She still didn't believe it. There had to be some other explanation. "You said you don't remember killing them. Maybe you didn't."
Rage and pain flared in his eyes. "I remember enough. I know I did this. Everyone knows. It's why the other Dark-Hunters fear me. Why they won't speak to me. Why I was banished to a place where there were no people to protect. Why I wake up every night afraid Artemis is going to move me away from Fairbanks into an area where there are even fewer people."
Part of her feared that he was telling the truth, but she discounted it.
In her heart she knew that the tormented man who could speak poetically and make beautiful pieces of art with his hands, who could care for an animal that had wounded him, would never, ever do this.
But she would need proof.
Gut instinct wouldn't be enough evidence to offer to her mother or to Artemis. They would demand proof of his innocence.
Proof that he wasn't capable of killing humans.
"I just wish I knew why I did this," Zarek growled. "What made me go so crazy that I could kill them and not even remember it."
He looked at her, his eyes bleak. "I am a monster. Artemis is right. I don't belong around normal people."
Tears welled in her eyes at his words. "You're not a monster, Zarek."
She refused to believe it.
Astrid pulled him into her arms, offering him comfort she wasn't sure he would take.
At first he stiffened as if he were about to push her away, then he relaxed. She let out a slow breath, grateful he'd accepted her hug.
His taut, strong arms held her against a lean body that rippled with muscles. She'd never felt anything like it. He was so steely and tender at the same time. Her cheek was pressed against his firm pectorals, her breasts against his ridged abs.
She ran her hand down his back, making him shiver in her arms.
Astrid smiled at this newfound power she had over him. Because she was a justice nymph, her femininity had had to take a back seat. There was no time to feel womanly or sensual.
But she felt that now.
Because of him. She was aware of her body for the first time in her life. Aware of the way her heart beat in time to his. The way her blood simmered from the sensation of his arms wrapped around her.
In that instant, she wanted to do something for him.
She wanted to make him smile.
Reluctantly, she pulled back from him and held her hand out. "Come with me."
"Where?"
"Someplace warm."
Zarek hesitated. He only trusted people to hurt him. And they had never disappointed him in that respect.
Trusting someone to not hurt him was another thing entirely.
Deep inside, he wanted to trust her.
No, he needed to trust her.
Just once.
Taking a deep breath, he placed his reluctant hand into hers.
She flashed him away from the village to a bright seaside beach. Zarek blinked and squinted against the unfamiliar brightness of the light.