“Well, for one—“ He tosses something onto the couch. Resting at my feet lays my crafted rope.Shit. “You’ve ruined your only blanket. And, for two, I’d rather not deal with any more escape attempts today,” he declares, one eyebrow twitching up in the direction of the balcony door.
“You won’t,” I promise. At leastnot today.
“No offense, but I really don’t trust you. Come pet,” he calls as he motions toward the bedroom.
“I’m not sleeping with you!”
“Don’t be difficult.”
“No,” I say firmly, crossing my arms over my chest. My body suddenly levitates off the couch. I scramble wildly, but whatever magic holds me keeps me upright as he carries me toward the bedroom. “Put. Me. Down!”
“Planning on it.” He drops me onto his bed and I jolt up, preparing to run for the door as he strolls in and slams it shut behind him. He waves a hand over it that I’m certain has sealed the door closed.
“You told me I wouldn’t have to share your bed!”
“That was a figurative statement. I meant that I’m not going to make you fu—“
“I know what you meant!” I snarl before he can finish that statement.
He holds the rope I crafted, lifting it and stretching it out across his palms as he studies it. “This was dangerous,” he admonishes.
“Not as dangerous as you.”
His brows shoot up at my quick quip. He cocks his head to the side as if to say that’s a fair point as he strides toward the bed and seats himself on the edge. “I’m not a danger to you.”
“Of course not—you only just want to discard yourself of me.”
He sighs, eyes drifting shut. “I tell Morin a lot of things that are not the truth. Believe it or not, I’m trying to protect you,” he says adamantly before turning his attention back to the rope. “This is not long enough for you to have climbed all the way down.” His gaze flicks up. “How did you…”
I have no intention of telling him the truth of it. His eyes suddenly widen, and he bolts toward the door. I hear items being jostled like he’s searching for something in one of his trunks…shit. When he reenters, his jaw is set, and his eyes hard. “You didn’t work alone.”
I rearrange my face into what I hope is a convincing expression of surprise. It’s the wrong move as his contorts in anger. “Don’t lie. Look at me.” I let out a puff, chest deflating as I meet his gaze.
“You can’t trust Div. He’s an Imp. He thrives on causing mayhem. He feeds on it. He’s the reason you went to the Blood Wood, isn’t he?”
I shrink into the headboard, feeling like a small scorned child under his wrath. He slides a knee onto the bed and forces my reddening face back up. “I need to be certain you understand this. Tell me what happened.” His voice softens a fraction. “Did Div instruct you to go to the Blood Wood?”
“Yes,” I say through clenched teeth.
“And then what happened?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what happened to him. He could be hurt…”
He snorts. “Don’t worry. He’ll be back. He always fucking comes back. Though he usually stays away for a few days after doing something especially heinous.” He drops my chin. “So he abandoned you?” He asks although it sounds like he’s trying to coach the answer he wants from me. “He instructed you to go to one of the worst places you could go and abandoned you there?”
“I guess so,” I mumble out with a bitter shrug.
“No, princess. Not guess. That’s what he did. This is what he does.”
“Why do you even have him then?”
His jaw flexes. “If I could get rid of him, I would, but no one else is dumb enough to make themselves master of him like I did. So I’m stuck with him, permanently, probably.”
I shift uncomfortably. Thereisone person dumb enough.
“That’s why I need you to be sure you understand his nature so he doesn’t convince you into doing anything dumb again.”
Too late.“Why did you make yourself his master?”
