Page 109 of Vicious Knight

I’ve been out here for over an hour now, but my mind is no more settled than it was when I first got here.

There’s just so much going on.

Seeing my parents was nice. So was having that reckless moment in the alley with Thorne, but it makes me think hard about the situation I’ve found myself in.

I always thought that when I got serious about someone I’d be able to introduce them to my family, but this relationship—if I can call it that—is not anything of the sort. I’m not even supposed to like Thorne.

The circumstances of us being together are so fucked up. If I claim to want him—and I do—what does that say about me?

The wind blows, lifting my hair about my face. It causes a ripple on the surface of the river that makes the moonlight sparkle like specks of diamonds tossed over it.

The mixture of silver against shadows brings my composition back to my mind. I’ve almost finished creating it. When I first thought of the melody I knew it was one I would take my time enjoying.

I’m not even going to use it in my course. Pieces like these will be saved up for when I make it big. I want to preserve the inspiration behind them without the influence of anyone else’s opinion.

Music is like art to me. I write what I hear and see, turning it into something beautiful. At least that’s the goal.

“You haven’t seen it yet, have you?” says the voice of the man I can’t bleed from my mind.

I turn to find Thorne standing by the tree, watching me. As usual, I didn’t hear him. He’s also dressed in black again, so I can barely make him out in the shadows.

Thorne steps away from the tree like a creature of the night, his eyes glistening, focused on me as if I’m the only person in this world. It’s almost scary to have someone look at you like that.

“What am I supposed to see?” I ask, keeping my gaze trained on him as he approaches.

“Weeks ago I told you to get closer to the river.”

“Isn’t this close? I am sitting next to the bank.”

“No, it’s not close enough. Come on, I’ll show you.” He grins and extends his hand for me to take.

I do, and he doesn’t let me go. We hold hands as we walk along the riverbank.

His hand feels large and dominant around mine. Just like him.

“You’re early.” I glance up at him.

“We finished on time, so I came to find you. I knew you’d be wandering around campus somewhere, Bambi.”

“I was working on my piece.”

“The one from the library.”

“How’d you know?”

“It’s the way you look at the river. Like you’re seeing the notes.”

He never ceases to amaze me. “I was.”

“Did you try the notes I suggested?”

“I did. And it worked.”

He smiles and glances at me out of the corner of his eye. “Did you like it, though?”

“Yes. Clearly you play the piano.”

He raises his brows. “Do I?”