My chest tightens. He’d almost destroyed the school.An atomic bomb in the middle of the cafeteria,someone had called him.
“Laithe would not have been able to lure me away before I would have demolished the school and everyone in it.”
I flinch “Seriously?”
“Not that I’d be proud of it.”
That reality settles in, carving a terrifying picture. “Can you do me a favor?”
“Anything.”
“Don’t kill any innocents on my behalf. No matter what.”
His eyes turn sharp with that predator glare. “I will cut down anyone I must to keep you safe, and not feel the least bit remorseful.”
I narrow my eyes. “I mean, if I die.”
He bares his teeth. “That is not something I like musing about.”
“Tough luck.”
He stares up at the ceiling, breathing deeply. Finally, he says, “I would do my best but I make no promises. The soul of my demon is… difficult to control. He does not see morality as you and I do.”
I huff out a breath. Maybe it’s the best I can ask for right now.
“Our enemies, however, you can tear apart one limb at a time.” I wink.
A sick joy spreads through him, hypnotizing me with its cruelty. I shouldn’t like that instinctual desire for violence. Wrath should not be pleasurable. And yet, it’s hard not to be lured in by my monster’s thirst for blood against our enemies.
“I would simply like to be a part of it,” he says.
The image of me slick with blood, eyes sharp and fierce, flickers through my mind. My monster would enjoy that too. Maybe a little too much.
“We have to talk about this plan of yours, though,” he says. “As much as I’d enjoy enacting revenge on the council, I don’t believe it’s worth the risk.”
“How? What do you think could go wrong? How could I be in danger with Bea using my potions to poison them?”
“If it were that easy, why wouldn’t Beatrice just do the work herself? If she wishes to be free of the Cosmic Council, she is plenty capable of creating poisons to kill her current allies.”
“But what would that gain her?” Besides, it’s not just a simple poison that will do the work needed. Even those with fair experience in potions might not have the ability to create the death potion that will kill multiple types of powerful beings at once.
“She has the ability to hire a potion master to create the needed potion.”
“Assuming they’d be willing,” I mutter. My parents have had to turn away many clients because they are not immune to the consequences of what is done with those potions. It’s a vulnerable profession because they have the ability to affect the world in significant ways, but they don’t have the physical capabilities to protect themselves if targeted by the wrong people.
“I’m just saying, there are flaws here. You are risking too much, relying on an untrustworthy source, and putting yourself in a vulnerable position at the same time.”
My nose wrinkles in frustration.
I find myself praying he believes in me enough to go with this plan.
I want it so badly I can taste it. Ineedto kill each and every one of them.
A deep growl rumbles from his chest. “My bright one is so thirsty for violence.”
I shiver. Am I? I suppose I am. “I want to free her. I need her to be free of them.”
“So do I.”
