To Bleed a Crystal Bloom (Crystal Bloom, #1)

by Sarah A. Parker

“I’ll give you anything, Orlaith. Anything but that. Don’t ask again.” The words are spoken hauntingly calm, as if his heart stopped beating a very long time ago. Another stunted response. Another dead end. The back of my eyes sting, a lump swells in my throat, and all I want to do is cry. But I can’t afford to spend more tears on him. Not now. Not ever again. “Why not?” I’m proud of myself when I manage to keep my voice steady. “Just answer me this one question, and don’t you dare answer with a grunt. After everything, I deserve a truth and you damn well fucking know it.” Nothing. He says nothing. Just murders me with his silence again. Which tells me everything—bleeding me in an entirely different way than the drops of blood I gift him nightly. I close my eyes, severing myself in a way I can’t physically achieve. But then his grip slips from my hair, driving up to support the back of my head. His fingers spread, lacing through my thick locks and making me gasp. He loosens a frosty breath that steals the fire from my cheeks. “Simple, Milaje. I refuse to live in a world where you don’t exist.”