50. Kiera
KIERA
By the time I left the kitchen, my saviors were nowhere to be seen. But I could already hear Spencer’s footsteps up in her room, the door locking shut behind her.
They both probably need a minute to themselves…
I did too, to be honest. Dom had dropped an absolute bomb on me, and I still wasn’t over everything else she’d pulled on us: all the things she still wouldn’t apologize for.
But being cooped up in this haunted house while those fragments of memory looped in my head… it wasn’t an option.
So instead, I turned right, marching through the front door and around toward the gardens.
It was already getting too brisk for walks like this, especially this early in the morning before the sun had a chance to heat the grounds.
But the air helped cool the flush of my cheeks, the slight discomfort helping to ground me.
I took a deep breath as I passed through the tall hedges. Only a few weeks ago, the asters and goldenrods edging the grounds had been vibrant purple and yellow. But as winter crept closer, their colors began to dull.
Just like everything else in this place.
Sighing, I came to a halt by one of the tall statues. And only when my own footsteps had stilled did I hear the ones that were following me.
“...Leo?” I turned to see her approaching from farther down the yard, worry written all over her face.
“Just came to check on you.” She frowned, “Everything alright, Princess?”
It absolutely was not alright. Nothing was.
“It’s fine, you don’t have to babysit me.” I huffed. Usually, her presence would have comforted me. But everything Dom shared had ripped open wounds I didn’t even know I had, leaving a gaping mess of tender nerves right through my chest.
It was one thing to take Leo’s comfort when I was still in control of my feelings. But this had left me like a wounded beast: too sensitive to touch, too terrified to trust.
“It’s not babysitting, it’s checking in.”
“Well I’m fine, so thanks for checking in. Goodbye.”
“Kiera…” Her tone dropped an octave as she paced closer.
Prickling at her proximity, I started walking again, taking the first turn into the hedges. “Seriously. I just need a minute. That was a lot.”
“That’s exactly why I’m afraid to leave you alone right now,” she picked up her pace, refusing to let me slip from her sight. “We don’t have to talk, but I need to know where you are.”
“Do you, though?” I grumbled, dropping the thin pretense of my manners. “Or do you just not have anything better to do?”
Leo didn’t dignify the low blow with a response. She just kept on walking ten feet behind me, brown eyes trained on the back of my skull.
Prick…You wanna play it quiet? Fine. Two can play at that game.
Storming ahead of her, I kept my head high and my footsteps quick. If she insisted on following me, I wasn’t in the mood to make that easy for her. But no matter how hard I tried to ignore her, she invaded my every thought.
Leo’s presence shifted the air itself. Every breath I took carried her dark, earthy scent. Her t-shirt caressed my skin, clinging to curves that I could feel her eyeing even now. And worst of all? She knew exactly the hold she had over me.
“Fuck this…” I murmured under my breath, taking a sharp turn through the hedges and speeding up to a sprint.
“Kiera…” Her voice carried, laced with warning as she came to a halt. “Stop, before you make me do something you’ll regret.”
I was far beyond warning, though. Slipping out of the manicured garden, I sprinted for the tree line, hoping the tall pines might help me lose her.
But the moment I slipped from her sightline, I’d sealed my fate.
I’d hardly reached the first row of trees when I heard her footsteps thundering across the lawn. I wasn’t sure why I’d thought I could outrun her — I’d seen her in the gym, and I knew exactly how fit she was — but it was too late to turn back now. I’d already committed.
Letting the adrenaline speed me along, I plunged into the woods, hands scraping against rough bark as I weaved between the trunks. I tried to keep my path unpredictable, but my wit was no match for her speed.
She charged through the trees like a torrent, flowing through like the trees meant nothing to her. Every few seconds, I would hear her shoulder or elbow clip on one, hard enough that I was shocked the whole thing didn’t come falling down.
Maybe that’s the plan. She’d clear the whole forest before she let me slip away.
As I desperately wondered if I could climb one of them, my prison break was cut short. Leo’s rough hand clasped my wrist, nearly dislocating my shoulder as she pinned it against the nearest tree.
The bark bit into my skin as I tried to run, but she quickly caught the other wrist, caging them both above my head with a single hand. Her eyes flicked briefly to my shoulders, making sure that I was okay before boring into me with a darkened gaze.
“You don’t run from me,” she growled. Her voice was a low rumble that felt like the earth itself was trembling through my chest.
I squirmed, trying to rip my hands free, but her grip was irontight, pushing my forearms harder against the bark. Leo never used this much force on me. But rather than feeling scared, I was surprised to find myself relieved.
Finally, we can drop the bullshit.
She could try to bottle it up all she wanted. But it was clear from the tension coursing through her body that Leo had her own frustrations to work off.
Maybe this could work for both of us…
As I met her gaze, unflinching, I could already see her trying to reign it back in. But before she could loosen her grip, I gave another tug, threatening to break loose.
“Kiera.” She rumbled, bringing a smirk to my lips.
“Don’t be gentle with me. Or I’ll make you regret it.”
Her shoulders stiffened, shocked by my boldness. But rather than pull back, that spark lit in her eyes again as she towered over me, her free hand tracing over my side. “Be careful what you wish for, Princess.”