New Wings

Chapter 4

"They sent me, darling. Turns out you have some secrets. Secrets come with a price, don't you know?"

"I h-have no idea what you're referring too." She stuttered, all too aware of how close his face, no, his mouth was to hers. His hot breath cascaded down her neck, and she would have shivered were it not for the blasted board.

"Mhm." He said, not sounding kind at all.

"Thorne, you were the one that saved me from them. You practically called them monsters. Why--ACK!" In one quick movement he'd grabbed her jaw and forced her eyes to meet his own.

"Things are not always what they seem, Birdy. Or... should I say people aren't?" he laughed, a loud and cold sound, before lifting her up from the bed holding nothing but her chin.

With that he launched her across the room, her terrified shrieks as she hit the wall fading out as....sunlight...broke through...

Cress flew out of bed, screaming as loud and hard as she possibly could. Thorne jolted in his sleep, sitting up wearily.

She fell back into the bed in a ball, curling around herself as tight as she could. The walls yelled at her, the room spun, the sheets threatened to drown her.

"No no no no no no no no....." She ran her hands up and down her shaking arms, recognizing that the raw spots were no longer there. Instead, the thick black fabric her mother had covered her in for years was welded to her, because Cress was covered in a cold, shivering sweat. Her mutterings emitted a sigh from Thorne.

"So my guess is, those nightmares you mentioned last night weren't supposed to be mine, were they?" His voice was hoarse. Obviously he'd gotten a good sleep.

She didn't respond. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to block the pain out. Hitting that wall, feeling the board pierce through the plaster, seeing his smug face, she'd actually felt something shift. She wasn't safe here, not with him. How could she have been so idiotic? To run away with a man she'd never met? Ugh.

Behind her, she felt the floorboards creak as a body gently eased onto the bed, holding her by the shoulders and lifting her to meet his gaze.

She tensed. 'In one quick movement he'd grabbed her jaw and forced her eyes to meet his own.' Cress shook her head in confusion, and Thorne seemed to take that as a sign to reassure her.

"Look, whatever happened in that golden-haired head of yours, it is all gone now. Okay? We're gonna be alright. Aces Cress, you have one heck of a voice on you." He chuckled, but the edge in his voice dampened the effect. She wiped the tears away and sat up in bed, causing him to lean back. He gave her a half smile, trying to reassure her. He was actually being kind of...sweet. Then his words sunk in.

He thought her hair was golden?

Her expression morphed into bewilderment, and he seemed to realize what he'd said.

Thorne swallowed and jumped off the bed.

"I'll...leave you to get dressed. Yeah."

And with that he was gone. Cress was grateful he'd shut the door carefully. The second it closed, though, she collapsed back onto the bed with a moan. She truly was in a mess now.

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That was too close. She'd seemed afraid of him already. She was supposed to be completely trusting right now. He'd have to work on the charm.

But Thorne doubted that's what was bothering him so much, after all, charm was never an issue for him.

It's because you complimented her, you idiot. And she noticed.