Collide and Seek: Act 4-5 (Bitter Ashes Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

interested in a much older man.”
    I laughed, and it felt strange after the past few days I'd had. “It is a little creepy, now that you mention it.”
    He held a hand to his chest dramatically. “Oh Madeline, you wound me.”
    I laughed again, and it felt a little more natural. “We should get some rest,” I said finally. “I hope you find the floor comfortable.”
    Alaric let out a dramatic sigh. “I suppose arguing tonight would be a moot point?”
    I nodded, “Just in case you're lying, I'd rather not revert to snuggle buddy status.”
    Alaric cringed. “I suppose I deserve that.”
    I nodded again, then stood on my tippy-toes to plant a kiss on his cheek.
    “And what was that for?” he asked in surprise as I took a step back.
    I shrugged and climbed into bed. “It was for the possibility that you're telling the truth.”
    “Would another truth earn me a pillow?” he asked hopefully.
    I tried to look as disinterested as possible when I said, “It might.”
    Alaric was standing far enough back that all I could see was his silhouette as he said, “In all of my five-hundred years, letting James stab you was the most difficult thing I've ever done.”
    Tears started to well up in my eyes, and they were tears that I didn't want to share with anyone. I grabbed the extra pillow off the bed and tossed it to Alaric, then I laid my head on the other pillow with my back turned toward him.
    I listened as Alaric lowered himself to the floor. A long while later, his breathing slowed to the even rhythms of sleep. Finally I let a few, silent tears slip out. They weren't tears for Alaric, or for anyone else but me. They were tears for the life I'd lived thus far, and for what might lay ahead. Sometimes you just have to cry for yourself, because no one else will.
    Moments later loud snoring that could only belong to James began echoing through the wall, and I wished I  had the extra pillow to sandwich my face. Instead I pulled the quilt over my head in futile effort to muffle the noise. Here I thought there wasn't supposed to be any rest for the wicked.

Chapter Four
    I woke up early to find Alaric already wide awake, sitting at the foot of my bed watching me with a distant sort of look. He perked up as I struggled my way out of the tangled mess I'd made of the bedding.
    “How long have you been sitting there?” I groaned.
    He shrugged. “A few hours. I couldn't sleep.”
    “You know, a normal person would have found a book or something else to occupy their time,” I chided.
    Alaric shrugged again, then stood and offered me a hand to get up. I ignored his extended hand and stretched my arms over my head. I had to put them back down quickly though, as it dawned on me that I hadn't showered in a while.
    “I'm going to find the bathroom,” I announced, hoping that Alaric hadn't caught a whiff of me, but knowing that he had.
    “Would you care for some company?” he asked with his eyebrows raised.
    “Absolutely not,” I mumbled as I made a beeline for the door.
    The bathroom was just across the hall from the room we'd been given, so I was able to make a quick escape. I locked the bathroom door behind me, thinking that I should have asked Diana before I went to take a shower. Oh well, I wasn't about to go back into the hall in my state of stench, so I found a spare towel rolled in one of those little towel holders and started the water.
    I stripped out of the black dress, immensely displeased that I'd have to put the tattered thing back on after my shower. At least the river had washed away the blood from my stab wounds.
    I looked at my naked side to find two small scars where the knife had punctured my flesh. In that moment I realized how someone with my particular gifts could abuse such a power. The ability to take lives in order to heal others should never have existed.
    Feeling more cold than the temperature of the room could account for, I stepped under the hot stream of water. I used the shampoo and soap that had