Things That Should Stay Buried - Casey L. Bond Page 0,30

or burn off the bloody marks dissecting my eyes.

For the rest of the day, Aries took their questions, reassuring his people as best he could, and by nightfall, he sent those who remained in line home, promising that dinner awaited them there. He vowed to come back tomorrow to speak to anyone else who had questions for him. He waited as the people dispersed and entered their new homes, until the sky grew black and the wind turned frigid again, the warmer respite swept away by the mountain winds.

When they were gone, he turned his attention to me.

“I would like to show you something,” Aries rasped, holding out his hand. “Would you come with me?”

My stomach growled and his eyes dropped to my belly. I hadn’t eaten today and was starving.

“One of my guardians is a brilliant chef, and he is preparing dinner. I’m sorry I failed to intuit your hunger. I’d like to show you a place I think you’ll love, and then I’d like for you to dine with me.”

“Okay,” I relented. This was dangerous territory. I was starving, true, but beyond that, I was curious, like anyone would be. But sometimes curiosity killed cats and got kids kidnapped because they wanted to see puppies in the backs of creepy utility vans.

Still… the bathroom and my bedroom were breathtaking, and that was what he revealed the last time he said he wanted to show me something. What if he’d reno’d something else?

Ugh. Renovations were my puppies.

ARIES

My hands still shook. The disgusting lout whose head I tore off was assaulting a young woman with hair the same color as Larken’s. A Guardian managed to stop him in time, but called for me to mete out justice.

For a moment, I lost myself.

I lost my temper. I lost all control and tore his head from his body.

The expression of horror and disgust on her face when I brought his head back was hard to stomach, but it had been necessary. My people needed to be informed of the law, and I made an example they would not soon forget.

Ruling by fear was not something I wanted. But if fear kept the humans in check as they grew accustomed to this new life, then it would be fear that I used.

The moment her soft skin touched mine, every thought fled my mind. There was just her. Her hand was cold, and I wanted to clasp it until it warmed and she was comfortable. I wanted to keep her inside, locked away so no one else could set eyes on her.

When I thought about someone looking at her the same way that lecherous man leered at the young girl… My hand tightened around hers protectively.

Taurus knew about Larken. Soon, the word would spread to every territory. Soon, one of the Zodia would strike. Perhaps all of them would in turn, or perhaps they would unite and strike together.

“Where are we going?” she asked, a nervous lilt to her voice.

I smiled. “You’ll see.”

Larken liked surprises. Kes’s memory indicated as much. She liked surprise gifts and parties. She gave a small, half-hearted groan, teasing, “So mysterious.”

When she smiled, my heart swelled until it sat uncomfortably tight in my chest. I never knew that something so simple could be so dangerous. The pledge was something I did not anticipate. No one had dared ask so much of me, but now that I saw her and I learned more about who she was, I understood why my favorite Guardian did it.

I knew why he wanted to protect her above all others, asking me to give myself over to Larken. If I had known how terrifyingly, completely the pledge required exactly that, I would have done everything in my power to avoid it.

And yet… because of her I felt whole. An energy coursed through my veins that wasn’t generated by my people. It radiated from her.

I could feel it in her pulse as her hand pressed against mine. I heard it in her breath. Smelled it in her scent.

8

Aries led me back to the castle. Most of the rooms were identical, carved of dark stone with barely any furniture adorning the rooms. We passed them quickly as we wended through halls and traipsed up staircases, ascending several stories until we came to the uppermost floor. I tried to hide how winded I was when we reached the top because he showed no signs of exertion. I wasn’t sure how many floors we climbed, but there were a