“This prison,” I spit, gesturing wildly to the room around me. “Is even smaller than the one I came from.” The daemon beats at me, and I can tell it’s about to burst free. I pick up a book from the coffee table in preparation. “What am I supposed to do? You have three fucking books, and I can’t read a single one of them.” The daemon expels, shattering one of the vials on his shelf, and I hurriedly lodge the book in the same direction to cover it.
There’s no suspicion on his face. He remains calm and composed as he turns to eye the shattered vial, and that only serves to anger me further. I breathe heavily as the lingering shocks of the daemon begin to dwindle.
He stalks forward and I fight the urge to move back as he settles himself directly over me, quirking a brow. “I asked you if there was anything you required.”
“I wasn’t exactly planning on sticking around when you asked that.”
“Well, I didn’t know you could read,” he says with a shrug.
My glare turns venomous, and he grins. “Come pet.” He jerks his head, beckoning me to follow him.
“I’m not your pet,” I snarl.
He turns around slowly, a gleam in his eye that makes me want to run away or hide. “Aren’t you, though? You live here now, in my chambers. I have to make sure you’re safe, fed, healthy, entertained. That you don’t run off and get yourself hurt or killed. Actually—“ He rubs a hand over his chin and wrinkles his nose. “You’re more like a wild animal that I’m attempting to tame into a proper pet. But I thinkpetis the nicer way of saying that.”
The daemon pounds again, and I grit my teeth. “I’ll never be your pet,” I hiss.
His lips twist into a feral grin. “Oh, you will. You’ll be following me around like a puppy, eagerly waiting for my return, so desperate for whatever scraps of attention I give you, I’ll have you eating from my hand in no time.”
“Unless, of course, an illness befalls me?”
His eyes grow hard, wicked amusement slipping away. “Like I said it’s not safe for you here.”
Obviously. “What’s the gown for?”
He lets out a bedraggled sigh, raising his hand to rub at his darkened eyes. “For our wedding.”
“We already had a wedding.”
“This will be an after party of sorts so Morin can flaunt what she’s done to me to all the other kingdoms.”
“When?”
“Friday.”
My stomach turns. That’s only a few days away. “Were you even going to tell me about it?”
“Actually, we should talk about this,” he resigns, slamming the door shut. My body tenses as he stalks back over to me. “When the time comes, I need you to listen to me.” Every fiber of my being rebels against those words, upper lip curling, and teeth gritting. He takes my chin between his thumb and pointer finger, bending until our faces are level. “See this. This is exactly what I’m talking about. You can’t act like this out there.”
I jerk my face from his grip and he lets his hand fall as he straightens. “When we go to this party, this glorified shit show for Morin to create controversy by marrying me to a fucking nought.” He spits the words so fervently I flinch. “So she can ally with your kingdom for her God's-forsaken torture prison.”
Prison?
He circles me, counting each point against his fingers. “And do one of her favorite things, taunt me, bring shame to my family name, and ensure I’m so far thwarted I’ll never be able to rise from the ashes and stake a claim.” He snorts and rolls his eyes. “Like I’ve ever wanted that.”
I work down a swallow, eyes burning as the daemon begins thrashing again.
“All of which is likely nothing but a distraction from whatever the fuck she’s really planning.” He comes to a still in front of me. “You,” he says jabbing a single finger into the top of my chest.
“Have to keep your head down, your chin down,” he snaps, tapping a finger against my jutting chin. “And behave. Let go of your pride, follow my lead, and trust me because they will look for any reason to take you down. The smallest sign of disrespect to them and they will use any excuse to…” He breaks off, eyes widening.
“I’ve seen how this plays out. But you’re not going to give them a reason because you’re going to be aperfect little pet,” he spits. He takes several breaths in and his voice softens a fraction as he says, “In here, you can fight me tooth and nail every damn day but not out there. Not around other people. There’s a reason I keep you locked up in here. This place is a danger to you and it always will be.”
The daemon boils under the surface. “Is that it?”
“Yes,” he sighs, fury finally settling with a sag of his shoulders.
“Or is it because you don’t want your punishment being seen?”
