Page 37 of Rest In Knotty Pieces

“It wasn’t your fault, Merle.”

I stare up at him, refusing to believe him.

“It wasn’t. You did the right thing. Everything you did was right.” He means it.

I shake my head in disbelief and tug my hands free and step back. I silently tell him no, but my courage leaves me, and I turn and race back to my room.

Blaze follows, and when I get on the floor, he lifts me up, sits me on the bed, and tucks me in.

“I think maybe it’s time to change some things. Starting with you sleeping on the floor. I cannot tell you how distressing it is as an alpha to see an omega sleeping on the floor. This bed is yours, no one will sleep in it with you unless you invite them. No one will hurt you in it. But no more floors.”

I push the blankets back and try to get out of bed, but he grabs my shoulder and shoves me back down.

“I’ve moved your nesting items under the pillow.”

I stare up at him, refusing to respond. He waits me out, finally, I sneak my hand under the pillow and feel all the cutlery I’ve collected. There’s a watch I stole from King, and a silver coin I took from Rolly. I have one of Pix’s rings, and Sage left a silver button he cut off a shirt he saw me staring at. Blaze pulls out a key and holds it up. It gleams in the low light, calling to me.

I reach for it.

“This is the key to this house. It will always be a home for you. Wherever you go, you can come back here and know that you will be safe.”

I stare at the key. If he’s giving me a key to get back in, that means he’s going to let me leave, right?

I clutch the key in my fist and watch him cautiously.

He grabs the bowl and holds it as he takes out a spoon and dips it in. Before I can register what he’s doing, he’s managed to get a whole spoonful into my mouth. I let out a strangled sound, but Blaze laughs.

It’s an evil laugh in that it’s so beautiful I want to hear more of it.

He continues to feed me, and it makes me feel strangely vulnerable, but not in a bad way. This time, it almost feels good.

I wrap my arms around myself, refusing more food, refusing to let him make me feel good. He sighs heavily but packs up everything and stands up.

I refuse to look at him.

“Goodnight, Merle.”

He leaves, and as soon as he’s gone, I wish he was back. Instead of staying where he left me, I climb out of bed; the key hidden in my hand. I try every locked door. I search room after room.

Hours later, I return to my room defeated. I can’t find a way out.

I climb into the bed, hesitating a moment, considering going back to the floor in pure spite, but everything is on the bed, and he let me keep my treasures.

I climb in, pull the blanket up to my chin.

Roseland has a scar. He’s alive. I pull the blankets up over my head, blocking out all the thoughts that I’m trying to hide from.

I breathe slowly, forcing myself to stay calm, to keep going. One second. One minute and then another.

I count the seconds, stopping somewhere around three thousand, where I fall into a deep but restless sleep, where visions show me Roseland trying to save me and dying in front of me, over and over again.

Sage

“Maybe we overreacted,” I say to Blaze. “With Daega. Perhaps we shouldn’t have threatened to kill his family. He’s been hostile ever since. Barely civil.”

Blaze makes a high pitch sound of derision and continues oiling his Dao. It is an absolutely beautiful sword, and when I watch Blaze practice with it, it almost always ends in me fucking the shit out of him.

I can’t help it. He looks so hot when he’s being deadly.