Jamie crossed the room to the balcony unfollowed. She leaned against the railing, looking out into the night and, for a moment, neither Demetrius nor or her mother knew what to say. There were too many things she’d said that didn’t sit well with him, things that weighed his eyebrows into a crease and sent his mind into a tizzy of its own insatiable curiosity.
In the end, it was the girl who broke the silence.
“If you won’t let me have a taste, I’d like to be taken hunting. That’s what you call it, right?” She looked over her shoulder at them. “Demetrius, will you take me?”
“Maybe your mother should—”
“It’s not necessary; she’s done enough.” Jamie turned to face him completely, searching his gaze with intrusive, eyes of silver. “You won’t?”
The hand at his cheek was mirrored by the other. In a powerful moment of silence, the pair gazed into each other’s eyes, both searching for answers, both making pleas even they weren’t aware of. Jamie wished for acceptance; she craved the assurance he would still be there for her and help her regain her life. Demetrius craved the assurance she was still the girl he’d taken to following around, the one who’d been able to stir such strong emotions in him that he risked and ultimately surrendered his once rising prestige amongst his fellow guardians. Neither noticed the subtle drifting, oblivious to the hidden force that drew them closer until the tips of their lips brushed elusively against each other. Demetrius pulled back, not wanting to overstep in this new unknown but Jamie pushed forward, pressing her lips against his with a firmness that caught him off guard.&nbs
The sun had begun to break free of the horizon when the pair returned to the house. Following the hunt, Demetrius had allowed Jamie to remain in the plains for no other reason than her desire to stay a while longer to enjoy the feeling of the wind on her cheeks and the grass beneath her toes. The boy came to the unsettling realisation that he would arrest the very stars in the heavens if it would make her smile. It was dangerous business being so endeared to someone; it had already proven itself problematic. His superiors had caught on to the effect she had on him and were not opposed to exploiting that weakness for their own gains. The pair found her mother sitting on the chair she’d moved to the bed; she hadn’t moved since they left. Her eyes, once laced with worry, filled themselves with relief as they walked in from the b
“I can’t let you replace the seals.” Jamie’s mother sputtered at Demetrius’ words, newly incensed by his continued refusals. “Can’t? Let? Who do you think you are? Haven’t you done enough? If it weren’t for you—” “If it weren’t for me, Jamie would be trapped forev—” “Idiot! If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be in danger!” She shoved him again, this time managing to get him to fall onto the bed next to Jamie. The woman stood over them both, an angry parent about to give the scolding of the century. “You’re somehow stupider than she is, getting led your tiny dick, letting her talk you into her destruction. Neither of you has any idea
Chapter 41 – Mild provocation “We only have a few questions for now,” Carlton said. “Strictly business and if we have everyone’s cooperation, we can go our separate ways without injury when this is all over.” The half truth was as glaringly obvious as if the man had outright lied. If all went to plan, Mr. Carter and, perhaps Valerie, would be left unharmed. As it stood, both Jamie and her mother sat in a precarious position and were at the mercy of the guardians who didn’t take kindly to those who flouted the laws and made extra work for them. Carlton pulled the final bar stool before the family then sat. “Let’s start with something easy. How long have
Mr. Carter swore…profusely. Every other word from the man’s mouth was enough to make the devil blush. His eyes grew wide, his face pallid as he tried to make sense of the scene that played itself before him. “Someone, help him up,” Carlton said. It was a command given in vain. The man wouldn’t let anyone near him, frantically slapping at their hands whenever any reached out to pull him from the corner he’d wedged himself into. “Stay away from me!” He could barely breathe, driving himself to hysterics faster than should’ve been possible. It was an unnecessary amount of theatrics in the boy’s estimation, as Jamie’s had been. Were sharper teeth and extreme bursts of speed truly so terrifying? Surely, there were things in the world that were infinitely more frightening—and far more likely to cause him harm. Demetrius imagined the man would’ve soiled himself had his wife been a clandestyne and her transformation more dramatic. Eventually,
“Let’s wrap this up. Helena Carter—or whoever you are—you’re under arrest for several breaches of the conduct reform. Jamison will be coming with us; do you have anyone you could leave the little one with?”Distraught as she was, the woman could barely manage to shake her head. “There’s…there’s no one.”“She’ll come with us then. We might be able to find somewhere to house her while we get this sorted.”“No—Demetrius!” Jamie cried.The boy was already reaching for the papers in his back pocket. His hands shook, making the feat that much more difficult than it needed to be but eventually he steadied them enough to lay the papers on the counter. “You can’t,” he said. “You can’t yet. There’s still too much that we don’t know—extenuating circumstances that still haven’t been investigated before any judgem
No sooner had his mother led the mother-daughter pair away, Demetrius saw Cassidy nodding him up the stairs. The gesture put a pit in his stomach that made him want to turn and head back through the door. The morning had barely started, but the boy wanted nothing more than to take himself away. He would’ve loved even one quiet moment to clear his head and shake off the heaviness that settled on him, but he was starting to see he wouldn’t have that luxury.Demetrius would have to wait a while longer for that moment. He took Jamie by the hand, leading her up the stairs behind his sister.Cassidy led them back to her room, being careful to close the door behind her. It earned her a raise of his brow.“What?” he asked, not in the mood for more surprises.“She’s on edge.”“Carlton?” he asked, assuming the man had gone ahead to give their mother an earful on his most recent act of wilful defiance. The
Two men dressed in the garb of the palace’s guards approached the house. Demetrius crooned his neck to get a better look at him, all but forgetting Jamie’s request to know more about Scarlet. The men had become the more pressing matter for the morning, all the more so because he didn’t see his sister walking with them.“Stay here,” he said, rising to his feet. The boy waited for them to pass the veranda’s threshold before jumping from the roof and entering the house behind them. He felt a rush of wind at his back as Jamie descended the roof, but his attention remained on the newcomers.From the opposite, direction Cassidy descended the stairs. She froze at the sight of the uniformed men, but only long enough to orient herself to their arrival.“Mom!” she called, not wanting to find out for herself what they wanted. While they’d both been forced back to their duties as guardians, Cassidy had been unrelenting i