Page 46 of Nightshade

Frowning, Lustina examined it closer in the dim light of the undercroft, and noted the white patch across its black feathers, and the way its wing appeared free of damage.

Impossible.

She inspected those details again, closer that time, certain it wasn’t the same bird she’d found in the woods a short time ago. Shaking her head in disbelief, she recalled the severe state of its wound, and how hopeless she’d felt for the poor creature. “How? It should have taken more than a mere week for its wing to heal. I wasn’t entirely convinced it could heal.”

“According to whom?”

“Well, based on what I’ve seen before.”

“Not every creature in this world follows a pattern of what should be. Some were born to defy such limitations.” Even if his voice carried an air of arrogant boredom, Lustina appreciated the challenge to her thoughts. The possibility in how he spoke radiated such a sense of freedom to her, a world without rules.

She smiled, looking in on the bird, which seemed perfectly contented on his perch. “I can’t believe it. It’s as if his wing was never broken to begin.” Smiling wider, she touched her finger to the cage, wishing she could feel the healed bones herself, to settle the skepticism she’d wanted to believe, the day he’d torn the bird from her hands. The possibility she couldn’t bear to imagine: that perhaps it would’ve died had she kept it. “My apologies, My Lord, for doubting you.”

“Your apologies are useless,” he said, setting the cage onto the stone floor beside them. “I want what I asked for.”

“A kiss.” It wasn’t a question, and Lustina’s stomach fluttered at the thought of his lips on hers again. “May I ask why? Surely, there are other girls, ones not branded in sin, with whom you’d enjoy a kiss.” That she had spoken her insecurity aloud stirred an unrelenting vulnerability in her gut.

A muscle in his jaw twitched with the threat of cruel words. “There are. In fact, I sat across from one in church who would love nothing more than to be pressed against this cold wall where you now stand.”

Lustina tried to imagine her—surely, a good wholesome girl permitted to attend mass wouldn’t endeavor to be alone in a dark undercroft with him. “Who is she?”

“My father’s mistress. A good twenty years older than me. Beautiful woman.”

The repulsive words coiled around her nerves like venomous snakes. What kind of wretched man could pursue an affair while his wife suffered illness and uncertainty? Worse yet, that his own son would entertain her flirtations, as well. “Perhaps I should fetch her for you, then.” Lustina swallowed back the jealousy trapped in the back of her throat. It wasn’t so much that she faulted the woman herself. Perhaps she was lonely, or spurned as an unsavory woman by the public, just like her mother. It was the men who took advantage that disgusted her most.

He ran his tongue over the edge of his teeth and smiled. “Perhaps you should. I should kiss her in front of you and force you to watch.”

“And I shall return the favor by having you watch Drystan kiss—”

Fingers gripped her chin, the vicious hate swirling in his eyes left her to wonder how far he would take his anger. “Do not tempt my bad nature with such threats.”

She jerked her head to release his grip. “And I will ask that you not tempt mine.” As Lustina stepped away, a violent grip of her arm yanked her back into place. “I will not stand here and listen to you talk of kissing an older woman in front of me.”

“Why? Would such a thing trouble you, Lustina?”

She imagined him lip-locked and those panting sounds of little air. The roaming hands and escalating desires. It sickened her to imagine being forced to watch him feed his appetite with another. “Of course not,” she lied. “This is a holy establishment, not designed for filthy amusements.”

The humor in his eyes darkened like a storm cloud. “There is nothing holy about this church. Open your eyes. Is it so impossible for you to believe the depraved things that have taken place in this very undercroft?”

She had heard of secret gatherings of the clergymen at night, but thought them to be nothing more than religious rituals. “What depraved things?”

He didn’t answer, but seemed to contemplate the question, his gaze consumed by thoughts, yet unmoved and entirely impenetrable. Then his focus sharpened once more, and Lustina found herself caught like an insect in a spider’s web. What was it about his attention that stoked her fascination?

He resumed his toying with her hair, dropping his gaze to her lips. “You are here because I want to kiss you. Not the woman.”

She angled her chin higher. “You said it yourself. You have the power to take without asking. If you desire to kiss me, then I cannot stop you. Is that not right, My Lord.”

“I should not enjoy the sound of your acquiescence as much as I do.” His hand gripped tight to her jaw, and Lustina drew a hard breath into her nose as he tipped her head back against the wall. “I hate your stardust eyes and your berry wine lips that never cease to remain shut.” He spoke through his teeth as if in anger. “And I hate the way you frolic in the woods with Drystan. You are no longer permitted to do so, do you understand?”

“Surely, I cannot wander the woods alone.” Except, Lustina had grown up in the woods her entire life, was perfectly capable of wandering alone, and thought the rule of needing to be accompanied was ridiculous.

“You can. And you will.” He leaned into her ear, only just brushing his lips over the shell of it. “I shall meet you there. Deep in the woods, at the river’s edge.”

The feather-light touch roused an urgency for more. “What for?”

“To be alone with you. Without my cousin’s intrusive eyes.” His words cast a shiver down her spine.

She could not begin to imagine what things he’d do, if not for the risk of someone catching him in the act. “That sounds far more dangerous than the animals I might encounter.”