Blood Of The Zodiac – Isadora Brown (1)

I repeated, incredulous. “What does that even mean? You won’t allow it?” “I mean just that,” he replied. “I’m not going to let you go around flirting with guys, Elara. It’s not safe.” “I’m not a child, Toru,” I said, trying to keep my voice level. “I know how to take care of myself.”

“I’m not saying you don’t,” he said, his voice tight. “But you don’t understand the dangers of the world you’re in. You don’t understand how easily someone could manipulate you or use you to get to me.” “So what?” I asked, feeling my frustration starting to boil over. “I’m just supposed to sit around and wait for you to tell me what to do, who I can talk to, who I can have a relationship with?”

“Relationship?” he asked. His voice was calm, but there was an undercurrent of danger in it. “You want a relationship?” “Well, maybe,” I said. “You get to have relationships –” “I choose to have brief encounters that last hours and mean nothing,” Toru said, stepping towards me. Suddenly, I felt like I was prey and he was hunting me.

“Not because I want to, but because I must in order to maintain this illusion of what people think of me. I do it so you don’t have to.” “That’s bullshit,” I said. “That’s not fair.” “Yes,” he said, his voice low. “But I’m the one who has to protect you, Elara. I’m the one who has to make sure you’re safe. So, you will listen to me.” “And what about me?” I asked. “Don’t I get a say in this?

Don’t I get to decide what I want for myself?” “You have a say,” he said, standing up as well. “But your safety comes first. Always.” “I can’t just exist for the sake of being protected, Toru,” I said, feeling the tears prickling at the corners of my eyes.

My bedroom window slid open, and the cool air filled the tiny space. I snapped an eye open, my body tense. The silhouette moved like a shadow—for what; I didn’t know. Shadowvale wasn’t exactly the best neighborhood. Break-ins happened all the time and– Actually, I knew that gait. That arrogant, cocky swagger– For someone who was supposed to be stealth and dangerous, a wraith in the shadows, he could certainly be loud.

I closed my eyes, keeping my breathing even. As much as I wanted to look over my husband and make sure he was in the one piece even though I definitely didn’t care one way or the other, I was curious to see if he could tell⁠— “I know you’re awake, Elara.” I wrinkled my nose and cracked open an eye at the flat tone. I sighed dramatically and stood up, lifting my arms over my head to stretch.

The loose T-shirt raised up, and I suppressed a yawn. “What are you doing here?” I asked, looking down at my hands. Anywhere but him. “Can’t I see my beautiful, lovely wife?” he asked with an arrogant grin I was sure made other women’s hearts flutter in delight. As it was, I wanted to stomp all over them and save them the trouble. I had never loved Toru, but he still somehow annoyed the hell out of me. Some kind of skill, on top of all the other ones he had.

“You forgot fake and obligated,” I muttered. “Oh, Elara,” he said, tilting his head to the side so his white hair that stuck up at all ends tilted along with him. “You’re such a romance killer, you know that?” He sat on the windowsill, long legs stretched out in front of him. But there was something about his posture…

My lips curled, and I moved closer to him. The heavy scent of blood and sweat overpowered his natural masculine musk. Another thing I hated about him. “Where?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. “Elara—“ “Where?” “Troublesome wife,” he said, but he lifted his arm. “Stop calling me…” My eyes dropped to his side. Blood. His blood. My heart skipped a beat. Hideo Toru did not bleed.

It just…it wasn’t possible. He was the Shadowblade of Serendal. Of course, I had stitched up minor cuts, given him ice or frozen peas for swelling and bruises, and there was one time after a particularly bad mission where I gave him a massage. Something he still wouldn’t let me forget. But seeing him bleed like this… “What the hell, Toru?” I turned from him and moved to my closet — not quite a run, but not a lazy saunter either.

“What happened? It was supposed to be a Star mission. Recon. Simple and easy. Especially for you. Blood was not part of that equation.” “What’s this? Is my dear wife concerned over me?” I scowled. He shrugged.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: a6534d4dce6ac768
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 9,092,815 bytes (8.672 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 335
• Language: English (en)

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• Estimated Reading Time: 424.54 minutes
• Total Words: 84,908
• Total Characters: 479,280
• Average Words per Page: 253.46
• Average Characters per Page: 1430.69

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