Page 106 of Throne of Ice and Blood
Clearing my throat, I raise my head and let my hands drop from my hair as I meet Isera and Alistair’s eyes again. “How do you handle the fact that everyone hates us?”
“Not very gracefully, obviously,” Alistair replies with a shrug. But there is light in his eyes again now. “Since I’ve spent my entire life bullying people and making them feel small in retaliation for how they’ve been treating me.”
A surprised laugh erupts from my chest. There is a small smile on Alistair’s lips as he just lifts his toned shoulders in another unapologetic shrug.
But Isera’s voice is serious when she replies, “I have already told you this. Back inside that maze during the Atonement Trials. Remember?”
I shift my gaze to her and raise my eyebrows in silent question.
She sighs. “It doesn’t matter what you do, some people will always hate you. You could do everything they ask, give them everything you have, and it would still never be enough. Theywill still hate you. Either because of their own insecurities. Or because they have been taught to hate you.” Bitterness laces her tone as she adds, “Just like we have been taught to hate ourselves.”
Her words hit a spot deep inside. Like a dagger straight to the chest. Uncomfortable emotions twist inside me like snakes. Because deep down, I know that she’s right.
It’s impossible to be liked by everyone. There are always people who will hate you for one reason or another. Be it what your magic type is or what you look like or who your family is or what your job is or even something as ridiculous as what kind of food you prefer. Regardless of the reason, there will always be people out there who want to make others feel like shit just so that they can feel better about themselves.
Unfortunately, just shrugging off their hatred is easier said than done. At least for me.
“So how do you deal with it?” I ask, meeting Isera’s eyes.
Determination and an unshakable belief in herself seem to pulse from her entire being as she holds my gaze. “By reminding myself that I have nothing to prove.”
And because she says it with such confidence, as if it’s the most natural thing in the world, I suddenly find myself smiling.
Yeah. Maybe she’s right. Maybe I need to stop apologizing for who I am and for what I do. Maybe it’s time to stop second-guessing myself. To stop trying to make everyone like me.
Back during the Atonement Trials, I self-righteously thought to myself that I was nothing like Alistair. That I didn’t have to do what he did in order to win. Now, I’m first of all beginning to realize that I didn’t even know Alistair at all. And secondly, I’m starting to think that being more like him isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Maybe I need to be more like them all.
More like Alistair.
More like Isera.
More like Draven.
Maybe it’s time that I start doing what they do. What everyone else in this messed up world of ours seems to be doing.
Take what I want and to hell with everyone else.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
“Our presence has been requested at the event tonight.”
Sitting upright on the bed, I meet Draven’s gaze and arch an eyebrow. “Ourpresence?”
He rolls his eyes. “Fine.Mypresence has been requested. Which means that you’re coming too.”
I flash him a sly smile and lie back down on the bed. “Yes, sir.”
He misses a step and almost stumbles. Straightening again, he adjusts the towel that is slung low around his hips and then rakes a hand through his messy black hair. Since he has just come out of the bath, his hair is still wet, and a few drops of water slide down his chiseled abs. His eyes darken with lust as he runs his gaze over my body where I’m lying on my side on his dark gray sheets.
“You really need to be careful,” he warns, his eyes glinting and his voice full of wicked promises. “Saying things like that while you’re lying on my bed, wearing only a tiny black nightgown.”
“What, this?” I draw my hand up my bare thigh, pushing the silken fabric up towards my hip. That sly smile is still on my lips as I raise my eyebrows in teasing challenge. “I thought you saidback when you were holding me captive in your room during the Atonement Trials that the sight of my body in a tiny little nightgown does absolutely nothing to you.”
He flexes his hand and clenches his jaw as his gaze follows my fingers up towards my hip. Then he drags his gaze back to my face and draws in a deep breath before shaking his head at me. “Oh you really are a menace.”
I let out a smug chuckle and then roll off the bed. While striding towards the door, I wink at him. “I really thought you had learned that by now.”
“I see that sharp tongue of yours is back.”
