LOGINSydney
Four Months Later
Dad’s orrery clicks and spins, the internal gears grinding against the soft patter of winter rain on the windows. I watch the strange tangle of metal for another few minutes, tucking my hands in the pockets of my old leather jacket before taking a breath and walking toward the stairs.
It’s only 8:00 A.M. The sun barely crests the snow-capped mountains in the distance when I reach the main foyer. Maids and workers rush past me with courteous bobs of their heads.
The world keeps spinning and spinning.
A flash of memory clouds my vision. I watch Gabriel drag his knife across Evander’s throat. Kenna’s scream sears into my mind
PoseyThe fever returns in the morning when the sun rises. It’s thick and syrupy with no end in sight. I sit up, surrounded by sheets and pillows I don’t remember carrying up here from the couch. I’m wearing nothing but one of Aris’s cut-off T-shirts, which I don’t remember putting on. I rub my face on the worn fabric, inhaling deeply, trying to clasp onto whatever shred of reality I can find. All that takes up my mind is… here. Being here, in this cabin, with this man I’ve known my entire life. A man so far out of my league it’s laughable. The same man who made love to me last night like it was something fated. An act we’ve done a million times. Slow, tender, aching, the kind of touch I imagine comes from decades of knowing a lover's body. I’m delusional when I walk downstairs, my brain split into sections. Sex. Lust. Greed. Possibly, hopefully, a single shred of who I am outside of this heat, but that section is the weakest of all. Sunlight pours through the open front door, casti
Posey “You’ve always been a whiny, demanding, pain in my ass,” he pants, pinning my wrists above my head. His mouth is hot against the column of my throat as he traces a long, wet line with the flat of his tongue. He likes it when I writhe beneath him. The smiles against my skin paint my body with heat almost as much as the rough, nibbling kisses I know will leave little marks that won’t wash off for a few days–a brief reminder of tonight. “Keep your hands above your head. Grip the pillow.” I obey, my fingers curled in the plush fabric. My heart races when he rises above me just enough to deftly unbutton the flannel I stole, revealing the white, damp tank top underneath. He takes a shaky breath and then chuckles darkly, greedily, and his eyes meet mine in the dim light. “You’re perfect.”“What?” I breathe, losing myself to the way his knee draws up between my legs and puts a breathtaking amount of pressure where I need it the most. “Your breasts are a masterpiece.” He kisses the
PoseyNights falls on the cabin, but neither of us noticed the sunset until Aris mentioned something about the time, which I hadn’t been keeping track of. It’s still raining, and he’s shifting again as it stands, probably to hunt for whatever he’s going to eat raw for dinner seeing as our only other option for cooking is the woodstove, and while I’m capable of cooking like a dream, but not using that. That’s a bit out of my wheelhouse. Still, I twirl the second vial of contraceptive tonic between my fingers, watching the flakes of herbs dance in the milky liquid. I’d been too sick to my stomach to differentiate each herb, spice, and flower used to make it when I took the first draft, but this time I might be able to. If this heat isn’t a one-time thing, I’ll need this again, won’t I? I should know what ingredients I’d need to make it for myself because I highly doubt the priestesses I’ll be sharing the remainder of my life with will have them on hand.A crash echoes from outside, and
PoseyAfter telling me everything he knows about his Shadowsynger ancestors, which is very little, and the strange caves beneath Veiled Valley, which are immense and guarded by some kind of creepy spirit, Aris tears himself from the cabin like being in my presence is painful. It sucks. I don’t know how else to describe it. The knowledge that my scent is suddenly overwhelming to him, like I’m some beckon of fertility and everyone in the nearby vicinity knows it, has me cringing. I assume that’s why he brought me here–to the middle of nowhere, miles and miles away from anyone else and trapped on a small island. Aris left his clothes on the warped front porch in an untidy pile. I missed seeing him in his wolf form, but I gather his damp clothes and hang them to dry in front of the woodstove, using a length of twine I found in the kitchen strung between two sturdy, obviously handmade wooden chairs. I explore, running my fingers over every surface, every touch like an electric shock–all
PoseyIt’s an overcast, drizzling day. I watch raindrops trickle down the circular windows of the one-room cabin in Aris’s sailboat, tracing their trails with my index finger. My stomach is tied in multiple tight knots as the boat rocks on the choppy water. Fog hugs the horizon as far as I can see. I have no idea where we’re going. I packed for two days but nothing for this kind of weather. I met Aris at the edge of the dock, and he put me down here, alone, while sending us into the storm. The door to the cabin opens, and Aris steps down into the warm, dry air. Rain drips from his hair onto his shoulders, soaking into the soft fabric of his worn-out flannel. His silver eyes meet mine briefly, hooded, lined with dark circles, before he shrugs out of the shirt and drapes it over the couch. “How are you?”“Don’t,” I croak, sniffling as I tear my gaze away from his shoulders, bare in his cut-off T-shirt. “I’m fine.”“You’re not fine. You’re far from fine.”“Which is why you’re taking us
ArisPosey’s skin gleams in the midmorning light. I’ve been staring at her for the past hour while keeping watch on the back porch swing, giving her the space I can tell she wants. Classical music drifts from the kitchen where the sound of her knife against the cutting board is a rhythmic reminder of her presence, but even over the smell of whatever she’s cooking, something rich and deep with hints of maple, her scent is everywhere. The last two nights were insane. I can’t come up with a better word for it. Gods, I thought she was dying. I think she thought she was dying. Waking up in the dark hours of early morning with her sweat-soaked body clutched against mine and her scent enveloping me had me thinking thoughts I can’t say out loud, like whatever’s happening to her has me by the balls, and I’d crawl through fire to make her feel better. I twirl my phone over my fingers, stealing a glance through the open patio doors leading into the kitchen, and slowly rise. Posey dumps a bowl







