Ruin (Rhodes #1) by Rina Kent

                             She pouts, but doesn’t seem the least bit shocked about what I admitted to. “But you don’t really want to kill, do you? It’s all because of the voices.”

                             The glass of wine remains on the side, or else I would’ve broken it to pieces. “Looks like Tristan has been telling you things that are none of your concern. How much did he tell you?”

                             She swallows and bites her lip. “Everything.”

                             My left eye twitches.

                             “Do you want to talk about it?” she whispers.

                             “Don’t you ever repeat that again, do you hear me? Forget whatever Tristan told you, I’m not broken for you to fix me.”

                             She doesn’t flinch at my harsh tone. Instead, she stands and strolls towards me with steady composed steps. She sits beside me and places both her hands on each side of my cheeks, her palms warm against my skin. Any repugnance I have against people’s touch is null and void with Mae. Quite oppositely, a raw need to touch her back takes the better of me. I keep my hands to myself when her calm voice washes over me. “I don’t want to fix you, Aaron. I just want to understand you better.”

                             A deep digging starts somewhere in my chest, the sound so loud that my ears almost burst from echoing it.

                             What is this woman? Why did she say the words only Uncle dared to say in my entire existence? Why would she want to understand someone like me?

                             My chest submerges with the constant digging. Citrus asphyxiates me with a mixture of brightness, freshness, and... life. Mae smells like life. I didn’t even know what that smelled like until now.

                             “What the fuck are you doing to me, Mae?” I whisper the words before I could realise it.

                             She leans close until her breaths mingle with mine. Her eyes soften as they bore into my gaze, mirroring my confusion. “I’m the one who’s supposed to ask that.”

                             My mouth finds hers, and any rational thoughts vanish at the softness of her lips. The world hushes into the background, only the sound of me consuming her mouth remains. That unfamiliar sensation I had when I first kissed her comes back. It starts with my tongue ravishing hers and finishes some place in my neurons’ ending. I haven’t deciphered it before, but now I know. This is what it feels like to taste life.

                             This is what it feels like to be alive.

                             ‘No, it’s not!’ Father and Aunt bellow in my head. ‘Either kill her or we will do it for you.’





                             Chapter Twenty-Four

                             Mae



                             My boots are heavy against the grass. Even walking has become a hindrance. The cloudy late afternoon adds to my gloom. Why does everything seem to be against me these days?

                             Silver’s muzzle tickles my neck. I giggle and twist sideways. The mare keeps reaching out for me, sniffing my hair. I give her a side glare, and she huffs.

                             All right, everything is against me except for Silver.

                             “Easy, Jet.” Aaron clutches the reins of his horse as he descends.