Page 27 of Tender Thorns
“I don’t know anything,” she parrots.
“Is this your father?”
“No.” She shakes her head quickly. “I just came to be with Connor.”
“What is his name?” I grind the toe of my boot against his curled fingers when he lets out a soft whimper, turning the sound into a gurgling moan as bones snap.
The boy looks down and swallows roughly before telling me, “Gary.” I can’t figure out what bothers him more, the fact that I just broke several fingers without even blinking or telling me his father’s name.
“Tell me something, Connor. Would Briar want you dead? And don’t bother trying to lie to me, I will know.”
“No… I don’t…” He shakes his head and frowns. “I don’t think she would wish me dead. I never hurt her or anything, not like Philip and Father did.”
“Who is Philip?” It seems I may have a new target. The blood in my veins could freeze, and I wouldn’t be surprised.
“Our brother, my father’s firstborn favorite,” the boy offers readily. “Do you know Briar? Where is she?” he questions, seeming to understand she is the reason I’m here.
I allow some of the rage I feel to show on my features with my narrow-eyed glare. Wisely, the boy takes a step back from me. “Sorry.” He drops his gaze to the ground.
“Where can I find Philip?”
“I don’t know, my father should.” He tips his head toward the bag of meat on the ground. The boy just gave me an unexpected boon. Now I have even more motivation to keep Gary alive on the trip to his new prison. I was starting to worry I would break him too soon. I need to make sure there is a healer there before really getting to work.
“I’m going to torture him for decades. He will not know a single moment of peace, and when he is finally dead, I will call upon the lowest demons to feed upon his soul for all eternity. If I find out you ever hurt Briar, I will be back for you, Connor, and nothing you hold dear will be safe. Do you understand me?”
“Yes,” he croaks out. His eyes are wide enough that I think I may have to return at some point, because he looks truly frightened, but I have more pressing matters to attend to. With one parting glance at the house, I ignite it with god fire. My fire doesn’t distinguish between worthy and not, it just incinerates anything and everything it touches.
The boy and girl both duck their heads and cover them with their hands when the fire erupts. “There is no place you could dream of hiding from me, Connor. I hope I never have to look for you.” I direct the logs to roll down Gary’s arms, shattering the rest of the bones down to his fingers.
He wails until I grab him by his shirt collar—I don’t trust myself to touch his skin—and lift him a few inches off theground, making him screech before a torrent of vomit spews from his mouth and he passes out again.
“So weak,” I sneer, disgusted by everything about him, then I shift us to his new cell, locked far below the earth, where there is absolutely zero chance of him ever escaping or seeing the light of day again.
KAGE
My creature runs into the room, giving me just enough time to slink under her bed and shroud myself in shadows. The rapid rise and fall of her chest and heavy pants tell me she was running from something. I nearly reveal myself and emerge from her bed to prepare for whoever is following her, but she doesn’t even lock the door behind her. In fact, she starts looking around as if she can sense my presence. I get a thrill from knowing she’s aware of me on some level.
When she comes closer, peering under the bed, I worry for a heartbeat she will see me, but her golden eyes skip right over me as she scans my hiding place. It’s so very tempting to coil around her in this form and engulf her in my shadows, but it wouldbe too risky. Eventually, she eases back and sits in the chair across the room, as if she still doesn’t trust she is alone. She’s perceptive, that’s for sure, but what is her ability? I haven’t seen her use magic once since she’s been here, not that there’s been much of an opportunity as of yet. Ziv took my only chance to see her in combat when he took her into the smaller arena.
She exhales a weary breath, then pulls her legs into the chair, so her heels are up near her butt, then wraps her arms around her knees. It wouldn’t be possible if she wasn’t so tiny. After several long moments, she turns her head to the side, pretending to look away from the bed, but I can still see her eyes trained in my direction, as if she’s waiting for someone or something to make a move when they think she’s no longer paying attention. I keep as still as can be, waiting for her to relax.
It takes far longer than I anticipated. Not only is she sensitive to me, but she’s also patient too. I don’t think she moved a muscle in ten minutes. When she finally does move, it’s without any warning. Quiet as a mouse, she unfurls her legs, places her feet on the floor, and stands up. I lose sight of her face, but I watch her legs as she walks closer to the bed, eventually climbing onto the mattress without even so much as a squeak from the frame.
Minutes turn to hours, and light from the window finally fades enough that I know I’ll be able to move without detection, but I still wait. She seems cunning enough to trick me into exposing myself. When I hear her even breaths, soft and measured, I finally slip out from under the bed and into the darkest corner.
It’s not until I get a good look at my creature that I know she’s actually sleeping. Her lips are parted, and she has both of her hands curled up and tucked under her chin. She looks helpless. Shadows peel away from me, and I shift into my corporeal form. It feels dangerous to be around her like this, but that doesn’tstop me. I take several steps away from her bed when I find myself getting too close.
My eyes grow heavy after watching her sleep. If I wasn’t cursed, I would crawl right in bed with her, run my hands over every inch of skin until I memorized her body, and then start all over again.
I face the door, my dick hard and aching. I know there’s no way I can fall asleep like this. I need relief, and there’s only one way I’m going to get it—my own hand. Before crawling back under her bed, so I can be as close to her as possible and not risk touching her, I lock the door she never bothered to engage. The next time I see Ziv, I plan on telling him to remind her. No one here is safe, no matter what the instructors want you to believe. Death is cheap at the institute, as is collateral damage, but it’s even easier to make enemies. Everyone wants to be on top, to be the most powerful, and they are willing to kill for it.
As I slip under her bed, it dawns on me that this could be the rest of my life, always on the fringe, watching from afar, and even with that knowledge, there’s no other place I would rather be.
BRIAR
I stay in my room, waiting for Ziv for as long as I can before the demand to use the bathroom forces me out. This time, I leaveprepared with fresh clothes, determined to get a bath. When I try to turn the knob, I realize the door is locked. I don’t have any recollection of locking the door. In fact, I left it unlocked on purpose because I was convinced there was someone hiding in my room and the moment I lay down, they were going to come for me. I wanted a quick escape. How is the door locked?
I look around to see if there’s anything else out of place or different than I remember, but I find nothing. This place is driving me insane, I’m sure of it.
