Invisible String - Sebastian Sallow

Chapter Fifty-Two: Expectations

It'd been the first time in months I was aware of just how painful my magic was.

"Idiot boy," Thorfinn rasped, as I coughed, curling deeper into Sebastian's arms as he approached. "She and I have a deal!"

"That doesn't mean you get to tear her from the room! You don't get to touch her! She's not a tool!"

"Seb," I said, knowing that the way he was going would just result in more damage to the situation. "It's alright. I need to go."

His brown eyes traveled over my own green ones desperately, before I felt Thorfinn close his cold long fingers around my upper arm and lead me from the room, Sebastian's hands frozen, his face twisted up in more pain than it had been when Thorfinn had had his wand on him.

He was suffering.

At my expense.

Again.

Now, a week later, as Sebastian had his nose in a copy of Slytherin's spellbook that he'd disguised as a book of poetry, and Thorfinn had appeared again, his cold grey eyes on me, I saw that same look of pain flash across Sebastian's face. It was torment to him, watching me be pulled away by Thorfinn Gaunt, knowing what he was going to ask me to do today.

Who I was tasked with controlling.

"It's time," his silky voice wrapped around my head and made me cringe.

"I do this, and we get released. Anne too," I repeated as I stood from my chair, the heavy black robes Thorfinn had provided me weighing my body down. New, designed for me by Thorfinn, these robes were yet another symbol of the Gaunt family owning me.

It was a servants uniform, disguised by beautifully designed black armored fabric.

I felt sick wearing them.

"You get me power, and you'll have what you want."

The same answer I'd been given before. It was too slippery. He was too hard to pin down, and his voice was laced with venom. The way he wriggled his way out of giving me a straight answer on when I'd be released from this vow was infuriating. I needed an answer, and knew I wouldn't be given one.

Ominis hadn't been exaggerating when he spoke of his father being more snake than human.

Thorfinn turned on his heel and left the room, the door wide open. I moved to follow when Sebastian's hand closed around my wrist.

I looked back to him just as he pulled me flush against his body. One hand on my waist, the other moving from my wrist to my hair, he pulled me so tightly to his body it was impossible to tell where his body ended and mine began. His chest was rising and falling rapidly, and when he spoke, his words were hoarse.

"I think I've found a way out, Abbi."

My heart stopped.

"Seb-"

"Just be- Just do what you've agreed to today, and come back here. I need a little longer to work out the details, that's all."

I pulled away from him slightly, needing to look into his brown eyes. I needed to see what type of fire was lit in them, to know how serious a lead this was.

His eyes burned with the same fire as when we'd found the relic.

It was a serious lead, and my heart leapt into overdrive.

"Seb, is this-"

I didn't have time to finish my sentence before his lips were crushed onto mine, and the air was stolen from me. His kiss was more passionate than any I'd gotten thus far. Fierce and rough, his lips danced along mine, demanding more and more of me to be his. His hands gripped my body tightly back to him, having closed that slight distance I'd created.