Fox Of Greed (Greedy Fox Book 1)

~~TWENTY FOUR~~

The blankets on me were suffocating. It was forecasted to be a cold night; but now the lack of air swirling through my window, the two layers of blankets and Leraj's warm body beside me were all too much.

My eyes burned from crying so I didn't bother with making light. By memory and feel, I changed from my pyjamas into clothes laid out for another day of training. I crept from the room, the squeaky door causing me to flinch as it slowly, agonisingly clicked shut behind me.

I did not have a doubt that Leraj heard that. He had ears like a bat. I made my way outside, staying to the shadows. The moon loomed in the east, dazzling white in the clear sky. There was a cold nip to the air; I rubbed my arms and quickened my pace.

Liones was quiet and still in this part of town. I zigzagged down alleyways, keen eyes noting the scuffle marks in the alley Leraj had pinned me to the wall and kissed me until I felt the world didn't exist. I lingered, remembering the touch of his hands on my hips, the softness of his lips.

Then the memories after that came crashing down. My sadistic smile as I drained Emanuel and the disgust I'd felt when the mana was only trickling into my body. No concern for him, no pity or remorse.

My stomach flipped. I continued walking.

Leraj was already waiting for me. Sometimes I wondered how he had managed to always get ahead. The old crumbling wall on the outer edges of Liones was our meeting spot, a place to talk without being overheard. Normally he was already on top, legs dangling over the sides. He stood at the bottom now.

"You could have woken me," he whispered, taking my hand in his large one and pulled me close. He draped my jacket around my shoulders. "You didn't have to let the door do it."

"Didn't mean to let it creak," I responded. I wanted to be alone hung in the air though.

His amber eyes reflected the moonlight and in them, I saw sadness but also a deeper emotion. Grief. I wanted to ask what was wrong but when I opened my mouth, he placed his lips on them, kissing me deeply.

My hands tangled in his hair and I forgot how to breath.

After a long moment, we pulled apart. The grief was gone from his eyes. "You know you can talk to me."

I still haven't told him what happened. Like I could say much when I bumbled into the room crying my eyes out and he'd been sitting on my bed with a handful of flowers.

Leraj was always my rock, from the time we'd found our village burning to the slaughtered men, women and children along our journey in deserted and crow-filled towns. His lips would purse, eyes would hardened and dim but he'd never cry.

That was why the tears in his eyes had crushed me the most.

How did you tell someone that you were a monster? You couldn't. There were no words to explain that. So I had let him hold me until bed time then let him tuck us both into bed – me in a foetal position, my hands and knees touching his warm, bare chest, his strong arms encircling me.

I dropped my eyes; I couldn't hold his anymore. Instead, I began the climb up the wall face until I sat on top, overlooking... nothing. The tears blurred my vision until all I could see was a plain stretched out before me.

Body heat emanated from him, our shoulders barely touching. He found my hand again and ran his thumb along my palm. "What did he make you do?"

I sniffled. "He made me use Thief."

His hand tightened around mine in a quick contraction before he went back to stroking my palm.

"Fox," he said softly. He'd been calling me that for years, ever since our encounter with the tattoo artist. "It's okay."