Trick (Foolish Kingdoms, #1)

by Natalia Jaster

“You are despicable.”

“Nonsense. You didn’t give me time to be despicable.”

Applause. Because sometime between last night’s hall and this night’s garden, she found her nerve. And I lost mine.

“Oh, fuck my permission,” Poet hissed, then rounded on me and whisked a finger against my lips. “We’re finished talking, sweeting. So very fucking finished.”

“You’re the one targeting me now,” I confessed. “You’re every bitter and euphoric feeling I have. You’re in every word I speak, every move I make. All of it is you. Whatever happens from now on, you will be my ecstasy and my downfall.

Crimson would pool across the floor. Hearts would be ripped from chests. My daggers would maim and nail bodies to the wall for target practice. That was assuming I showed mercy. No one would be safe from me if they touched her.

“The greatest courage a person can have is to love another, for there are only two outcomes. Either the love lasts, and our lives are compromised, or it doesn’t, and our lives are emptied. Either way, we suffer more than we celebrate. I’ve enjoyed suffering with you. We are a tale for campfires.”

Poet whispers, “Right now, I’m loving her … because I do, and have, and will.” My hands shook as they clasped his face. “Poet.” “I love her,” he hissed, capturing my mouth.