“Don’t fucking follow me!” I turn to shoot a glare at Rhune. “I need to be alone. Just,please, if you really care about me… you’ll respect that.”
With a whine, Rhune lowers back to the furs, his eyes shining desperately. “Willow…”
The string attached to my heart yanks painfully, urging me to go back to my mate, to forgive him. But right now, I just can’t. I don’twantto.
“I can’t fucking be here,” I whisper, tearing out of the room as my heart splits in two.
Rhune’s tragic cries follow me as I race down the tunnel, and no matter how I try to ignore them, to ignorehim,I can’t. The bond won’t let me. I run and run, not caring where I’m going or if I get lost. All I know is that I need to put some distance between me and the sound of Rhune’s soul breaking.
A familiar blue glow catches my eye farther down the passage, and I pick up my pace. I don’t knowwhy,but I feel like that is exactly where I should go right now.
A few moments later, I stop in front of Cin’s workshop, my lungs screaming as I stare hard at that strange painted symbolin the center of the hide covering. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I push it aside and step into the workshop.
My eyes immediately snap toward the glowing wall of roots at the back, and I walk deeper inside, keeping my steps silent as I listen for any sign of Cin. He’s most likely in his bedroom, but I can’t be too cautious.
Forcing my gaze away from the wall of roots, I notice that there are hundreds of sculptures littered throughout the room—large and small, all intricately carved to represent a different species from this world. They’re beautiful, made from that shimmering blue ice-rock that makes up the ground. Not ice or stone, but something in-between. Something extraordinary.
In addition to the sculptures, hundreds of hides are laid out across the workshop. Some are nailed to the walls, others are hanging over hand-carved furniture, and the rest are lying in dense piles in the corners of the room. It seems Cin has been using them as canvases—staining the hide in beautiful colors to resemble landscapes and places I’ve only seen in my dreams.
I step closer to one of the paintings, reaching a finger out to brush the intricate swirls of color.
“Hello, serafyn.”
I rip my hand back, my head whipping to meet Cin’s reptilian gaze. Those predatory slits blink at me through the shadows, cold and gray like the sky moments before it rains. Just like the first time I met him, there is a mask strapped to the lower half of his face, concealing his mouth and jaw.
With the light emanating from the living wall, I can make out a deep, puckered scar running up to the corner of his right eye, tugging awkwardly at the skin. I cringe, imagining what he must have gone through to get such a gnarly scar.
“You are not supposed to be here, serafyn,” he says, taking a small step closer.
“Why not?” I match his movement with a step back. “Are the sculptures going to come alive and bite me?”
His eyes squint—almost as if he’s smiling—but there’s no way to tell with the mask. “The sculptures will not. But I might.”
His words hold an edge of hunger that sends a shiver down my spine and heats my blood, but I do my best to keep my expression neutral. “Areyou going to bite me?”
A sound that vaguely resembles a laugh shudders through the air, low and growl-like with a touch of something otherworldly.Demonic.
“Not unless you ask me to.”
For some reason, I don’t feel afraid by his words. I probablyshould, but instead, I’m filled with a certainty that this creature would never harm me.Couldnever harm me.
“In that case… Do you mind if I hide out here for a bit?” I ask. “I just need to be away from Nyx and Rhune for a bit…”
Cin’s eyes narrow, a question swirling in those reptilian eyes—but for some reason, I know he won’t ask. “Be my guest. Just watch out for the ones with teeth,” he adds cryptically.
Without another word, he turns and stalks to the opposite side of the room where a large work table sits. I watch him for a moment, mesmerized by his massive wings, by the way his muscles shift with every slight movement. The ultimate predator.
Forcing my gaze away, I turn back to the painting—only, I’m much less interested in it than I was just before. I try to tell myself it has nothing to do with the ungodly handsome creature a few feet away, but it hardly helps.
Turning away from the paintings, I walk toward one of the beautiful sculptures. It’s a little taller than me, covered with thousands of hand-carved bits of fur.
It looks like a larger, meaner version of Kevin. Except…
My eyes trail up to the strange mask covering its flat face. It’s strangely humanoid in shape with soulless pits where the eyes and nose should be, and the sight of it causes a shiver to run down my spine.
Creepy… I wonder if Kevin will grow one of those.
Deciding I’ve had enough of the sculptures, I move my attention to the other treasures littering the workshop, marveling at the craftsmanship. The whole time I explore, I sense a pair of eyes on me, heating my skin as they move from place to place—but every time I glance at Cin, he’s deeply focused on his work.
