Page 49 of With Wing And Claw

‘Oh, I told you.’ A shrug. ‘I’ll protect you.’

‘Youcan’t.’ Her voice went shrill again. ‘There’ll be hundreds of mages hunting me down! And even if you could stop them, why the hell would you? You’re a demon! You don’t feel loyalty! You’ll get bored and leave, and—’

Something clanked against glass behind her.

She shot to her feet.

There they are, her thoughts screamed,the first fae pounding against the windows, cutting off your last escape– and then she turned, and there was not a single pair of wings to be seen outside. All that moved were the monstrous plants, their vines and leaves braiding together faster than her eyes could follow …

Shaping a wall over the glass.

She whirled around, heart leaping into her throat. They were moving over the door, too, a tangle of greenery sealing the only exit from her rooms. The deafening rustle from the bedroom suggested those windows were receiving the same treatment. Around her, leaves and flowers were changing shapes, growing sharp and elongated – petals like razorblades curling from the clivias and begonias as if searching for skinto slice open.

Naxi hadn’t even moved yet, a sprawled-out vision of pink and ivory against the couch cushions.

‘What are youdoing?’ Thysandra sputtered.

‘Protecting you.’ A heart-stopping, blood-curdling smile turned that rosy face into a riveting mask of shadows in the darkening room. ‘Want to see what happens when those mages of yours try to reach you? I’m sure we can persuade a few of them to try, just by way of experimenting.’

‘I …No!’ She staggered back, away from the overgrown windows. ‘And you still haven’t given me a single good reason why you wouldn’t abandon—’

‘Because you’re mine,’ Naxi said, blue eyes wide as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. ‘And I hate, hate,hateit when people ruin what’s mine.’

Thysandra stared at her.

Around her the vines continued to slide over the windows, shutting out all but the last rays of sunlight. The begonias continued to sharpen their petals. Still her eyes wouldn’t focus on anything but that small demon figure on the couch, pink and soft and gorgeous and utterly, stunningly lethal …

Her heart slowed as if by command.

Her shoulders cautiously unclenched.

And then she noticed – catching up with her body’s unthinking reflexes a moment too late – and her heart leapt back into a dizzying rattle all at once, because what in the world was shedoing? Allowing herself to be lured into some twisted parody of safety by the very creature that had already used and discarded her twice before? Lies, all of it. Pretty, deadly lies. She should know so, so much better.

‘I’m notyours,’she choked out. ‘I’ve never—'

‘Oh, that’s irrelevant,’ Naxi brightly informed her, jumping from the couch with swift, dainty grace. The flowers turned as she moved, following her path as though she were the sun itself. ‘Just go along with it for now, Sashka. We’ll talk about the details later.’

‘These aren’tdetails!’ She couldn’t inch away fast enough, the room a blur to her eyes as her heartbeat soared out of control.Just go along withit. And then what would happen when she wouldn’t? When even Naxi finally had to admit there was nothing here for her to gain? ‘If you’re helping me for the sake of my non-existent feelings—’

‘Oh, no,’ Naxi dryly said. ‘Existing feelings only.’

Fuck.

What evenwasshe feeling?

Panic – that was the brunt of it – pure, undiluted fright buzzing through her veins. Because Naxiwasgoing to abandon her. Like the Mother had. Like Orthea had, and all those others she’d naively called her friends before she learned the ways of the world. Everyone left in the end, and demons most of all; it was a simple fact of life that no amount of pretty promises could ever change.

But if it was that inevitable prospect that was paralysing her with such utter dread …

Gods help her. Did that mean she wanted the little menace tostay?

That couldn’t be right – that couldn’t possibly be right – and yet her spinning, spiralling mind could no longer figure out justwhyit was such an impossible conclusion. The court would tear her to shreds over fraternising with demons … but the court had been fed a perfectly acceptable reason for this particular demon’s presence now. She didn’t evenlikeNaxi … but then again, she’d been perfectly, stupidly comfortable eating pastries and rolls yesterday. And those damningly pretty lips …

She could not stop looking.

She could not stop wanting.

The vines were swaying on the edge of her sight.