Chapter 8 #3
“Do you see where that line of trees ends just over there?” She pointed south.
“Yes.” My gaze locked on the tiny bit of stone roof between her toes and the edge. “What about it?”
“That’s as far as I’ve ever been.”
Rage invaded me like living poison, just as it had when I saw the bars on her window. Still, that rage couldn’t overwhelm the soul-splitting fear I felt at the thought of her falling to her death. I felt like I was choking. The only way to breathe was having her safe in my arms.
“Let’s discuss that over here.” I infused false calm into my voice. “Away from the edge.”
She ignored me. “My mother used to take me there when she was in better health. Before my uncle decided I shouldn’t leave the castle at all.”
“Is this some sort of test?” I inched closer. “Do you want me to take you there? Because I will. And if you jump, I’m jumping after you,”
She laughed. “No, you won’t.”
“I sure as fuck will, Aryella!” I’d never been so sure of anything. “I’ll follow you anywhere, even right over the edge of this gods-damned roof.”
My aggression wiped that sly little smile off her beautiful face. I didn’t want to use that tone to get her to listen, but if it saved her life, I sure as shit would.
She rolled her lips together, eyes narrowing. “Am I Aryella to you now?”
The intimidation was clearly short-lived. “You are whatever name will get you to come back over here.”
“Do you really expect me to believe that you would jump after some girl you’ve known for a few weeks?” She leaned over the edge and looked down.
“Ella! Yes! Shit!” My hands shot up and gripped my hair, more terrified than I’d ever been.
More so than when my childhood nightmares of flames and cinders in Isaac’s forge rose up like monsters to attack me in my sleep, or when I screamed for Eden because I was sure the shadows near my bed were beckoning me to join them.
“You have a very filthy mouth,” she observed. “Do you always curse when you’re stressed?”
“You’ll only find out if you live past today.” I inched even closer, hoping if I moved slowly and kept her thoughts occupied enough, I could get close enough. Grab her and run.
“You also seem uncharacteristically tense .”
Fuck ing hell , this girl.
“Yes!” I barked, sounding crazed. “You are scaring the shit out of me, Aryella Whitlock! If that was your plan, then you win, I yield.” Another step toward her. “Now back up!”
She rested her hands on her hips. “You’re the one who invited me to be trouble with you.”
“I did!” A gust of wind swept over the roof, whipping her silver-blond mane in every direction. I feared it would blow her away, too. “Be trouble with me. Over here. Safely.”
“Trouble isn’t safe ?—”
“For the love of all twelve gods, Aryella Jay Whitlock, step away from that edge!” She jumped at my volume. “ Please! ” I implored.
My arms collapsed at my sides in relief when she took three steps back. I’d never been so furious at someone while needing them in my arms at the same time.
“I’m not going to jump off the castle roof.” I erased the space between us and took her offered hand. “And there’s deep water down there. We’re only a few stories high. I would be just fine—oh!” She gasped when I yanked her into my chest.
“It would hurt,” I insisted. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
I would sacrifice the whole world to keep you from hurting ever again.
Her eyes moved to where her hand rested over my heart. “Your heart’s pounding.”
My anger melted away. “I imagine it is.”
“I frightened you.”
I sighed, tucked a stray piece of her hair behind her ear. “You sure did.”
She bit her plush bottom lip. “I’m sorry.”
“No, you’re not.” I chuckled.
Ella gazed longingly into the distance where the rolling fields of green met the dense thicket of trees.
“The closer I am to the edge, the farther I can see. I’ve spent a lot of my life locked up and wishing I was somewhere else.
Free .” Ella squeezed my hands. “There are things you don’t know, and I carry… a burden.”
“You can’t scare me away,” I reminded her, stroking her cheeks with my thumbs. I would say it as many times as she needed to hear. “Share your burden. Let me help you carry it.”
The air around her glowed brighter when she smiled. She put daylight to shame. I rested my forehead against hers, my gaze fixed on the lips I was dying to taste. My fingers brushed her temples, itching to intertwine with her silver-blond locks and guide her mouth to mine.
Gods, I longed for every part of her. It would be a constant battle between my body, heart, and mind, until I could sink into her and feel her come apart around me. “So, the roof is your favorite place?” I asked, desperate to drag myself out of obsession.
“My second favorite.” She grabbed my hand and led me toward the stairwell. “If you promise to quietly follow me, I’ll show you my first.”
Her first . It wasn’t what she meant, but it’s what I latched on to. I wanted to be her first and her last. I wanted every single second in between.
“What’s your favorite?” I pressed, dying to know.
She grinned back at me. “The library.”