It Follows

Part 7

Alina hurried out of bed and towards Kirigan who had landed on the floor after collapsing against the wall. "Kirigan!" Dropping next to him, she cradled his face. His eyes were closed; fear coursed through her. "Kirigan! Please say something!" Oh God. What if she'd hurt him? "Are you alright? Say something!" He didn't move, his body still. The healer . "I'll get the healer. She'll know what to do," she explained even though he probably couldn't hear her. She rushed to leave when he suddenly grabbed her arm, pulling her close.

Stunned, she stared down at him dumbfounded. The dark intensity of his eyes belied the mischievous smile on his face, a smile she wasn't used to seeing on him at all. It was beautiful, boyish even, a stark contrast to the powerful, controlled man he usually was. It would've been easy to get lost in his eyes but then she remembered the brutal force she'd attacked him with. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I just..." She stared down at her hands. "I just... I was so angry."

He sat up, reaching for her hands. Her heart beat thunderously in her chest as he lifted her palms to his lips and placed a tender kiss on both. Her hands were still too warm from the energy that had projected from them, but the cold feel of his hands cocooning hers was comforting.

His eyes bore into hers. "Why didn't you do that last night?"

"I don't know. These powers never work the way I want them to." She swallowed audibly. "I'm sorry I hurt you. I didn't mean to."

"That was a powerful strike," he said, a proud smile idling on his face. "You're getting stronger." He leaned down to kiss her palms again.

The strongest Grisha in the universe was sitting on the ground, hair ruffled from the fall, looking at her like she was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen and she was overwhelmed with confusion. How could he be so cold and unfeeling yesterday and so soft and tender right now? He'd witnessed how terrified she was last night. A few simple words would've erased all those fears but he'd deliberately kept the truth hidden from her, had forced her to experience one of the most terrifying moments of her life and now he was acting like it didn't even happen.

She retreated her hands from his, scooting away to put some distance between them. "May I leave?"

His gaze remained fixated on her while his hand reached out to cradle her face, thumb gently stroking her cheek. Warmth pooled at the base of her belly as Kirigan leaned in close, so close his breath hummed against her skin. "I would never let anyone hurt you."

Saint, she couldn't breathe, couldn't think - not when his tender caress on her skin was assaulting her senses. It took every inch of resolve she had to pull back so she wouldn't give into him. "But you did. You hurt me." It was a reminder to herself as much as him.

Anger flickered over his face.

A surprise groan escaped her lips when his other hand fisted the back of her hair and pulled her close.

"To protect you." His voice was laced with frustration, dark eyes growing darker. "What if I had told you the truth, Alina? Would you have let me make that bastard suffer for every ugly thought he had about you?" Kirigan's gaze narrowed, his lips pursed in a tight, thin line. "He dared to think he could hurt you. He imagined putting his hands on you and touching you. For that he needs to suffer. He needs to feel the agony of a slow, torturous punishment as the poison eats away at his insides little by little until there is nothing left to him but a barely alive carcass."

The stark hatred on his face frightened her. She remembered how callous he was with her last night when, all along, he'd kept all of his seething rage hidden underneath the surface. "Is he still alive?"