I thought you loved me.
The words hit him hard, and he couldn't
help but stagger back a couple steps – she thought he'd loved her…
In all truth, he did. Had.
Still did.
"Oh…sweet…Brianna…"
"Don't touch me." She was
shaking, dark eyes wide, as if she knew he was going to attack at any second,
finish what he'd intended when he'd started this dance, when he'd started
to hunt this delicate prey…
She'd pay for the spell she'd woven
around him.
Maybe.
"Princess…"
"Don't…"
Conflicted. He wanted, wavered
upon two things…
Kill her and free himself from this
torment she'd inflicted upon him, this Hell…
But in the same, he wanted to try
her tears, hold her until she stopped shaking…
She was his curse, but…also his
love.
And to see her like this, shaking,
afraid…terrified of him. She knew what he was capable of, knew that
any moment, he could do this, hurt her…
Dark eyes closed, Brianna waited
for death to claim her.
-*-
In her face, he saw the hundreds
of other girls…the hundreds of restless spirits who had found death by
his hands, his fangs…
She had the cheekbones, the delicate
features, high cheekbones…the striking eyes.
Nobility.
And she looked so brave there, standing
as still as she could, as if she'd already died. As if she was already
his lovely…beautiful…
Corpse.
"Brianna…"
He leaned in so his face was mere
inches from hers, so he could feel the warmth of her breath spread over
his face, so he could feel how…alive…she was.
Alive.
She couldn't be part of his world.
Fingers reached out, tracing her
lips, slowly…then moving down to her neck, dancing there for a few moments…
He could…
But…
Could he live with himself once
he'd taken his caramel Aphrodite's life…?
Could he steal her warmth…just to
keep her his?
"Could…" Words were slow, as
he was struggling to keep his thoughts together, to…
"My princess…"
"If you're going to kill me…please…"
That voice – her perfect, precious
voice was trembling – tears glistened at the corners of her eyes,
slipping down her perfect face…
He knew it was selfish. But…
He had to keep her.