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Chapter 17
Alexi
Sweat drips down my spine as I run, despite the aches that plague my body. I could use my magic to make them all disappear, but I like the feeling of them far too much at the moment to make them go away. I deserve them. Every. Single. One. And the looks on both Malik’s and Talon’s faces as I continue my punishing pace on the treadmill at the gym tells me they know exactly why I’m pushing so hard too.
I’ve sparred with the pair of them already, moving on to weights before jumping into cardio. I’m burned out without replenishing myself, but I don’t care.
We haven’t uttered a word to each other since Talon announced yesterday that he had arranged for Harmonia to see her friend. I explained just how much of a bad idea I thought that was and, of course, they told me I was wrong.
The spiral that followed had led me to a stunning pink necklace that I’d kept stored away in my closet for years. Before I could think better of it, I was placing it on Harmonia’s vanity. I thought I could keep my distance, but when she came home I couldn’t help but watch her find it.
My jaw was tense, my entire body stiff with uncertainty before I saw the look of awe on her face and my name on her lips when she figured out who it was from. I should have left then, put some much-needed distance between us, but my feet carried me toward her instead.
The moment was intimate. For us at least. And then I went and spoiled it all by hightailing out of there quicker than I arrived. When they went out last night, I made myself scarce, deciding it was the best option since I had already point-blank refused to go to the dinner to begin with. Then they came home and her sweet scent filled the air, luring me downstairs one small step at a time as I heard her voice echo through the house.
I should have kept the distance between us. I should have continued as I was, happy with the barriers between us and the anger that coiled in my chest. Because one speech from her, revealing her side of the story, has done nothing but tear me into a million pieces ever since.
“You deserved me. Then and now.”
Those six words have been on repeat in my mind since they left her mouth, making my heart rate increase every time.
Swiping my hand down my face, I grunt as I continue to push until Talon’s voice cuts through the air. “Whatever is going on in that head of yours needs airing, Alexi.”
I scoff in response, dismissing him with a shake of my head as I continue to run. “There’s nothing going on in my head.” The bite of warning is clear in my tone, but these fuckers either don’t hear it or don’t care.
Without warning, Malik appears in front of me slamming his fist into the treadmill. His ridiculous magical strength means the entire thing shuts down as I stumble to a halt.
“What the fuck, Mal?”
He shrugs in response, like his actions make total sense, but there’s no way in hell I’m calling him out on it. Not when my own actions are just as irrational at the moment.
“That’s Malik’s way of saying get the fuck off the treadmill and either talk about whatever shit is in your head or bring it back to the mat.” My eyes fall to the blue mats in the center of the room, my mind immediately transporting me back to the moment Harmonia’s face came into view when she appeared through Nyx’s portal.
Could I have handled the situation better? Yes.
Would I change how I handled the situation? Probably not.
I’ve always acted on instinct. But for the first time in a very long time I acted on need, want, and—against my insistence—desire.
A shove from my right makes me stumble and I whip my head around to glare at whichever fucker just did that, only to find the pair of them grinning back at me.
They’re pushing me, goading me, forcing me to acknowledge shit I’m not ready for.
With a sigh, I lift the hem of my t-shirt up to wipe the beads of sweat from my temples before I look between the two of them. “What do you want me to say to get this over and done with?” I quirk my brow at them, but they just give me a pointed stare in response.
“How about you talk about how you feel with Harmonia back in our lives?” Talon bites back a smirk as he questions me, making me shake my head in response, but when they realize I’m not going to give them an answer, Malik charges at me.
Lightning fast, I manage to dodge him from knocking me to the ground at the last second, but that doesn’t stop him trying again and again. When I think he’s given up, hands braced on his knees as he eyes me, I realize too late that he’s the distraction as Talon knocks me to the ground.
Fuckers.
“Get the fuck up.”
I respond with a growl, but it’s weak as Talon hovers above me, pinning me to the mat with a mixture of smugness and concern flashing in his eyes.
“You can either start talking or I start swinging,” he offers, waving his hands between us as he forms them into fists.
“Why can’t you just drop it and leave me fucking be?” Anger coils inside of me, but it does nothing to deter the pair of them as Malik crouches down above my head.
