The Inquisitor's Pet: A Cage of Silver and Sins
A
lammed shut, a final, percussive knell that orphane
scent-a sharp, frigid aroma of aged cedarwood mingled with the acrid, metallic tang of high-octane fuel. It was an overbear
ain around my neck let out a crisp, musical clink, feeling like a serpent coiled be
't m
he man sat besi
could feel that terrifyingly low, glacial body temperature radiating from him. It was a cold that shoul
the velvet upholstery, but the aftershocks of
f water thrown against a forest fire. My internal organs felt as though they were being cauterized; my blood w
gh
den body gave way. I pitched sideways, gravity dr
all with brutal efficiency. Linus hauled me ba
you not
th irritation, yet underlying it was the icy ar
er who had collared me-the Church's cold-blooded executioner. I
ody was
ng chill of his damp trench coat, I let out
av
freezing, deep-blue ocean. The heat that had been boiling
away. Instead, I d
nsive wool in my fists. I buried my scorching forehead against the crook of his neck,
ds sounding more like a breathless end
ays 'let go,'
ds pressed against my burning scalp, sending waves of num
y is begging
nated deep in his chest, vibrating against my
ing in hell, and I am
m. In the swaying, pitch-black silence, I found myself surrendering, nuzzlining the line of my skull, petting me. It wasn't gentle; it was posses
carriage groa
re h
releas
p with vengeful intensity. The door opened, letting in the roar of the storm. I exp
monolithic black spire reaching toward the
er of S
ed, my voice a haunted rasp, stari
n and gave a sharp, sudden
A
to his waiting arms. He caught me with effortless strength, his l
dead, Lillian. You
idging the distance to the massive bla
e cutting through the thunder. "And from today until
d us, severing the sound of
ong to t