Free The Hatter is Mad: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Lillim Callina Chronicles Book 2) by J.A. Cipriano

rationally—” Caleb started, but I cut him off.
    “Rational to whom?” I screamed at him. “This makes no damn sense. No damn sense! We’re at the corner of Podunk and nowhere, trying to find the Blue Prince. And let’s say Ajax says ‘go here to find the Blue Prince’ and we go there and he is actually there. Then what? Then what, Caleb?”
    “Then you can beat him up for killing your hedgehog and kidnapping your friend?” Caleb ventured. He seemed unsure of what he was supposed to say.
    “Wha? I just… you just don’t even care…” I said. I took a step toward him and punched his chest. His eyes got wide as he looked down at the spot where I hit him. His mouth opened, but before he could say anything. I turned and stomped out of the room. Caleb followed me into the hallway, and I whirled on him, poking him in the chest with my finger.
    “I…” My words trailed off, sticking in my throat as I slumped down to my knees. I was suddenly very tired. “I just want to know why you left me. This whole antagonistic bullshit isn’t working for me.”
    Caleb took a step backward and glanced around the tiny hallway. A small sigh escaped Caleb as he knelt next to me and took my hand in his before speaking. “I guess we never really talked, huh?”
    “Talked? You just left. You said all those nice things to me and you left,” I said, looking away from him and at the off-white walls of the hallway.
    “You make it too hard for me, Lillim. When I’m around you, I do stupid things. I’ve never thought about other girls the way I do about you. I act reckless when I’m around you. It—”
    “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I screamed and grabbed him by the shoulders. I wanted to shake him. Shake him until I felt better, shake my feelings away. I really don’t know what I wanted to be honest, but it wasn’t this. I didn’t want to even be around him. I never felt anything like this before and…
    “I fought a giant-snake demon, and it poisoned me. Every time I use my powers I get weaker thanks to that bastard. If I stayed with you, my feelings would get in the way—”
    “What do you mean your feelings would get in the way?” I interrupted as a million thoughts ran through my brain. “What do you mean?”
    He blushed and looked away, staring at the floor like it was the most interesting thing in the world. “I care about you, Lillim.” He swallowed and looked up at me. The emotion in his eyes was enough to thaw my heart and almost make me forgive him. Almost.
    “People who care don’t leave in the middle of the night…” I said though the words had lost some of their harshness. That wasn’t fair. He needed to stop looking at me like he was. If he kept doing that, I was going to forget I was supposed to be mad at him…
    “I wanted to stay.” He reached out and traced my cheek with his knuckle. The heat of his touch was enough to make my knees go a little weak. “More than anything in the world, Lillim. I want to be with you.”
    “Stop. Please,” I whispered, my voice partially catching in my throat as I reached up to pull his hand away, but the moment my fingers wrapped around his, I could do little more than squeeze. This wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair for him to act sweet while saying he couldn’t be with me. It just wasn’t. He was supposed to be a jerk, not act like I was kicking his puppy. Not when he was at fault.
    “I’m sorry,” Caleb whispered, moving closer so our bodies were nearly pressed together. He reached down with his free hand and slowly moved my chin up so I was looking up into his eyes. They were so blue it felt like I was staring into the ocean. “You don’t realize how much.”
    “If you were sorry, you would be with me, Caleb. You wouldn’t make excuses about it,” I muttered, and the hurt in my voice surprised even me. It was in that moment I knew I’d still be with him if he asked. The thought chilled me because I wasn’t sure I was ready to admit