he breathed too hard, he would surely fall off.

His silence was driving her half-mad, she hadn’t realized how much his warm disposition made the monotony of their days bearable. She got up and quietly snuck out of the room.

She stood outside Kyra’s door for a few moments before swallowing her pride and knocking. She couldn’t sleep in there with him tonight.

Kyra answered the door, her eyes weighed down by tiredness. She had a forest green silk wrap tied around her hair and wore a matching slip. She rubbed her arms, warding off the chill in the air.

“I’m sorry to wake you. I umm…” she rubbed her hand against the back of her neck. “Can I sleep in here?” She nodded toward the second bed that sat on the other side of the room.

Kyra searched her gaze before opening the door wider. “Come in.”

They didn’t say another word as they settled into their respective beds.

Without the distraction of Tristain, her thoughts turned to all the dark things that waited in the shadows in the corner of her mind. She let herself sink into them, reminding herself why she was here. They had a goal to accomplish, and her falling in love with Tristain wasn’t part of that equation, it couldn’t be. She repeated the mantra to herself over and over until her eyes finally grew heavy with sleep and the sting of his bitterness toward her wasn’t consuming herevery thought.

But she didn’t find peace in sleep either. Instead, she was greeted by Delphine waiting for her in the dark recesses of herdreaming mind.

Neither of them said a word as Rhiannon took in her devolving appearance. Black vines ran beneath her skin like veins, thick thorns peeking out sporadically. It looked painful and she assumed it was based on the thick black tears that stained Delphine’s face. Her brilliant fiery hair was now dulled, dark bags dragged down her once-vibrant eyes, and her skin had taken on a sickly pallor.

Rhiannon forced words out as she took in the horror that had overtaken this stunning woman. “What’s happening to you?”

Delphine opened her mouth to speak but then she was gasping, grabbing her throat. Rhiannon wanted to help her but there was nothing she could do; they were in a dream—or whatever this was. Sputtering, Delphine opened her mouth wide and fluttering black moths escaped her throat. Dozens fluttered around before coming toa rest on her.

She inhaled deeply before attempting to speak again. “We need to talk, and I don’t have much time.” Her voice was grainy and quiet, but Rhiannon was a captive audience.

“I’m fading, Rhiannon. I don’t know how much longer I will be able to communicate with you. I want to be here for you, to help you avoid making the same mistakes I did.” She hacked up another moth. “I can’t give you my magic, but you must find another way to kill Silas, and soon. And when you do, avoid the temptation to take up his power. It will try to convince you, but it will only lead you down a pathof no return.”

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