Page 51 of The Arbiter
“But here’s the thing. Lucy is a very curious creature, and she won’t stop until she finds the truth.”
He leans in closer, pinning me completely against the tree.
“I need you to stop this. Stop following me. Stop trying to scare me. Leave my life completely,” I say, my breath shaking.
He doesn’t look convinced. Instead, he seems to relish the challenge, his presence expanding until the forest feels too small to hold us both.
”Every breath you take, Madeline, every shadow you see, every question you don’t have an answer to… I am that. I am inevitable.”
The air between us is thick, charged with a terrifying energy. I can feel his heartbeat through his tailored shirt, a steady, calm rhythm that stands in stark contrast to the chaos inside me.
“You think you’re getting closer to me, studying me like one of your corpses,” he whispers, his finger brushing against the side of my neck, right over my pulse. I flinch at his touch.
“But you’re missing the most important detail.”
”Which is what?”
I ask quietly, my voice a mere thread of sound in the night.
He leans back, allowing a sliver of light to hit his face. A smile curves his mouth. A real smile. A real, beautiful, terrifying smile that doesn't reach his empty eyes.
“That I’m not the one being observed, Mali. I’m the end. Your conclusion. And tonight, I will decide what to do next.”
The full moon shines over us, though the dim light makes everything poorly visible. But I can see his features more clearly now than back in the storage room.
His dark, almost demonic eyes catch a glimpse of the moonlight, boring into mine as if they are the only ones he ever wants to look at. He has a sharp jawline, covered in tattoos that stretch up to the sides. Pieces of art cover his temples, sliding down his neck. His black hair is a bit messy from the hunt, the white strand is still visible. He’s incredibly handsome. I’ve never seen anyone like him, certainly not a killer. Such a mesmerising cover for something so ruined.
He notices the way my eyes are tracing over his features for the first time. He doesn’t move; he’s enjoying my attention. The look in my eyes.
The tension between us shifts now. It's still incredibly frightening, but something has changed. His breathing isdeeper. Our faces get closer with each passing second. It almost feels as if the air has stopped, along with the trees that were swaying slightly in the wind.
His lips are now so close they briefly brush against mine, a ghost of a kiss that promises both salvation and ruin. He leans into my body even closer, and as he does, he accidentally pushes against my bleeding knee. I hiss in pain, the sharp sting cutting through the adrenaline.
His attention is immediately alerted. The predator is gone, replaced by something clinical, something focused. His gaze snaps to the lower half of my body, scanning the damage with unnerving intensity.
“Does it hurt?”
He asks, his voice suddenly gentle.
I’m taken aback by his sudden shift toward care. Its more disorienting than his threats. I don’t answer; I just nod my head slowly, my throat too tight for words.
He drops to his knees in front of me, oblivious to the mud soaking into his expensive pants, looking up at me.
“Do you want me to ease the pain for you?”
He asks quietly.
I’m not sure what “easing the pain” means exactly for The Arbiter. He's not offering first aid. He's offering himself as the only cure for the wound he helped to create. I’m still stunned by the whole situation. The war happening inside of me will probably rip me apart soon.
“How?”
The word is barely a breath, vanishing into the damp air.
The sight of him kneeling in front of me, does something to my body I don’t really want to put a label on. He smiles briefly, seeing the unconscious reaction my body makes to his voice.
“Trust me,” he murmurs, hooking his fingers into the waistband of my pants as he pushes them down slowly.
I watch him in absolute disbelief, but I don’t stop him for some unknown reason. Instead, I grab the tree behind me, watching his next move. I'm anchored to the earth only by the oak at my back and the man at my feet. He lifts one of my legs slightly, then the other, pulling my pants off completely and tossing them into the mud without a second thought.
