Blood & Power [Book One of The City of Eternity Series] [✔]

1.21: Altruistic

I had only made it one step out of the doorway when I found myself stopping. That lingering feeling in the back of my mind forced me to take stock of everything I had just seen. Between Eva's frantic decisions, and Nora's inability to look me in the face for longer than 5 seconds I was struggling to comprehend leaving without answers.

I could not be content with walking out of this door until I knew exactly what was causing my Nora's head to spin in such a way. In every look she gave me there was something in the back of mind that caused a slight twitch; her face scrunching ever so slightly; anyone else would have passed it off as a momentary itch or their own imagination.

But I knew that subtle change meant something. It meant something about her that I needed to know.

While a multitude of thoughts had whirled in my head, the decision to turn back was a quick one. So quick, in fact, Nora didn't have the time to compose herself when I'd whipped around and began to walk towards her. There wasn't a second lost in my stride, unknowingly allowing my face to drop to a scowl as I met her face to face. Her amber eyes looked back up at me; even the golden shimmer that often shone through seemed to be dulled down behind the warm confusion, "What are you doing, Nika?"

That confusion-laced voice rang in my ears in a tone I was accustomed to; the 'you love me and would never hurt me so what are you doing' tone that I forced myself to ignore. I was genuinely mad and would not allow her to run away from that at this moment - her back pressed firmly against the solid surface of the wall behind her. I remain silent for a moment as I take in her features, drinking up the expression on her face as I stare down at her.

She had quickly gotten comfortable underneath me. A comfort level that put me on edge enough to abruptly slam my hands onto the wall beside her head. The force of the action causes pieces of plaster and paint to come away in a flood of dust particles, some floating onto her clothes and hair. I couldn't help but be pleased with the fact Nora hadn't moved an inch, she hadn't even flinched. She trusted me enough that nothing I could do would force her to run from my arms.

I lowered my head down so it was mere inches away from her face, her eyes widening as she began to lose her cool. I can't help but smirk as I whisper, "Did you really think I was just going to leave without getting to the bottom of this, Nora?"

One of my hands slowly lowers to her chin, my fingers softly caressing the skin as my body moves to prevent her from escaping my grasp. I watch as she begins to bite her bottom lip hard, lifting her chin up to get a good look at her expression change.

Then there it was. That intense blush vividly took over her cheeks and forced her to lower her head and look at the ground. She was going to try to keep her composure for as long as she possibly could, just as I expected from my Nora.

I had always thought, if I went into hiding and people were looking for me, she'd certainly be in the top three people I'd trust in keeping my location hidden; she'd withstand at least a sizable amount of torture before releasing it. Though, right now, she was against me; not a stranger putting her in danger - it was me, pleading with her.