Frost Fire (Tortured Elements) Read Online Free PDF

gritted teeth. The Persequor must have given him a full dose of venom. He’d be paralyzed for a day, maybe two? It was impossible to know for certain. But he did know that every day would just be twenty-four hours of tortuous, fiery pain.
    Then the girl crept toward him, one hesitant step after another bringing her closer. She stared down at him like he was some kind of mine, ready to explode in her face at any moment.
    “Is it really you?” she blurted out.
    Hearing her speak… It was bizarre. He’d nearly fallen flat on his face when she’d spoken to him as he’d dragged her off the path. And now it was just as weird. Words just didn’t
fit
her. Silence had always been her thing.
    And, now, it was also his. He couldn’t respond, not with the venom paralyzing him. And that made a surge of rage course through him, because he couldn’t say what he’d already planned out:
I didn’t do it. I swear I’m not the monster you think I am.
    She reached out and touched his cheek. Her hand shook, but her touch was still gentle. Then she pulled back and stepped away.
    Numbness crept into Drake’s hands. But only into the flesh, and not the veins that were on fire. Tendrils of black crept into his vision, overtaking the trees, the sky. The girl. He’d be unable to see anything within a few seconds, if this time proved to be anything like the past.
    He could feel Allai’s presence beside him. She hadn’t left. What was she thinking? Probably the quickest way to kill him.
    Blackness overtook his vision. And pain was all that was left.

Chapter Four
    She hadn’t wanted to leave him. Not when Drake was paralyzed and helpless, and not when she was still shaking in terror. But she’d had to leave and come back to the Manor. Hadn’t she? Wasn’t that the rational thing to do? People didn’t stick around to comfort Demons who had tried to take their life. It didn’t matter if that Demon had just
saved
their life. …Right?
    Those questions swirled around her mind as Allai trudged up the steps toward her room. She tried to swallow to ease the dryness in her mouth, but it just turned into a cough. Her mind felt the same way as her tongue: Dry and thick, like something was restricting it from working properly.
    Drake Rhaize.
That
was the something.
    Seeing him was like reliving a perfect daydream and her worst nightmare at the same time. She didn’t know how to react. She didn’t know how to even
think
.
    She knew Drake was the guy who’d tried to take her life. But somehow she couldn’t feel the right kind of fear toward him. She didn’t have that gut-wrenching, instinctual terror she’d felt toward Silas. Her fear for Drake was way more confusing, but she was slowly starting to decipher it:
    She was afraid of learning the truth. Of finding out whether all those memories of him—of his comforting golden eyes and soft words—were real or not.
    The thought threw off her footsteps, and she nearly missed the next step of the staircase. She slammed her foot down to regain balance. Her bad foot, of course. Because wasn’t that just her luck?
    Pain ricocheted through her ankle, almost tearing a scream from her. But she held it back, biting her lip and only letting out a tiny whimper. Luke was going to have to look at her ankle and make sure it was only sprained, and not broken.
    As if on cue, he appeared at the top of the stairs, his arms crossed and his expression turned down in a scowl. Allai read his expression and swallowed hard to keep her pounding heart in place. How could he have found out about Drake so quickly?
    Allai gripped the banister, her nails digging into the smooth varnish. She had to tell him. She had to just blurt everything out and pretend she’d had no intention of keeping Drake’s predicament a secret.
    “Allai,” Luke said quietly.
    She hobbled up a few more steps and didn’t reply. She just focused on the plush carpet covering the steps, trying to dig her good foot into it to keep from slipping.