Page 167 of Serpent In White

Drake.

Swallowing becomes more difficult as my limbs tremble.

Here kitty kitty…

I clamp my jaw to stop my teeth from chattering.

Herrree… kitty… kitty…

Snake eyes appear in the black, between the bars of my cell. My blood is rushing so fast, practically drowning out any sound. But his thoughts are visible to me, as if they’re in my mind already.

Hi, tiny stray girl.He blinks.

“W-what do you want?” I stutter, feeling around the floor next to me for a rock or something sharp I could use as a weapon.

He rests his forehead on the bar. “You’re a problem, you know that?” His hand slips into his pocket. “I’d been wondering what to do about you before… And then you stole from me.”

Keys jingle in his fingers as he holds them up to the door, inserting one into the lock. Then turning it.

Fear lances my spine, and I can’t move. I’m frozen, just watching him. Staring at his pale skin, contrasting the darkness surrounding him. His black hair is all disheveled, mussed up as if he’s been yanking at it for hours. He has circles under his serpent eyes.

The lock clicks as the door opens, and he pushes it, stepping inside. “You turned my brother against me.” His head cocks as he stares down at me.

There’s something very threatening about how quiet he is. Even his thoughts are soft murmurs. He doesn’t seem anywhere near as angry as he was in that room earlier.

I’m not comforted by it.

But in this moment, looking up at him, the light in the dark, all I can feel is… strength. Protection.

It’s odd. Beyond odd… It’s fucking crazy.

Before I’d even met this man, I saw him in a vision, crying tears of blood. Right before I tried to kill myself,unintentionally, I think.

And apparently, he’s been killing people since he was a kid. There would be no earthly reason I should ever feel safe around him.

And yet…

He steps forward. I stare. He steps again. I keep staring.

He reaches me, then drops to his knees. “We never finished our conversation yesterday. Before you stole from me and freaked out like a little psycho.”

I scoff out loud. “I’mthe psycho? Uh hey, pot, this is kettle. By the way, you’re black.”

A small grin tugs at his lips, but he pushes it away before I can focus on how abnormally beautiful it makes him look.

“You said you wanted control back… of your life,” he speaks in a soft, growly sort of tone that does things to me inside, things I can’t exactly fathom right now. “Is that why you did what you did today?” He tilts his head again and blinks slowly.

I’d love to lie, to hide my truth, but I know it’s no use. He can hear me as much as I can hear him, and surprisingly, it’s a comfort. One I’ve obviously never experienced, but I have to admit it brings me a sense of peace.

So I nod, swallowing a dry gulp before admitting. “I think so—”

“Well, you went about it the wrong way,” he jumps in before I even have all the words out.

My gaze drops to my fingers as they twist in my lap. “Yea, I picked up on that. Is that why you came down here? To gloat over how misguided I was before you kill me?”

His brow arches, a dark curve that brings on more tingles to my belly. “Why would I kill you?”

“First of all, you told me you were going to…”