Trapped.
As if I was the one keeping him here.
“So drop me then,” I dared him, staring up at his moonlit face. Anger laced my words and I released my grip on his neck. Now, the only thing keeping me alive was his arm around my middle. “Neither of us asked for any of this. Our marriage. The Binding. The Tether. If it’s so horrible, Sebastian, then drop me. Let me die.”
He glared at me, his black eyes hard and calculating as shadows swirled around him. If he did this, we would both be free.
My hands grew clammy and goosebumps covered my body as I shivered. My dress was an inadequate barrier against the cold slamming into me from all sides.
“Do it,” I said through chattering teeth when he didn’t reply. “Drop me. Let us be done with this charade. We tried. We did our duty. The alliance was formed. Eleyta and Ipotha can still be stronger, and we can bedone.”
Time seemed to slow as Sebastian’s wings beat against the winter air. Snowflakes landed on his head, the light of the crescent moon peeking through the clouds as his dark eyes searched mine.
For one long moment, I believed that he really might let go. That this might be the end.
I readied myself for the feeling of falling to my death. I imagined the way the wind would blow around me, pushing me to the ground. My dress would billow around my legs. My hair would fly behind me. The icy breeze would be a harsh caress against my skin as I tumbled to the ground.
I didn’t require any research to know it would hurt. That much was obvious. But at least then we would be free.
Just as I thought he was about to let go, Sebastian did something I never expected. His arm tightened around me. His eyes fluttered shut, and he pressed his forehead against mine.
“I won’t do it,” he said in a gravelly voice as his breath warmed my frozen cheek. “Isvana only knows why, but I won’t.”
His other arm went around me, and he held me tighter to him. His chest heaved, and for a long moment, the sound of his wings against the night air was the only thing I heard.
I pressed my head against his chest, listening to his slow, steady heartbeat. Deep within me, something shifted.
Why didn’t he let me fall?
Without saying another word, Sebastian turned. His wings flapped, and he flew towards the castle.
When the gargoyles lining the roof were in sight, I pulled my head away from his chest. The wind whipped at my face and I asked, “Sebastian, I… What do you want from me?”
“What do you mean?”
Our feet landed on the icy roof, but he didn’t let me go.
“Why did you bring me out here?” I asked. “To fly?”
“I… I don’t know, Luna.” One of his arms released my waist, and he ran a hand through his hair. “When I’m around you, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”
“Why?” I whispered.
His chest heaved, and he pulled me against him. His finger landed under my chin and his eyes bored into mine. “You want to know why I have trouble thinking when you’re around?”
I nodded, suddenly unable to speak as thick tension stretched between us.
“Fine,” he bit out.
Those damned shadows were back. My stomach churned, but within the space of a breath, we were back inside the castle. My feet stumbled against the stone as my body adjusted to being indoors once more. When I was certain I wouldn’t be sick, I looked up. My stomach twisted for an entirely different reason.
Sebastian loomed over me, his powerful arms braced on either side of my head as he leaned in so close that I could feel the ridges of his stomach against my chest. Those wings fanned out behind him, hiding us from view. I couldn’t see where we were, but at that moment, it didn’t matter.
It was just the two of us.
Vampire and human.
Husband and wife.