Page 65 of Captive Bride

“I thought my family would destroy me completely,” I continue. “Before I met you, this is really the only safe place I had left. I would just spend hours here, venting all of this rage through shooting. That’s why I brought you here. I think it might help you, too.”

She looks at me in surprise before directing her gaze back to the shooting range.

“I don’t know...” she trails off.

“Trust me,” I say, reaching behind me to free my gun from its holster.

I offer it to her with the grip facing her, and smile as she takes it without further question.

She turns it in her hands, eyes raking across it slowly.

The gun is ornate, one of a kind.

Delicate etchings trace the silver barrel, spiraling towards the grip.

A quote is inscribed across its length.

She reads it aloud, her fingers tracing the words.

“These violent delights have violent ends,

and in their triumph die, like fire and powder

Which, as they kiss, consume...”

Her eyes are filled with tears when she looks at me, a grave fire, passion and power warring for dominance within them.

“Show me,” she says.

I step behind her, my arms wrapping tightly around her slight form.

I position the gun properly between her hands, guiding her finger to the trigger as I do.

“Ready?” I ask.

She nods.

Together, we squeeze the trigger, the roar of gunfire erupting through the quiet of the forest.

Her body tenses at the first eruption, and visibly relaxes by the second.

After the third shot, I release my hold on her, trusting her to continue alone.

I step back, watching her in fascination.

It’s unclear if she even knows I’ve moved, with her attention focused unwaveringly at the target ahead and her finger squeezing repeatedly at the trigger.

Holes blast across the target in quick succession, splintered bits flying wildly about the range.

Her lips pull back, half sneering.

Power washes off her in waves.

A fire erupts in her eyes, seeming to burn through the normal cool blue of her gaze. The look is completely foreign on her face, though it’s one which I’m quite familiar with.

I see it often.

Every day, in fact.

In the mirror.

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