Breathless. Cheeks flushed. Tongue darting out to wet her lips. Even black from the curse, her lips were feckin’ perfection. How had I not noticed? I’d been with her for days and never realized how full and plump they were when not pressed tightly in disapproval.
“Like I would ever want to be near something like youon purpose,” she hissed, shoving her fallen hair from her forehead and ripping her book from where it had dropped.
Not someone.
Something.
That’s what I was to her. A monster. A creature. Athingto be feared and despised.
The acid from her hatred left the air tasting bitter and cold.
“Lady Keelynn?” Padraig shouted from outside. “Could ye come out fer a moment? I need a word with ye in private.”
Keelynn threw open the carriage door.
Padraig mumbled something about the wheel being gone. I could hear their footsteps sinking into the mud. This was a lost cause. Another way for Fiadh to torture me. Hope was nothing more than another feckin’ curse.
I collected my things, jumped from the carriage, and started down the road.
Walking.Such a pleasure. Why did people insist on riding everywhere when most of them had two perfectly good legs?
Moisture thickened the air. Mud slipped beneath my boots. Birds chirped an evening song. The breeze ruffled through my hair.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Keelynn called.
Surely she knew the answer to that already. “Away from you.” Far and fast.
“But we need your help. We’re missing a wheel.”
The irritation in her clipped tone left me smiling. “I know.”
The wasp caught up to me before I reached a bend in the road, digging her nails into my arm when she grabbed me. “Youdid this, didn’t you?”
The way my skin burned beneath her death grip left a memory prickling in the dark recesses of my mind. A memory that vanished the moment Keelynn stumbled back, scrubbing her hand down her skirts.
“Careful, now. That’s an awfully serious accusation.” I tried not to smile, but she looked so irritated, and it had been such a shite day that I had to revel in her fury. “Well, Maiden Death, it appears I had a choice after all.”
Walking away from the righteous indignation on her face had to be one of the most satisfying experiences of my never-ending life.
“Stop! Don’t leave us. Please don’t go.”
I wasn’t a hero.
I wasn’t going to stop.
I was going to keep walking.
Keelynn wasn’t my problem anymore. She was Rían’s.
Except . . .
She sounded genuinely frightened.
Of what? Trees and hedges and puddles? I was the most dangerous thing on this feckin’ road.
For some reason, my steps slowed, and I found myself turning. Instead of stopping at Keelynn, I went straight for Padraig. The old man shrank back, nearly colliding with the horses.“Do you know who I am?” I asked, keeping my voice low so the wasp couldn’t overhear.
A nod.