Page 47 of A Story of Sinners

The dinner Redmond left behind sat demolished on my lap. I’d eaten the cheese plate, despite how difficult it was to shovel the food down. He worried for my health whilst I worried for information. A necessary exchange.

A heavy brick sat within my stomach, churning and protesting its newfound contents. Apparently, refusal to eat was a very common reaction within a broken bond, as was desolation, muscle weakness, fatigue, and pain, sometimes even paralysis.

Redmond claimed that Ryken would hurt too, and those words kept me going.

Everything hurt—my body, my mind, my soul. Yet, Ryken had been able to move, had been able to escape the room and go about doing Gods knew what. He’d been just fine, albeit a little strained, and now, he was free to resume his life as normal. Free to move on, to eat and talk and live, while I was one breath away from what felt like dying.

It couldn’t be the case. Redmond assured me it wouldn’t be.

I closed my eyes and willed myself to move, to lift my hand and send the tray crashing to the ground. After imbuing all the will and might I could muster into my hands, my little finger twitched.

“It’s all in my head,” I whispered to myself, a reassurance, a promise that I could go about living, that I could assert my own will over the betrayal of a broken bond, but the aching pain in my chest argued back with an unrelenting, unforgiving dispute. My eyes watered, and my vision blurred. I could do this. I’d lived a full life well before he’d turned my world upside down. I’d survived, had purpose.

My hand lifted. “It’s better this way. You didn’t even like him all that much.”

My soul argued back,but you loved him.

“Shut up,” I whispered to myself, pushing the tray from my bed and sending ceramic and silverware crashing to the floor. My hands dragged through my hair as I released an ear-piercing scream.

I just needed sleep. Sleep would heal the damage that had been wrought. Somewhere deep inside, I knew that once Ryken left, once there was distance between the two of us, it would all be fine. I could heal and recover and move on once he was out of my life for good.

So, I slowly made my way to the bathing chambers and grabbed a washcloth, then dug through the set of dresser draws, seeking Redmond’s birthday present. A week spent in dreams and illusions would be the only way to survive the devastation my former mate had caused.

I could sleep through the initial shock, and once that wore off, I would be fine. Just fine.

The soft comforter met my body as I collapsed into it and twisted the top off the vial of potion. I soaked the rag with the bitter substance, then capped the vile once again, holding the rag in the palm of my hand. I stared at the rag, knowing this was wrong. Self-destruction wasn’t the way to go about healing a broken heart—revenge maybe, but not damning myself to a life of uselessness.

I could see it already: years of me lying in bed, reliant on a potion to get me through the nights, as Aiden kept me locked beneath his thumb. My head shook at the thought.

That option wouldn’t do either.

A moment’s hesitation was all it took for him to make his move, a key presence I had nearly forgotten. Shadows poured into the room, and I narrowed my eyes.

Malachi was never one to let an opportunity go to waste.

“Self-medicating, I see.” He tsked. “You’ve always been one for the dramatics, my light.” He plucked the cloth from my hand and tossed it to the floor.

I tracked his motions. “I wasn’t going to use it. I only considered it. Why are you here?”

“I’m here to comfort you.”

A small snort sounded from me. “I’m not going to mate with you. You might as well scurry back to the Otherworld and leave me be.”

He chuckled, eyes alight with humor. The Malachi I knew never had a sense of humor, about anything. He shifted the covers and climbed into my bed, situating himself on his knees and towering over my pathetic form. “You used to be such a shy, timid little thing. Now, you’re just a brat.”

“It’s called growth,” I snapped.

He levelled me with a stern look. “I’m not going to try and mate you. I’m only here to help. You have questions, and I have answers. Don’t you want answers? About who you are? What you are? My father and yours?”

My ears perked at the offer, but favors from Malachi only came with strings attached. Besides, I already knew what I was, that my father was dead. There was no point in revisiting the subject. “Just leave me be. Maybe I will be interested in a few days, but right now, all I want is sleep.”

A stern look crossed his face. “Then you leave me no choice. I know what will make you feel better, and you are getting it, whether you want it or not.”

My lip curled and I snarled at his comment. He only wantedonething. “The only thing that will make me feel better is you leaving.”

He chuckled. “Not that. I meant that thing you used to love when we were kids. You remember, don’t you?”

It took a moment for the memory to come to life, and I groaned at the recollection.

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