Page 32 of Renata Vitali (The Five Syndicates)
His lips turned upward before abruptly shifting downward. “Rest, Knight. We’ll be home soon.”
The driver opened the door. Damian slid us into the car, and I closed my eyes as I sat on his lap, my head resting on his shoulder. When I opened them again, I was on my bed, and the room began to spin. Damian stood at the foot of the bed, an oversized shirt of his in one hand.
He followed me as I ran across the hall and heaved into the bathroom toilet. I took the shirt he offered, and he turned away as I changed out of my dress and into the shirt, which fell down to my thighs. It smelled like him. His scent eased the dizziness and caused tingles to spread across my flushed skin.
I blinked a few times until his face became clearer. “What’s happening?”
“Laura gave you GHB.” He helped me back to my room and onto my bed.
“What does that mean?”
“It means you’ll be drowsy, dizzy, nauseous, sweaty, and tired. But you’ll be okay.” He hesitated as he tucked me into bed and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “You probably won’t remember a thing.”
I remembered that we weren’t friends. “Why are you helping me?”
His jaw ticked, and he swung his gaze to the side for a moment. “Earlier, you said the only real people in this world are the ones in books. But you’re real, too, and when I’m around you, you make me real. You make me alive.” He took my hand. “It’s the only time I don’t feel like I’m just going through the motions.”
A lopsided smile grew on my face. “I think I like you.”
“I think I more than like you. If things weren’t so complicated, I could see myself with you forever.”
“Like when a princess and prince marry and live happily ever after?” I yawned and closed my eyes.
“Yes. Just like that.”
“I’d need a ring.” I snuggled deeper into the covers. “The princess always has a ring when she lives happily ever after.”
Some shuffling interrupted my near slumber, and when a hand touched mine, I opened my eyes. The edges of my vision blurred, but I could see Damian crystal clear.
With the Sharpie in his hand, he drew a ring around my wedding ring finger. “And we lived happily ever after.” He popped the cap closed, blew cold air onto my finger, then kissed the top of it. “Sweet dreams, Princess.”
When I woke up, a thin black line drawn across my finger caught my eyes. I didn’t know how it got there, but it felt important.
Trust starts with a truth and ends with a truth.
Santosh Kalwar
The seat pulled out across from me, and I swung my gaze up to Damian. We studied each other. He quirked a brow up, daring me to tell him not to sit.
I rolled my eyes. “Go ahead.”
Two freshmen giggled as they passed our table in the corner of the school library. Usually, I ate near the center bookshe
lves during lunch period, but I couldn’t sit there without flushing at the memory of Damian kissing me against them.
“We’re in public,” I pointed out.
“Way to go, Nancy Drew.”
“What happened to not being able to be near me in public?”
“I think that no longer applies after I very publicly stood up for you at prom and we left together.”
Yeah. That.
I scratched at my shoulder, stared at anything but him, before finally giving him the attention he deserved. “Thank you.”
“What’s that?”
