Blackthorn

by J.T. Geissinger

Hell is empty, and all the devils are here. —The Tempest

You never forget your first love. Especially when he’s also your worst nightmare.

“Death is nothing to fear, sweet girl. Nature remakes everything she creates. We’re not finished when we die, we’re simply transformed into something better.”

She looks wild, a creature who walked straight out of the forest with captured prey between her teeth. Her long white hair is unbound, her strong jaw is clenched, and her closed eyes appear ready to snap open any second and scan the room with the feral intelligence that left most people quaking. If there is an afterlife, Granny’s kicking ass in it.

“Life is a knife fight.

Blackthorns don’t need therapy. We make other people need therapy.

“I’m not softhearted. I’m a Spartan. I’m a warlord. I’m Attila the Hun.”

It’s the Blackthorn way and has been for as long as anyone can remember: men are only tools, and love is only for fools.

“Oh, those eyes. Those lovely, spellcasting eyes. How they’ve haunted me. If only you knew the power they’ve always held over me. Maybe then you wouldn’t be so cruel, little witch.”

“An accidental sperm donor isn’t the same thing as a parent.

When she’s made to feel worthless by the man who holds her heart, a woman either crumbles and never recovers or grows a callus over the pain to survive. In my case, I grew an entire suit of armor. I grew a fortress made of steel.

“People can change.” “No, they can’t. They just get better at pretending.

“When did you become such a cynic?” “Gosh, let’s see. Maybe it was the same week my mother died, I found out I was pregnant, and the asshole I was hooking up with told me to get rid of it and turned his back on me. Could be then. Just a wild guess.”

“Oh, I adore children! It was the worry I didn’t want. Once you become a mother, you’re never rid of it until you’re dead.”

“Did the one brain cell you were born with die of loneliness?”

“Hello, Ronan. I’d ask if that’s a costume you’re wearing, but I already know you’re a bloodsucker.”

It doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks. You’ve made up your own mind based on your own experience. That’s how you should approach everything in life.”

what in the Jurassic Park fuck is going on here?

“I’ll give you deranged, but I’m not a stalker. I don’t have the patience for it. And I know you’re lying.” “I’m curious what makes you think so.” “Because words are coming out of your mouth.”

I want you to promise you’ll stay away.” That’s so unexpected, I forget to be suspicious of him. “Why?” He looks at my face as if it’s the last time he’ll ever see it, then says gruffly, “Because I’m not strong enough to stay away from you.”

This is how people disappear. Like this. Someone says, “Hey, let’s take a ride in my car,” and the next thing you know, you’re being dismembered in the woods.

I don’t have friends. I have secrets. I have baggage. I have emotional scars. But friends are one thing I’ve never had and still don’t because I’m a Blackthorn. If we had a family motto, it would be “Go fuck yourself.”

“Ezra, this is just my face. I can’t help that it scares people.”

His voice is all gravel, incredibly sexy despite the obvious anger. I can’t tell if it’s the protectiveness he’s displaying or that rough tone that’s turning me on, but apparently red flags are my love language because I’m flushed from head to toe.

He rasps, “I’d burn it all down for you, Maven.” Trembling, I whisper, “Burn what down?” “Everything. My whole life. This whole town. The entire fucking world if you asked me to. If you said you were mine and meant it, I’d light a match under anything that would keep us apart, then plant our fucking flag in the ashes.”