by Marie Hall
He hadn’t deserved her.
But still she’d chosen him.
James toyed with the locket on his desk, clasping and unclasping the lock. Clenching it so hard in his fist for a moment he thought he might bend it. With a start, he released the necklace. It settled back on his desk with a loud ping in the startling quiet.
He shook himself like a dog.
Remembering the eyes. Green, gorgeous eyes open and frozen in pain and fear. That boy flitting around her, his tiny dagger still deep in her gut.
And what a great actor he’d been, because for a moment James could almost believe Peter hadn’t meant to do it. His face had been so still, so shocked, that it’d scrambled James’ brain for a second.
She’d agreed to marry him. To become his forever and for always that very day. They’d been such opposites. He a scurvy pirate, she a docile mermaid. And yet, their souls had connected. He’d given her everything, his oath, his bond, his love…
“I should have known that boy would ruin it all,” he whispered drunkenly as heat beat forceful through his blood. James downed the rest of the liquid, wishing like hell he could die like a normal man from alcohol poisoning.
But not here, not in Neverland where one could consume copious amounts of liquor and meat and never fatten or get a rancid liver.
Stuck forever in a state of limbo unless skewered like a stuck pig like his precious Talia had been.
His nostrils flared as the horror of that night replayed each and every awful minute in slow and exacting detail.
He’d roared with a sort of animal cry that had startled the birds in the trees, unsheathed his sword and dashed to Peter. But the bastard had flown up into the clouds with a whispered “sorry” and then disappeared like the coward he was.
When James had turned to retrieve her body and return her to the lake, she was gone. Not even a trace of her water remained.
He’d wept and cried out to the heavens, cursing the fairy light riding the winds. Screaming to the gods that he would exact his revenge, which he’d done every day since.
His days were filled with making Peter’s life a living hell of torment, but it was the night’s that turned on James. The long stretch of darkness that preyed on his sanity, splitting open the careful shell he’d constructed, forcing him to relieve the horror of it all.
He couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t eat. Could only drown himself in drink and wonder what if…
Marie Hall’s Books:
Kingdom Series:
Her Mad Hatter, Book 1
Gerard's Beauty, Book 2
Red and Her Wolf, Book 3
Jinni’s Wish, Book 4
Hook’s Pan, (Book 5) Coming Soon
The Witching Hour (Paranormal Urban Fantasy Romance)
Genesis Trilogy:
Forbidden, Book 1 (Coming in 2013)
Book 2 (Coming soon)
Book 3 (Coming soon)
Death Series:
Death and the Witching Hour, Book 1 (Coming 2013)
Death and the Hallowed Night, Book 2 (Coming 2013)
Death and the Howler’s Moon, Book 3 (Coming soon)
Chaos Time Trilogy:
Fire in the Sky, Book 1 (Coming 2013)
Ashes in Snow, Book 2 (Coming soon)
Smoke over Water, Book 3 (Coming soon)
Authors Note:
It has been a blast writing this series and I can’t honestly believe the ride is almost over. But I promise I have a lot more in the works, to include a paranormal YA romance that is the first of a series. Called Forbidden, it’s part of my Genesis Trilogy and deals with a hot guy, (who’s maybe not so normal), a human girl (who’s got some mad skills), a circus of the damned, and a romance so forbidden that his kiss will be her doom… I’m so excited to release that one in 2013. Along with that I’ll be releasing another YA series, my Chaos Time Trilogy. And an adult Urban Fantasy Series, called my Death Series. So there’s a ton of new works in motion. If you’d like to keep up with my future releases I keep an active blog at: Marie Hall. I always love to hear from my fans, and would be pleased if you’d leave a review, or just drop by and say hi. [email protected]
Happy reading!
~Marie