“Did you love Sean before he revealed himself?” I wasn’t sure why that question burnt the most.
“I found him charming. He was the only man who didn’t care about my seizures. Other suitors had expressed their disgust at my condition. I learnt not to trust people’s feelings towards me because, as soon as they knew about my problem, they avoided me. But Sean accepted the situation with a shrug. He had no interest in my money either, being wealthy himself. Or so I believed.” Her chest heaved. “How stupid I was, begging for scraps of attention.”
“You weren’t stupid. You just wanted what everyone wants.”
Her bottom lip quivered. “I didn’t love him. I never did. But I didn’t have any other options, and I couldn’t live with Papa forever.”
I caressed her knuckles with a finger as my skin became clammy. “I wish I could hug you now, hold you close, and protect you from bad memories.”
She wiped her face. “You’re making progress.”
“If there’s someone I really want to hold, it’s you.”
My fingertips seemed to be on fire, and I withdrew my hand.
We stared at the dancing flames in the hearth in silence.
“One day you will hug me. I’m sure of that.” She rose, her dressing gown flowing with her movements. “Good night.”
I stood up and held the door open for her. I checked the corridor. “It’s empty.”
As she brushed past me, the need to touch her overcame my fear, so great it was. I caressed her cheek and shivered, not because of pain, but because her skin was silky and warm. Enjoying the contact with her spread a sense of freedom within me.
Her lips parted, and I brushed the pad of my thumb over her bottom lip. It was delicate and velvety. When the tremors started and the pain began to burn, I reluctantly withdrew my hand.
“Yes, I’m sure of that, too.”
37
TRICKS
Alex
The sensation of Irene’s skin under my fingers stayed with me all night, but it hadn’t always been pleasant. It had triggered the need to scrub myself, which I’d tried to resist. I’d fallen asleep, exhausted by the battle against my demons and the desire to hold her.
Heavy footsteps woke me up.
Judging by the pink light limning the window, the sun had risen recently, and I hadn’t slept for more than a couple of hours.
“Ravenhill!” Graves’s voice, carrying through the door, completed the nightmare.
“What is it?” I thumped the bed in frustration.
“Tanner is gone.”
I shot out of the bed and flung the door open. “He was chained, and you were in the cell with him.”
Graves’s stunned expression sobered me. “He turned into a bird.”
“What?”
“He was chained and all, sitting on the floor. Then dawn came, and his body changed. It shrank, his clothes sagged, his wrists slipped out of the shackles, and…and in his place there was a sparrow. He flew to the window and was gone. It happened quickly.”
We stared at each other in shock.
I rubbed my forehead. “Tanner is a were-sparrow, a shape shifter.”
“No!” He looked outraged. “I would have sensed it, and I’ve never met a were-sparrow.”
