Page 13 of Dance of Thorns

I glare at her. “Some of us maybe have abetterreason?—”

“Bane.” She looks down, her hands twisting as her brows knit. “Can we please not? For her sake?”

Her big dark eyes raise to mine. I want to keep being mad. Fuck, I will nevernotbe mad. But there’s so much sadness when her gaze meets mine, sadness that I recognize in myself, and somehow, a pressure valve releases inside me.

Steam hisses out, my fury dissolving into just plain anger.

“Please?” Dove says quietly.

I glare at her. Then I look past her, to her Doc Martens sitting on the ledge.

“What were you doing up here,” I growl.

“I’m… I’m here for her,” she mumbles.

I glance at the shoes again, and the note stuck into one of them.

Maybe throwing her off would be doing her a favor. She’s even written my fucking alibi already.

I exhale.

Tonight isn’t about this girl.

It’s about Lark.

Dove sticks her hand out “Truce? For the night?”

“Fine,” I mutter. “For the nightonly. We can pretend we’re total strangers.”

I reach out and take her hand in mine.

…And something stretches awake within me. Something dark and malicious comes alive as my fingers curl around hers.

She smiles furtively, her eyes locked on mine as I stand there stunned.

Shocked.

Not sure quite what the fuck is happening right now.

“Nice to meet you, Bane,” she murmurs. “I’m Dove.”

4

DOVE

His grip tightenson my hand. Viciously. Malevolently.

Purposefully.

And wildness spreads through my veins.

For a few long seconds just a moment ago, part of me wondered if he was going to let me fall. Another part of me questioned why I was even worried about that, sincefallingwas the entire reason for coming up here in the first place.

But then he said two simple words: “hang on.”

Don’t jump.

Don’t end it.