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He lifts his head a few inches, looks at me, and then sets it down again.
“Yeah, I know this is no fun. But I didn’t choose to be here—”
“Lake?” says a faint, baritone voice that sends a bitter surge through my heart.
I sit up again. “Bard?”
Of all the people in my life, the last “person” I expected to betray me was the man I loved. Completely unreciprocated on Bard’s part due to our age difference, which I used to think was twenty-two years. Really, he’s four hundred years old and Alwar’s older brother. But before I learned the truth, I knew Bard as this mysterious, sexy-as-hell man who gave me goosebumps—the good kind—every time he entered a room. Officially, he was Grandma’s handyman. Unofficially, he was there at River Wall Manor to keep an eye on us. Like Gabrio, he was once a giant, too. A Wall Man, sworn to protect the Norfolk.
“Am I no longer welcome in your life, my queen?” The curtains slide open, and a white hazy form materializes. My heart drops like a lead weight.
Did I mention that Bard’s a No One now? He died because of me, but instead of accepting his fate, he challenged the No One king for the throne. Now he’s their king. King of the carnivorous ghosts.
I flop back down on the bed and stare up at the ceiling. I don’t want to get into it with him. He knows I’ll never trust him again even if he’s one of the kings who swore allegiance to me after I was turned. He’s probably the real reason I’m the ruler now. Everyone here is scared shitless of the No Ones. They can go anywhere at any time, even my world. No bridge required, since they aren’t technically alive.
“What do you want, Bard?”
“Alwar tells me you refuse to accept the duties of the throne.”
I continue staring up at the ceiling. “And?”
“And I do not advise it, Lake.”
“Why would I care what you think?”
Suddenly, he’s over me, his ghostly face hovering just above my head. Where his long salt-and-pepper hair once flowed are now wisps of steam. His beautiful blue eyes have been replaced by hollow sockets, and his mouth is just a strange swirl of smoke. I barely recognize the face of the man I once loved.
“I did not give you my support to have you throw your power away, Lake.”
I close my eyes. I don’t want to look at him. I don’t want to hear his lies. “I never asked for your support, so feel free to take it back.”
“This is not a game.”
My eyes fly open. “I am aware of that, Bard. Just like I’m aware you and your brothers think you can use me.”
“Use?”
“Don’t fucking gaslight me, asshole. I’m not some naïve human anymore.”
He suddenly lunges and hurtles toward my mouth. Not for a kiss. For an invasion. I feel Bard’s ice-cold form slide down my throat and push inside me.
I scream, and Master barks loudly, protesting on my behalf.
Is he punishing me because I won’t do as he says? No Ones used to be the equivalent of the Monsterland police, the creatures who hunted you down if you broke one of the vows written on my body. Then they’d eat you, heal you, and eat you again. Apparently they’re gifted at healingandkilling. I don’t know what their role is these days. Bard keeps his cards close.
“Get out of me!” The pain is intense as he passes through my organs, veins, and head. I feel him moving around like a blizzard beneath my skin. “What are you doing?” I bellow, throwing back my head, grabbing fistfuls of sheets.
Master doesn’t stop barking. Someone pounds at the door—probably one of the guards. I can’t get up or move.
Bard did this to me once before, back when I was human. He scratched around inside me, looking for something, until I ejected him.
That’s what I need to do. Push him out.I flex every muscle in my body, planning to squeeze him like an orange until he pops from my mouth, but suddenly, something happens. The burning hunger in my stomach cools. My mind calms. I almost feel like me again.
Is Bard healing me?
I exhale, and a plume of smoke comes from my mouth. Bard’s eerie face is over mine, a smile on his lips.
“What did you do?” I whisper.
