Chapter 27 Cyrus
CYRUS
Snow drifts down like a veil, shielding us from the rest of the world.
It’s taken me so long to say the words I know she’s been yearning to hear—words I wasn’t sure I was capable of.
I don’t know if they registered when I said them down in the basement, but I’m going to make sure she knows how I feel from now on.
Those three little words never held much meaning from the people who have said them to me in the past, always empty and forced.
Not with her, though, something I should have realized much sooner.
Jace moans into my neck, her teal hair falling across my shoulder.
Her inner walls pulse, gripping me and pulling me further inside her with every thrust. She bucks her hips, desperate for more, and I greedily oblige, slipping a hand between us.
I roll my thumb over her clit, moving it in rhythmic circles until her eyes roll back.
I can’t take my eyes off her, entranced by the grace of her body’s movements, the soft bouncing of her breasts.
Jace’s cries echo through the quiet woods, growing louder until she screams in ecstasy. “Cyrus!”
The sound of my name from her lips has my release chasing hers.
I spill into her with one, final thrust, the aftershocks of her release still reverberating around my cock.
She collapses onto my chest, me still inside her.
With gentle hands, she rubs my arms, like she’s memorizing the feel of my body. “I’ve missed you,” she whispers.
“I’ve missed you too,” I reply, moving from the ground to pepper her shoulder with kisses. I cradle her to me, afraid to let go after I let her slip from my fingers so many times before. “I’ve missed us.”
Jace smiles, lifting to let my cock slip from her.
She rolls to my side, rubbing her hand over my chest. Her hooded eyes find mine, her fingers trailing down my torso.
When she reaches the pool of our shared release, still wet on my skin, her fingers swirl in it.
Gripping my cock, she strokes it back to life until it’s throbbing again in her hand.
Each movement makes little zaps of electricity surge from my center, and I moan for her, bucking my hips as she quickens her pace.
She gives me a devious grin before lowering her head, winding her tongue down my stomach to the base of my cock.
The flat of her tongue follows her hand up my length until she reaches the tip, circling it at a teasingly slow pace.
Her lips wrap around me, pulling me into her mouth.
The tingling sensation coiling at the base of my spine detonates, spreading through my body.
I grip the back of her head, threading my fingers through her hair.
She moans at my touch, taking me deeper into her throat.
With eyes gazing up at me, she takes in the way my body writhes with pleasure.
I’ve missed this look—the way she looks at me like she knows I’ve burned this memory into my brain.
Her lips meet the base of my cock, her tongue slipping out to run along the top of my balls.
Instantly, my toes curl and my head falls back.
“Oh, fuck,” I moan, fisting her hair as I come again.
Jace smiles, her mouth tightening around my still-pulsing cock. She slowly draws me from her mouth, licking her lips. I cup her face, pulling her up to kiss her, but her body tenses. The hungry desire in her eyes fades to apprehension.
“What happens now?” Jace asks, her voice trembling. “To us?”
My heart sinks, knowing I don’t have an answer. As much life as she’s given back to me, I’m still dead. There’s still a monster out there somewhere, one in the woods and one at my old house, both of them searching for her. I shake my head; every scenario seems devoid of hope. “I…I don’t know.”
“Come back home with me,” she says, reaching to squeeze my hand. “Stay with me. Have you tried to go back to the city?”
“I don’t think it will work,” I sigh, trying to hide the guilt swallowing me whole. “I need to explain...”
“We can try,” Jace pleads, holding me in her gaze. Her eyes are wide, intense with determination. I’m a self-fulfilling prophecy, because once again, I’ve locked her into a hopeless future. “Please.”
“Jace…” She cuts me off, shoving me back to stand and snatching my flannel to wrap around her.
“Just say you don’t want to and be done with it, Cyrus!” she shouts, already storming away.
“Jace, wait!” I call, racing after her. I’m only a few seconds behind, but she’s already gone. “Shit.”
The wind picks up, howling through the barren trees.
The snow forms a barrier between us, making it difficult to see where she went.
There’s only one place she would go: back to her parents’ place.
My chest tightens, knowing she’ll only find more grief there.
Even if she doesn’t want me to be near her right now, I have to follow her.
For once, I need to be there when she needs to falls apart, not after she’s come undone.
The shadow of a figure appears in the distance, and my heart leaps seeing it standing there between the trees. Please wait, I plead silently. Maybe she’s realized what I couldn’t find the words for moments ago. I run toward her, blinded by the falling snow.
“Jace!” I scream, trying to be heard above the wind. The woods fall eerily silent, my cry echoing around me, suddenly too loud. The last flakes of white settle to the ground, revealing the creature before me.
Frost-covered plants hang from its skeletal frame, icicles forming in the spaces between its ribs. Clouds of steam from the hollow nostrils of the elk skull break over my face. “A debt is owed,” it growls in a garbled, inhuman voice.
I stumble back, tripping over my feet. “I don’t have what you want!” I shout, shielding my face with my hands. It get closer, its bony maw inches away. Drool dribbles down my fingers, and I wonder if it’s possible to die twice.
“He’s telling the truth,” a woman says from behind the creature towering over me.
I peer between my fingers, straining to recognize the voice.
Bones creak as the monster looks over its shoulder, sickeningly clacking together when it steps to the side.
Aunt Pearl, Mattie’s mama, comes into view.
Her white gown flows around her small form, less than half the size of her companion.
Dark brown hair cascades over her shoulders, covering what the sheer fabric does not.
A small set of deer antlers sprout from her head, a crown of thorned vines resting between them.
Her skin glows with a faint amber light, illuminating her golden skin.
The contrast between her and the creature is staggering.
My jaw falls, my mind struggling to grasp what I’m seeing. “Auntie?” I whisper, waiting for her to vanish, only a distraction conjured by this creature.
“Cyrus, I’m sorry it had to be this way,” she says softly, stroking my cheek with her fingertips.
“What? What way? Why are you here?” I demand, anger rising in my voice. The questions tumble out of me. My thoughts scramble, all of them begging to be answered, but one is louder than all the rest. “Why didn’t you protect Mattie?”
“She has her own path to walk.” Pearl sighs, eyes flickering with unspoken emotion. “As we all do, but a debt is owed, and until it’s collected, we’re all shackled to our fates.”
“What debt?” I demand, my body shaking. “I don’t have anything. I’m fucking dead! My old man fucking killed me like he killed my mom—your sister—or do you not fucking remember?”
Pearl’s face hardens, her shoulders tensing. The monster growls behind her, shadows rising around it like black flames. “Elias is going to get what’s comin’ to him, but first, I need you to bring back the girl.”
“Jace!” I screech, my hands clenching to fists. Pearl nods. I move to sidestep her, but she’s faster, blocking my path. “No, I won’t do it. You can have whatever you want, just not her.”
“What if I can give you something you want?” she offers, stepping closer. “What if I can give you a second chance?”