Page 63 of Spring Guardians & Songbirds

“Little mouse is fast,” Snow said, moving toward her.

Adriane had frozen on the spot staring at me. I should have felt sympathy. I should, but I didn’t. What I did feel was worry for the woman who seemed nothing like herself.

“How long has she spent in the dungeons?” I asked Nia.

She hugged herself tight, refusing to look at Snow. “Too long. From the moment she returns from you till she goes back to you. Cai kept sending her back from the Fogling attacks because she almost lost control of her magic a couple of times and he is not letting her join them again.” Her head lowered with some guilt. “I can’t go down there with her. So she has been all on her own.”

Alone. Snow hated loneliness. And she battled one demon by torturing the other. Why did she always have to fall to their dark pits to do that?

Snow reached my aunt, fisting her hair and dragging her along the corridor. Adriane didn’t shout nor scream nor protest. It was beaten out of her. When I pulled my senses open, I winced at the sheer strength of anguish and pain radiating from the woman I shared my blood with. How could one break another like this? I’d never even seen an Empath ruin someone like this—to the point to be begging for death.

“Put her out of her misery, Snow,” I said. “There is nothing left of her anymore. Does this even satisfy you?”

Snow cocked her head to the side to study my aunt, the look so predatory it raised my hackles of caution. “No, it doesn’t.” She looked up at me with a pout, blinking curiously. “Why do they break so easily? It’s no fun.” She pulled Adriane’s head back and slowly dragged the tip of her dagger over her throat, looking at me the whole time.

My aunt’s mouth filled with blood, choking as she dropped to the floor. Snow crouched down to her, hugging her knees as she watched Adriane slowly suffocating and bleeding out.

My whole body tensed at the feel of life seeping away.

When all flare of life left Adriane, Snow stood and sighed, wiping the dagger to her sleeve. “Now I’m bored again. Play with me, Adriatian.”

I gripped her face and then backed her to the wall. A breath whooshed out of her when her back met the stone hard. “Enough.”

She batted her lashes at me, a wild grin spreading on her face. “Enough what?”

I leaned down to her ear. “Playing with me. This little show was not nearly as good as what I’ve seen of you before.” Deranged. Mad. Sick. I was all of those because this woman could set the world on fire and I add more kindling to it to see it grow bigger. This was driving me mad with worry.

She looked down at Adriane’s body and cocked a brow at me. “Am I getting rusty?”

“No,” I growled in her face. “You’re getting too deep inside that head. Remember when I told you that I’d make that my problem, huh?”

Her smile dropped. “You bore me. I ought to see someone who doesn’t bore me.” My jaw tightened so hard it could snap and so did my grip on her. That made her simper. “You look like you want to gut my throat.”

“There are many things I want to do to your throat, but that isn't one of them.” So many things.

Her eyes dropped to my mouth and when they returned to me, they blazed. The way she stared at me was different, like I was prey for her to catch and a move for her to make. She’d finally made me her quest.

A throat cleared behind us and it wasn’t Nia’s. An angry Alaric glared at us. No, he was glaring at Snow. “You’ve dirtied my corridor.”

“Whoops,” Snow said, giving him a tight-lipped smile.

He pointed a finger at her. “You will clean it.”

Snow gaped and made a sound of protest that didn't quite come out as Alaric’s finger returned to point at her again, this time in threat before he stalked down the corridor. “I will return to inspect it, Snowlin Skygard.”

“Castemont,” I called at him, not taking my eyes off my gorgeously angry wife. “Her last name is Castemont.”

Alaric halted and turned to us again, chuckling. “Correct,” he said, amused, his eyes going back to my wife. “Not a drop on my marble, Snow Castemont.”

Snow’s face fell, and that signature feral hellcat sneer of hers was in full force when she turned her glare on me. “I’m going to have so much fun gutting you. Pulling your heart out of your chest string by string.”

“Clean your corridor first,” I said, giving her a wink and following after Nia and Alaric.

Nia chuckled. “You’re going to suffer for that.”

“Can’t wait,” I said, holding the door open for her to pass first.

She sighed, shaking her head. “I don’t know if you are disgustingly in love or just delusional.”