Page 94 of The Vixen

I shake my head as I take another step back. My foot slips on a sheet of ice, and when I stumble backward, he’s there to catch me. He rights me with his hands on my shoulders. It’s wrong that he catches me when he so thoroughly enjoys watching me fall.

“You asked for honesty, didn’t you?” His hand slides down my back so he can pull me forward by my tailbone.

I don’t nod. If I did, it would be a lie.

I don’t want this.

“The truth, Luna, is that…” His mouth hangs up a moment—a long stretch of a second where I pray he’ll change his mind. Pray he’ll shake his head.

He doesn’t.

“I brought Liberty here because her husband is my old business partner, the shark I told you about. I know how ruthless he is, and I know that if he ever found out where she was, he would burn this place to the ground.”

When I try to move away, his hand on my back jerks me toward him.

“But that’s not what I want anymore. I…” His eyes dart over my face while he thinks of the words to say. My throat feels so thick, I think I might choke. But I don’t swallow. I don’t even move. I just stare.

Because thisisreal. What he’s telling me… It’s the truth.

He’s admitting it. He’s telling me his plan.

I wish he’d stop.

“Icareabout you, Luna.” Sawyer sighs. “I don’t want to hurt you any worse than I already have… All I want is for Liberty and Persephone to be allowed to leave. If I have to stay for a while, I’ll stay, but… As long as they’re here, you and I will always be at odds. And while it’s no longer my plan to lure Liberty’s husband, I promise he’ll find her. Eventually.”

As he finishes, his chest relaxes back into place. His lips soften. His eyes stay neutral, as if waiting for a cup of tea.

I don’t respond for a long time. In my mind, I watch him with his head underwater, an electric baton lighting up every nerve of his body. I watch him in the mines, his hands raw, his back bloody. I watch him cold and shaking. I watch him naked and scarred.

And it still isn’t enough.

I’ve still managed to spoil him.

I’ve still managed toruinhim. To ruinthis.

To ruin my home.

I break away from him and stand straighter, my lungs quivering. “You’re right, Sawyer. I want real. And I thank you for giving it to me.” My feet shift toward the Keep, but my eyes remain locked on his for a few moments longer. “But you ask for too much in return.”

When I start walking, he doesn’t follow. And I don’t get a Keeper to fetch him.

Let him wander the woods.

Maybe he’ll get bit by a snake.

CHAPTER 24

LUNA

When I step through the door of the Keep, I’m shivering.

Cracked snow had molded to my knees and shins, damp cold leeching through the material of my pants. It chews at my skin as I rip off my coat and hang it in the foyer closet, then lifts my hands in front of my face to study the blue tinge beneath my nail bed.

I tuck my shoes neatly into the wooden cubicle kept for such occasions. Once the gear is securely put away, I rub my red, frosty hands together and kick the closet door shut before padding down the hall toward the dining room.

We keep a fire burning at all times in the winter because the dining room is right off the kitchen. It only takes the pipes freezing once to never let it get that cold again.

My shoulders cave as my hands try to light an imaginary fire, but when I enter the dining room and see I’m not alone, I still.My shoulders pull back, and my spine straightens, though it’s only Persephone.