Page 9 of Grave Devil
There are still so many unanswered questions between us. I don’t know what it is he has seen or fully remembers. I can’t imagine how difficult it might be for him. “Of course, it’s all right,” I declare. “I would never ask you to do something that makes you uneasy.”
His tail constricts as he holds me in place. A thin swirl of light circles his black irises. “The Wild Hunt was never meant to be celebrated. Not how it was. There are many horrors attached to it.”
Aries claps him on the back. “The same could be said for this town and for all of us. Some think that we are the horrors.”
“It’s how we deal with it that matters,” Draven adds. He holds out his hand to me and gives Nox a look that seems to say,Enough. “We’re going to be late, Mia. Come.”
The power play between these men has only intensified since we all committed to each other. I thought it might ease the tension, and sexually it has, but the need for dominance has grown.
I give Nox a gentle peck on the cheek, and he releases me from his grip. “I won’t have any fun. I promise.”
He lets out an exasperated sigh. “Forgive me, dark one. I don’t mean to dampen the mood. All I ask is that you’re careful. The past is never gone.”
Draven nods. “No, you’re right. Aries and I plan on talking Mia’s ear off all day. She’ll know more about the Wild Hunt and the origins of Ever Graves than the devil himself.”
A shiver snakes up my spine.Skelker. Their voices swell and shrink as if we’re underwater. I stagger forward as the floor tilts. Firm hands catch me before I sputter out and hit the ground.
“Mia? Are you all right?” Nox asks.
“What the fuck just happened? Are you sick?” Draven wraps a protective arm around my shoulders as I lean against him.
Oh, I have a sickness alright. There’s no doubt about that. I am festering like rot from this disease to which there’s no cure. An illness that will never leave me. Not even when I’m dead. For the oath I made will ensure that his filth and depravity will follow my corporeal form around like particles of light does to dust.
“I-I’m fine. I just need a snack or something,” I lie. I’ve gotten good at lying these past months.
Aries side-eyes me.
“We’ll grab a bite to eat before the fitting then. I will call the shop and let them know.” Draven barrels out the front door. He already has them on the phone by the time Rodrick opens the car door for him.
I give Nox some more assurances along with another kiss on the cheek before I slip my arm through Aries’s and let him lead me to the car.
He squeezes my hand. “You need to take it easy on the poison, Mia.”
A twinge of panic creeps into my veins. “No. I’m fine. I told you, my blood sugar dropped. I just forgot to eat breakfast. That’s all.”
He nods but stops me from getting into the car. “Fine. But I already feel like shit for hiding this from the others. If I think for one second you can’t handle it, I will pull the plug.And then no more poison for Mia.”
“I swear, Aries. I promise.” The thought of not having anything to drown out the noise is debilitating. When the whiskey stopped working, I didn’t know what else to do. It was Aries who offered to boost my immunity. He began microdosing me on baneberry first, then nightshade, and not long after, Iwas exposed to just about every poisonous plant in the whole of Melancholia.
And I’ve been increasing my intake ever since. The only problem is I’m building up a tolerance. I’m needing more and more to drown out the devil in my head. Not even Aries knows the real reason I need the poison. He’s in the dark as much as the others. I don’t have the balls to tell them. They will freak out and want to fix it. And I don’t think they can.
I’m damaged goods now. Broken. Bonded to the Wishing Tree. To the devil himself. All I want to do is shut him out. When I get the right dose… it does exactly that. And for a very short but glorious time, I don’t belong to anyone but myself. My head is quiet. Calm.Mine.
I slide in next to Draven, sandwiched between him and Aries in the back seat of the Blackwells’ vintage luxury car. Rodrick, Draven’s trusted driver and only real father figure to him, gives me a wink in the rearview mirror. I became fond of him the second I met him. He cares about Draven. About all of us. In this world, people like him are few and far between.
“Take us to Duff’s first. Our little lamb has forgotten to feed her wolf.” Draven arches an eyebrow at me while Rodrick laughs and nods.
Fuck. He’s really going to make me eat. But all I want is the baneberry that’s burning a hole in my pocket.
DRAVEN
Something is off. I’ve felt it ever since the night we left her at the Wishing Tree. I can tell by the way she looks at me… Mia is keeping secrets. But I will break her. I’ll fucking ruin her all over again to get to the truth.
She needs to remember who she belongs to. That every piece of her existence is tied to mine. I’m the one she’s supposed to be her true self with. And I won’t tolerate anything less.
I watch her like a hawk. I observe when she thinks I’m distracted. She’s on guard with me. Aries and Bones cater to her wildest impulses too much. And Nox… my beloved Nox is so tormented by the trauma bond he shares with her that he’d let her get away with anything. But I will not.
I’m the one who dragged her ass out of the poison fields after she threw a temper tantrum and set them on fire—almost killing herself in the process. She would’ve rather burned her whole fucking house down than give in to me. That fire is still within her. It festers. If she doesn’t let me in soon, she’s going to combust.
