“Kill me,” I commanded. “And this time, you are going to chop off my head. Perhaps that will do the trick.”
Miranda’s brows were furrowed in a mix of anger and pain.
“Do it,” I growled when she didn’t respond.
“No,” she shot back, even as her grip tightened around Bob.
“Do it,” I yelled, taking a few menacing steps toward her. My movements were jerky and unpredictable. I would never hurt her, but I needed to provoke her.
“I don’t want to,” she said, something sparking through her anger. Fear?
Yes, fear. It’s what I needed. I could break her bond to me with that.
I retreated to the far side of the room, melting into the shadows.
“Fucking do it,” I roared, letting my body partially shift into the monster I truly was. Then I rushed straight at her. The whites of her eyes were all I saw before her blade slashed through the air. Suddenly, I found myself flying until my head slammed into the ground. I felt both heavy and light at the same time.
My brain took another second to register that she’d done exactly what I asked before everything went black. I hoped this would be the last time, so I wouldn’t have to live with the terrible things I said to her.
* * *
I blinked.I blinked again. The concrete wall of my cell came into focus.
Godsdammit.
I was hoping decapitation would do the trick.
Apparently not. My head throbbed, and my throat was sore. Still, another piece of the all-consuming magic has been chipped away.
A sniffle caught my attention. Pushing myself up off the ground, I found I wasn’t alone. Miranda sat, curled up in a ball on the far end of the room, her arms wrapped around her knees. Tears streamed from her red rimmed eyes as her body shook.
I’m next to her in an instant. Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around her.
I hushed her in soothing tones, trying to generate some kind of heat in my body so I could envelope her in warmth. The wretchedness I felt was nothing compared to any death she had bestowed upon me.
I’d meant to hurt her, and I had. I truly was a fucking beast.
Miranda worked to gain control of her hiccuping sobs but failed. Still, I understood her words. “Please don’t make me do that again.”
I’d been so focused on getting her to kill me, I didn’t think of the horror she might witness at taking off my head. She was supposed to separate my head from my body and separate herself from me at the same time. But she’d stayed. That hadn’t been the plan.
“Why didn’t you leave?” I asked in frustration, rubbing her arm. She felt cold, too cold.
She shook her head. “I couldn’t leave you like that. I was too scared to leave. And then when you started too. . .”
She stayed. Miranda stayed and watched my decapitated body slither towards my head until I knitted myself back together.
Her head shook more vigorously. “I couldn’t leave you like that.” She wiped her nose on her arm. “Please don’t make me do that again,” she repeated, her voice so hoarse it threatened to shatter my heart.
Oh gods. I pulled her until she was forced to unravel from her ball and plaster against my chest. My arms wrapped tightly around her, as tears soaked my chest. “I won’t. I won’t make you do it again. I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” Then I pulled her into my lap so I could hold her more completely. To my surprise, she let me.
We stayed that way for a long time. Me rocking her and holding her tightly. My senses filled with the salt of her tears, and bergamot oil. Eventually, Miranda stopped crying, but I didn’t even think of letting go. She continued to tremble for a long time after. Even when that stopped, I continued to hold her against me.
I broke my badass. I couldn’t forgive myself for that.
Only when her breath evened out, did I realize she fell asleep. I didn’t want to wake her. So I stood up, with her still in my arms and walked to the back of the cage. I opened the door and left the cell behind us.
ChapterTwenty-Seven
