Our Fatal Failings (Twisted book two)

Chapter Seven

I wake up in the car, groggy, but better. My mind is clear, my thoughts belonging to me again. "Get up my lady." A girl prods me in the shoulder. "We've stopped to eat and rest." I stretch. There's no point is resting when I've already slept how many hours.

The inn in front of us is small, but the inside is cozy. A fire flickers in the hearth, and the heat presses against my face like a kiss when I walk through the front door. The log exterior makes the place rustic and homely.

A plump woman wearing a white apron comes up to me. She looks to be middle age, with a few flyaway grey hairs and calloused hands from hard work. "Welcome, Luna."

"Thank you." It hurts to be called that. I don't want to be anyone's Luna or queen. I don't want to be here. Still, I give her a smile, while looking around the place. I identify the exits, but they're blocked by guards. Not that he needs them there--this inn is isolated. There's no way I'd be able to sprint through the woods without one of them catching up to me. He's gotten smarter since I left.

The woman bombards me with questions. "Are you tired? Would you like something to eat? Perhaps a desert? We have home-cooked soups made everyday, would you like one of those instead? Or we can take you on a tour of the grounds if that betters suits you."

A hand settles around my shoulder. Fire lights in my face. He doesn't know my mark is faded and he doesn't have to if I can control myself. "Bring her a menu and show us to a table, thank you."

We're alone in the lobby after that. I spin around, taking the arm off my shoulder and facing the person it belongs to. "Let me go."

Jonah cocks his head to the side. My heart flutters and I scold myself. "Is that an order?"

"If you have any decency, you'll let me go free. I'm not your Luna, I'm not your queen. Go ahead and have this kingdom of yours, but leave me out of it."

"And where are you going to go Imani?"

"Out of the country. I was born in London, I have citizenship."

He shakes his head. "You're not going anywhere. You're just going to tire yourself out trying."

"You can't keep me here."

"See if I can't."

"I escaped before."

"I'm a lot smarter now--older too." I can see that. He pulls me to his side. "You'll make a good queen. You're smart, you're fierce. Luna of Lunas."

"Don't call me that."

"That's what you are."

"I don't care. Call me Ms. Walker."

"Imani..." He rolls over each syllable slow like he's tasting syrup and it makes my head spin.

"Ms. Walker," I snap. "I don't want to pretend to be friendly this time. I hate you, don't forget that." I break from his grip and follow the woman into the dining hall. He follows me, close on my heels, eyes burning into my back. Let him stare and let his heartbreak. Maybe he'll hate me and maybe then he'll let me go.

I pick up the menu, ignoring his presence as he seats himself next to me. Not across, next. My sense tingle with delight. The damn bastard, showing up into my life now that had finally gone back to normal. I had a home, friends, school, a future waiting for me. And now it all has to be abandoned because of him.

With one hand, he tips the menu down and leans in so our face our close. "Listen, sweetheart, you are what you are and no amount of Wolfsbane will change it. Instead of throwing another fit you could act like an adult and consider what I have to offer you."

I swallow the lump in my throat. "What do you have to offer me?"

"Well, a country for one."

"I don't want it. I don't want power, I want normalcy."

He sighs. "Fulfillment. I am the only one on this Earth than can offer you fulfillment because I am the compliment to your soul. You'll never get the same satisfaction you get with me with someone else."

"I...I don't care."

"Children then. You can never have children with someone else, it's impossible."

My voice is reedy and thin. "Adoption."

"And love? You'll never fall in love with someone else, only settle for less."

"I don't believe you."

He sits back in his seat. "I don't understand why you're so stubborn.

My tongue is a heavyweight in my mouth and my palms are sweaty. Closer. Closer, don't be stubborn. Crave it, need it, want it, love it. I put my head in my hands.

"Imani?"

"I'm hungry, very hungry. Leave me to eat.

"You don't need to be alone to eat."

"I don't want to look at your face for any longer! It makes me sick!" He clenched his jaw, but gets up and leaves. I sit on my hands to keep myself from grabbing him as he walks by me, but once he leaves the room, I can breathe again. The heat leaves my face.

"What did you do?" I open my eyes to see the woman from earlier holding a plate of food. "What did you do to yourself?"

I take a deep breath. I feel like I've run a mile. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"You're acting like a girl who hasn't been marked yet, but that's not right, because he has one on his shoulder, right in the open. So what did you do to yourself and how?"

I grab her hand as she sets down my plate and squeezes it, hard. "I like you, you seem friendly, but if you speak to him about it or to anyone about it, they'll be consequences."

Her eyes don't show one hint of fear. "Like what?" I feel my canniens elongate and she only laughs. "You never even learned control of your shifts. You can't hurt me."

"Don't say anything. Don't you dare."

Her eyes glaze over with an expression I can't describe. But it's not a kind one. It's one of distaste. What could she possibly be angry at me for? "My lips are sealed."

After I eat, I'm ushered back into the car and injected with another dose of the antidote, "just to be safe." Stomach full, I fall asleep quickly to the sound of the engine starting.