Forbidden Knots (Shadow Duet #1)

26. TWENTY SIX

TWENTY SIX

Storm

W ith each step we took back, I felt weaker. With each step we took, I grew more afraid. By now, I was so hungry and exhausted that I couldn't tell if this woman with the scarred face was real or a ghost, a ghost from my past as she claimed to be. My mind was betraying me, and I couldn't think clearly. I knew something far worse than I could imagine was happening here, and I was caught in the middle of it.

On my mind was Sophie—her pink hat, her orange crocs with daisies, and her smile, which I now realized was just like Tristan's. I knew she was gone, but I missed her so much that it hurt, even though I had fallen in love with Tristan. Every time I touched a bruise on my body, I remembered the place where Sophie had whipped me. She wanted to see me hurt; she wanted me to suffer as she did. It was as if she knew what was coming like she had foreseen this nightmare.

This town, the moon, the stars, and its people—none of it felt real anymore. Everyone lived lives where they pleased others, but behind hidden doors, there were dark secrets. No one truly knew anyone, yet everyone knew everyone.

I was sick; I wanted to puke. I stopped for a second, my vision blurry, holding my hand against the wall, struggling to breathe.

"Help me!" I asked the woman for help.

She stood in front of me, her head tilting, her face serious and pale. She scanned me, deciding whether to let me die or keep me as a doll to play with.

"Help me!" I shouted again, trying to shake her from her trance and make her help me.

She shook her head, jumping away from me.

"No, no, no, I don't want to play."

I turned around, my body crawling back to the exit. Dirt was under my nails; my body was weak and exhausted. I needed air, I needed some normalcy in my broken life, but this torture seemed never-ending. It felt like we had walked miles away, and I could see the exit but couldn't reach it.

My eyes were closing, and I was gasping for air, but to my surprise, the woman came to me again, taking my hand and dragging me to the exit. I lay down in the dry grass, moonlight hitting my skin. A soft wind blew, bringing a familiar smell closer to me.

"You can rest at my place," she whispered, gently touching my hair. "They don't mind anyway," she said.

My heart raced, and I wanted to scream. I had accepted my end, but the air softly filled my lungs again, as if my whole body wanted me to fight—for the first time in my life. So, I did. I slowly got up, my legs trembling.

"Are you real?" I asked her, my mind playing tricks on me.

"Of course, silly," she said, her palm resting on my cheek.

"Then tell me who you are," I whispered, placing my palm on her cold hand.

"I don't remember," she said, her eyes dropping to the ground.

"There was Rose, and then there was me, but then I was behind Rose, and then she was behind me."

"Who is Rose?" I asked, desperation in my voice. "Tell me, please. Who the fuck is Rose?"

Her expression shifted from confusion to a chilling smile, her dirty teeth showing. "Marina is Rose, and Rose is Marina."

She giggled again, jumping playfully towards the door behind me. I couldn't believe my ears, my mind spinning in confusion. She waved at me before closing the door, leaving me surrounded by death and skulls.

I knelt again, this time closer to the cliff. Behind a pine tree, I noticed the local port with boats. If I could make it there, I could hide and call the police. I needed to rest and sleep.

Moving behind the door and oleander, I found a small path leading back to the woods. Gathering all the courage I had left, I started to run. I ran as fast as I could, my breath short, my mouth dry, and my feet wounded by the rocks beneath me. I looked back briefly to check if anyone was following me. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears and my breaths in my chest. My gut hurt and my bare feet were raw and bloody.

I turned again and saw him. Shadow was running after me. Instead of stopping and wrapping my arms around him, I couldn't face him. I couldn't tell him about Sophie, about my grandma, about any of it.

"Thalia, stop!" he shouted after me.

"Thalia!" His voice was getting closer.

His warm hands grabbed me under my arms, spinning me around. My body hit the ground, and he fell on top of me, pinning me down. His eyes, full of anger, saw right through me. His hands pinned mine beside me, his grip so strong it stopped the blood from flowing in my wrists.

"It hurts," I whispered, a tear sliding from my eye down to my temple, then reaching the ground beneath me.

"Thalia, you're bleeding," his eyes shifted from anger to worry within seconds. He let my hands go, and I immediately wrapped my arms around his neck as he lifted me in his arms.

I leaned against his chest, closing my eyes.

"Tristan, Sophie..." I started, but my tongue went numb, and my eyes closed involuntarily.

"Thalia," he shouted, his voice filled with panic. I could feel his body moving faster.

"Storm," he whispered, his voice fading away.

It all felt like a bad dream, a never-ending nightmare that lived in my life rent-free. I noticed him sitting in the corner. He was shirtless, and for the first time, I saw a small scar under his ribs. His head was down, and he looked like he was sleeping, but I somehow knew he was awake.

Moonlight shone on his skin, emphasizing the muscles of his body. As I slowly sat up, I noticed he held a thick rope. One end was tied around his fist, wrapped tightly, and the other end was loose as if he could let it go at any moment.

The bed swung softly, the space feeling like a matchbox, and I could hear the water around us. We were on a boat. My breath intensified as he moved slightly. A thunderstorm raged outside, and a flash of lightning illuminated the small cabin, making him shift a little. The sea outside was building waves, but he didn't seem to mind.

"All damn night, I've held this knot in my hand, thinking about whether I should end this here and now," he said, his head still buried towards the ground.

"End?" I whispered, my voice barely audible.

His head moved up, his cold eyes locking with mine, staring right through me. He snapped the knot to the ground like a whip, then got up, his face now filled with anger as he hit the floor again, this time with his palm.

"I wish I could kill you, Thalia," he whispered, coming closer and striking the sheets with the rope. My shoulders shrugged, and a gasp escaped my lungs in fear.

He climbed on top of me, placing the rope against my neck. "All this misery would be over," he said, his words filtering through his teeth, "right here, right now."

He pushed my head down; my body fell back onto the cotton sheets. He positioned the rope behind my head, gliding it down to my neck, then slowly wrapping it around and making a knot as he held both ends.

"Tristan," I whispered, looking at him, my hand gently landing on his.

"I want to squeeze the life out of you, watch your soul leave your body, and make it burn together with me. I want you to feel how I feel," he said, the knot tightening against my neck.

"But I fucking can't," he loosened the rope again. "I can't because I know how much I need you, how much I fucking want you."

"And the thought of losing you would kill me too." He whispered against my face, his lips brushing my cheek.

I tilted my head, his lips meeting mine. "I need you," I whispered against his lips.

"Sophie needed me too," he said, tightening the knot against my neck. My hands flew up, my palms tapping his hands as my mouth struggled for breath. His eyes darkened, and my vision began to blur as I desperately tried to catch my breath.

The knot against my throat tightened, making my neck constrict even more. My brain felt like it was on fire, my ears began to shut down with a buzzing sound, and my eyes filled with tears as I desperately tried to breathe.

"I knew you were forbidden for me, but I decided to tie this fucking knot around us and I can't fucking stop, Thalia," he whispered against my face, tightening the rope even further. "I can't stop," he said silently.

As my eyes began to close, he let me go. I gasped for air, my eyes wide open. He tossed the rope across the bed and lifted my body into his arms, holding me close, whispering against my ear, "You wanted Shadow, Storm. Now let me make you love my darkness too."