When Nelle Wychthorn was forced to sign herself away in marriage, she should have read the contract's fine print. Because she signs not with ink, but with blood. And that changes everything.
Season 1 'Of Crows and Thorns'
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Fiery Nelle, the isolat...
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The woodland, Caidan, and Graysen melted away into the background. It was just me and those words spinning through my mind, chasing one another endlessly.
As if she's everything...
Those words filled the empty space inside my chest with bright golden warmth like sunshine, and I smiled. I smiled for him.
I was met with such agony and sorrow carving deep lines into Graysen's handsome features, my smile wobbled and then slipped from my lips.
The sunshine sputtered out.
A heartbeat later, that raw emotion was shuttered away as his mouth curled into a snarl. "I can't! You know I can't!"
He drove his fist for Caidan's face.
I stumbled back, and without thinking, I threw out a surge of power. "Enough!"
The gust of squalling wind struck the brothers and split them apart. They rolled in opposite directions, skidding and tumbling, crashing through the undergrowth.
It seemed like an eternity of waiting, my head muddled with the knowledge Graysen had lied to me until I heard the sounds of footfall and ragged breath.
Graysen was the first to appear, bloodied and bruised, panting hard, his dirt-stained tuxedo ripped and ruined. He glanced at me sideways, as if it were too hard for him to look at me, and his eyes darted away before I could hold his gaze. He grimaced, roughly scrubbing his face, smearing blood across his cheeks, before his palm ran upward to rake through his hair.
Caidan stalked between two spindly birch trees snapped in half, with his fingers pinching the bridge of his broken, bloodied nose. He bent sideways, brushing dirt and leaves from his pants, finding a tear in one leg. "Fuck, my tux, you asshole."
Graysen ignored him. He ignored me too.
"Go find Evvie," I told Caidan, keeping my line of sight on his older brother. "I need to know she's okay."
He nodded, then burst into speed, disappearing swiftly.
Graysen strode toward me. Still unable to look at me directly, he'd fixed his gaze somewhere above my head. He didn't slow his approach and I knew he was going to stride past.
Is he really going to walk away without even saying anything?
I slid sideways into his path and blocked him. He abruptly halted, his shoulders stiff, while refusing to meet my gaze.
Spinning my bracelet between my fingers, I drew strength and courage from its familiar touch. My eyes were wide. My heart beat fast, and I knew his would be too.
"You never slept with Corné's mistress. You were never part of that bet. You lied to me. You were cruel and vicious. You hurt me. This is your chance right here, right now, to be honest and tell me the truth!"
