Claiming Her Crown (War Songs of the Courts #2)

Chapter Eight

A creak followed the sound of a sharp click and I froze in my reflection, my pupils dilating unnaturally back at me as I listened.

"Echo?" Alec's voice cautiously met me through the bathroom door and I shot the door a panicked look.

An unfamiliar need to cover myself shot through me, forcing me forward to reach for one of the towels already set up in the bathroom, almost blatantly unused before now. I paused with my hand over the material, hating the ugly feeling that had me reaching for it. Against the new instinct, I made myself pull away, intent on not letting it win.

Then, a soft knock on the door sounded. Unable to contain it, I gave in and jerked the material over my torso.

I quickly tucked the corner of the towel away before tearing the door open. "What?" I snapped, my breathing uneven as I tried to cover the feeling hovering heavily in my core.

Alec stood unsure on the other side, staring back at me with round, nervous eyes. He swallowed, his adam's apple jerking with the sound. "Echo, what just happened?"

I smoothed my expression out as I held his eyes, careful to not give anything away. "Well, I took a shower. It's this new thing where you get clean with water and soap," I said, deadpan, before rolling my eyes. "Honestly, Alec, humans can't be the only ones who do it."

His eyes briefly flickered over my face, no doubt taking in the features that were anything but human. "You're not human. You never were."

I felt my fangs push back at my lip with the reminder and I gave him a stony smile that never reached my eyes. "Yeah, I figured that out," I said with a clenched jaw. "But I still don't know what I am. Not really. In fact, I don't actually know a lot about most of what's happened since I was dragged into this bullshit. I don't even know how I'm alive. I died. People don't normally just wake up after that." My tone was intentionally accusatory, but I tried to hold back the heat in my words, afraid I might burn him too quickly.

Guilt painted his expression, but he never looked away. It was obvious what I was saying had an affect on him, but he still wasn't willing to speak up with the answers.

I snap my fingers and pointed at him. "Ah, and there it is. The look of remorse," I said, pushing past him.

"Echo," he whispered in a pained voice, reaching softly for my elbow.

I ignored his weak attempt and continued, angrily picking up the clothes I'd left littering the floor on the way. "You keep looking at me with this guilty, pain-ridden look, like you're searching for some kind of fucking forgiveness," I grumbled, snatching my shirt from the floor. "But you refuse to give me any reason to give it to you."

He took an audible breath behind me, the sound shaky with nerves. I stood, knowing I was close to something, my clothes clenched in my hands at my side as I waited for him to break.

"You have to understand, Red..."

My damp hair stuck to my skin, water dripping from the ends and down my back. I focused on that feeling as I turned, making myself calm as I listened.

He stood simply with his hands at his side. Everything in the air stilled, waiting for him to continue. "You were going to die. The other Hybrids always died and if I didn't..." His chest fell as he released a breath, unable to finish the sentence completely.

I waited, trying to hold back the voice inside of me that wanted to shout that I did die.

He took in a deep breath before continuing, "You would've been gone. For good, and I couldn't let you go." His voice was strained with emotion that built up in his eyes.