From Servant to Savior

room in the staff quarters, my

e back. It was one of the Steele family'

ants to see yo

, his grip bruising. My thin cotton sleeve ripped at the shoul

reserved for formal occasions, cold and imposing, smellin

sture ramrod straight. She was a formidable woman with eyes as sharp and

ng deceptively fragile

he shattered remains of a porcelain vase. It was a Q

chipping ice. "Ainsley tells me

elain to Ainsley's face. She had a tiny, almost i

d, my voice shaking slig

he was angry about the engagement. She said... she said if s

acious, so cruel,

ng with him. He knew me. He knew I

looked at Ainsley, his expr

to me, and his

id, his voice terrifyingly c

an a slap. Kneel? Apologiz

clinging to my hand. "Don't leave me, Kira. Promise me you'll

secret comfort, now felt lik

n the broken pieces of h

itting the floor with a sickening crunch. A sharp, searing pa

g my lip to kee

t smile and Dorian's impatient frown. He didn't c

my balance, my back straight. I would not gi

" I began, my voice choke

me, his face inches from mine. For a moment, I thought he was

my shoulder, forcing my full we

inding. Tears s

eated, his voice a

and something uniquely Dorian, filled my sens

th. Each syllable was a surrender. Hot blood trickled down my leg

h. "I suppose I can forgive he

He didn't offer me a hand. He

that she is dealt with, Dori

ovement sent a fresh wave of agony through me. My blood s

pain, from the cold, from the sickening, treacherous craving for his touch. His body was st

first-aid kit. His movements were efficient,

ees. His touch was surprisingly gentle, a ghost of the care he used to show me. "Ainsley is

, faint scar on his wrist, a scar he'd gotten protecting me from

ingers was a painful contradictio

nd away as if my

is delicate. You've been nothing bu

autiful, polished liar over me, the girl wh

escaped my lips. "Delicat

wound in my soul. He used to protect me. He used to be my sh

and saw a stranger. The boy I loved was

side me, I couldn't tell them apart. It was

lightly as he finished bandaging my knees. It was the same ton

chilled me to the bone, that i

arted again, a slow, miserable dri

frantic, lonely rh

d I knew, with a final, heartbreaking clarit