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I’ve never been free of him. When the sun hits my face, it’s his shadow I see on the pavement. When the night closes in on me, it’s his darkness that blankets my room. When I fall asleep, it’s his face that haunts my dreams.
Ahead of me, the man himself appears for the second time in my dorm room. He’s clad from head to toe in black, the vintage AC/DC T-shirt he wears hugging his sculpted shoulders and broad back.
damn ac/dc?? he has good music taste too??
You did force me to leave you. Seven years is a long time to wait, especially for someone like me. A word of caution: I’m not leaving again.”
Cherub. It makes me think of fat baby angels. That makes me feel even younger.
THIS. i haaate cherub as a pet name
Having the Bargainer’s full attention is like catching a tiger’s eye. All you wanted to do was pet the creature, but as soon as it turns its gaze on you, you realize it’s simply going to tear you apart.
“What can you give her besides that?” the Bargainer continues. “Intellectually stimulating conversations?” His eyes flick over all six plus feet of hulking, barely contained shifter. “That’s a definite no. I’m sure she’s been getting that need fulfilled elsewhere.”
“I would be if you weren’t wearing your hair in a girly little ponytail,” I say, reaching for the ends of his white hair. He catches my hand. “It’s not good manners to taunt a fairy. We have notoriously thin skin.” Despite the threat, his eyes spark with excitement. “I’m sorry,” I say. “Your ponytail is very masculine. I feel like I’m going to grow a beard just looking at it”
“You have over three hundred favors to repay me. By the time we’re done, you will realize that Eli and all those other men were just a dissatisfying dream. That this, and only this, is real.”
“Des, you are a god,” I say in between bites. It’s been years since I’ve had any macarons at all, and Douglas Café’s were always the best. “King,” he corrects. His lips have quirked, lightening that stare of his. It’s turning mischievous.
I drift to my back and stare up at the dim stars. His world is above us, and mine is below. There’s something very satisfying about that.
“You know,” I say, “I missed you. Every day.” It was an ache that lasted seven years. It should’ve dulled, but it never did. He’s quiet for a long time. Finally, he confesses, “I missed you too.”
“The clothes were always there waiting for you. Last night, I just wanted to see you in mine.”
“Want to know a secret?” he says, his hand smoothing down my hair. He doesn’t wait for me to respond. “People like him were born to fear people like us,” he says, his voice sinister.
It’s only later that I learn Mr. Whitechapel has disappeared. And that, when he resurfaces a week later and countries away, most of the bones in his body are broken, several teeth and toes are missing, and the Bargainer’s calling card is on his person.
we love morally grey men
♡Molly♡ liked this
“Yes,” he says, “that’s what I want to see. Your anger, your fight.” His tone softens. “I’m not asking you to never feel sad, Callie. I’m asking you to fight. Always fight. You can do that, can’t you?”
“Please don’t kill anyone on my behalf,” I say. It’s nearly happened before. He laughs, but it’s angry. “All the beads in the world couldn’t make me agree to that.”
“How did you feel, leaving me?” I ask. He holds my gaze. “Like my soul was ripped in two.” I still. Is he serious? I feel like my world’s being overturned. “And the seven years that followed?” I breathe. He stares at me, unwavering. “A nightmare.”
tameraa and 2 other people liked this
He’s looking at me like I personally put up all the stars in the sky.
my fav quote in the whole book <3
Sav and 2 other people liked this
“Do you want to know a truth of mine?” “Always,” I say, turning my head to better face him. He takes my hand and presses it against his chest. Beneath my palm, I feel his heartbeat racing. My eyes move from his chest to his face. “It does that whenever I’m around you,” he says.
No one sees the darkness, and yet it’s everywhere. We are surrounded by an entire universe of it. It came before us, and it will live on long after us. Even the stars might form and then die, but the darkness will always be there.
“Do you know what I do to enemies who threaten what’s mine?” Is he referring to me? I can’t tell, nor can I tell where he’s going with this. He leans in close to my ear. “I kill them.” He pulls away to meet my gaze. “It’s neither quick nor clean.”
“A fairy doesn’t show his wings to his betrothed.” He slides his hand behind my neck, his thumb stroking my skin. “A fairy shows them to his soul mate.”
“From flame to ashes, dawn to dusk, for the rest of our lives, be mine always, Desmond Flynn.”
“That I’m in love with you? That I have been since you were that obstinate teen with way too much courage? That you’re my soul mate and I’m yours? Gods save me, yes, I am.”
“Finally, after the longest seven years of my life, I was able to come back to my love, my mate. The sweet siren who loved my darkness and my bargains and my company when I was no one and nothing more than Desmond Flynn. The woman who took fate into her own hands when she spoke those ancient vows and declared herself mine.”
“And mountains may rise and fall, and the sun might wither away, and the sea claim the land and swallow the sky. But you will always be mine.” He runs his knuckles over my cheekbone. “And the stars might fall from the heavens, and night might cloak the earth, but until darkness dies, I will always be yours.”
“Teach me again how to be someone’s nightmare.” I need to feel dangerous, powerful, traits I lost somewhere along the way. A hint of his wicked smile appears, and cloaked in his shadows, it’s menacing. “With pleasure, mate.”
