Hidden In Shadows, A Fae and Vampire Romance: Shadow Court Chronicles, Book 1

Chapter 2.3: Sacrifice

 It wasn't a restful sleep, but plagued by nightmares of her murdered family. She could hear them calling out to her, pressing her to seek revenge on their behalf. She was thrown from one scene into another until she was dizzy from it. The most horrific scene for her, though, was when her family's bloody bodies were laid out in front of her on the ground. She could feel the bile rise into her throat as she stared at them in shock. In the background of this horrific scene, she could hear the terror filled cries of her little brother as he was being tortured.

She woke up with screams lodged in the back of her throat and her heart beating rapidly from terror. She fought with the tangled sheets as she launched herself out of the bed. She needed a cold shower to rinse away the sweat that coated her body, and she prayed it would ease the nightmares that still played over and over in her mind.

She could still feel them poking and prodding her as she washed her body with jerky, automatic movements. They weren't as strong and vibrant as they had been when she was asleep and for that, she was thankful. She knew that they would continue to haunt her until she put those who were responsible for the crime where they belonged—six feet under.

Stepping out of the shower, she took a hard look at herself. Her skin was washed out, an intensely unhealthy look for someone as fair as her, and there were bags upon bags under her eyes, adding years to her looks. Sighing, she took out her brush and started to run it through the tangled mess of her hair. She quickly began to lose patience with it as it defied the process, breaking off several of the brush's bristles.

She stomped into the bedroom, grabbed one of Kieran's battle axes that were lying beside the bed, and stomped her way back into the bathroom. Something had to go. Why not her hair? It felt appropriate that she should sacrifice something that she had adored for so long. She gripped the handle of the ax and made the first cut without any hesitation.

It was therapeutic, the decimation of her hair. Eventually, the battle ax became too unwieldy for what she wanted, and she traded it in for a pair of scissors. With each snip of the scissors, her hair fell and pooled around her feet. She didn't stop cutting until most of her hair was gone, and she was left with a pixie cut. She ran her hand through her hair and was surprised at how free she felt.

"What the hell did you do to your hair?!"

She turned to see her shadow staring at her in shock. "I cut it, of course. It's just hair, Kieran, it will grow back. Now come on, I have a plan," she revealed as she brushed past him to get dressed.

He let an exhausted sigh escape. "What is your plan?"

She slipped on a black mid-thigh leather skirt that revealed more leg than she would have normally shown, but it was a crucial part of her plan. She was a hunted woman, and she needed to be able to disappear. She had discovered that in the human world, the stranger a person appeared, the more they disappeared into the background. Humans tended to shy away from those who were too odd for their liking. She just needed to juggle the delicate balance of being odd but not too odd to be memorable.

She picked out a royal purple corset with white lacing, a pair of black calf-high boots, and thin black choker to complete her ensemble. She looked like a bubbly Goth girl between her hair and her outfit, but it would work.

"Lace me up and I'll tell you." She didn't have to wait to see if he did it. Normally, this was a task for her maids in waiting as it required agile fingers. She wasn't sure how he would do with such, but he did surprisingly well. "We are going to see the broker."

"You don't mean—"

"Yep," Lyssa interrupted. "We are going to see Sam, so you better get ready."

~~~

The next part will be released on Tuesday December 15, 2015. If you want to read the whole book NOW Absolutely FREE. Just visit here http://hotromancestory.com/scc1-free-book-wp/ To grab your free copy of this book today.