That is not matehood. And to hear Bo speak of his one-sided relationship infuriated me.
Still, out of the kindness of my heart, I didn’t kill him. I simply allowed the monster a few years to consider his actions and those of the people around us.
“Seventeen years of imprisonment for her crime. When you came to me, you said you’d do anything for her. And so you did.” I shrug. “I am not the one you should be mad at.”
“You would have left me there forever if it wasn’t for the witch breaking my curse,” he snarls.
Interest sparks. “Which witch?”
The man scowls at me. “Why does it matter?”
“Come now, Bosephus. Share with the class.”
He keeps his lips pressed tight together.
Protecting the mythic who freed him? How noble.
I roll my eyes. “I’ll find out on my own then.”
“Leave her out of your trickery,” he snarls. “I’m not making any more deals with you. If you try to come after any more innocents, you’ll face my claws.”
That earns a chuckle from me. “My, we are deluded, aren’t we?” I lean toward him, lowering my voice, as if imparting a secret. “Georgie wasn’t exactly innocent, was she? And no matter what I do, you’ll find you can’t lay a claw on me, Bo Folan.” I tilt my chin toward his hand. The one he sliced open for a blood vow the night he came to me in supplication.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I have your enchanted loyalty. No attacking me. And”—this time, I grin wide—“no slandering me.”
“Slander?”
“No telling anyone about our little deal. About how you ended up as a yard decoration.”
“It’s not slander if it’s true!”
I shrug. “No shit-talking then. Label the binding however you wish. Only know that, unless I decide otherwise, you cannot speak or write a word against me.”
All wrath drains from the monster’s face, leaving behind a blank look of hopelessness.
As I said, not a fighter.
“Come now, Bosephus. Don’t be so glum.” I wave a hand back toward Folk Haven. “The world is new. You’re no longer tied down by that shrew. The way I see it, I did you a favor.”
“You took everything from me,” he whispers.
I grit my teeth, a flare of fury rising in the face of his self-pity. The jovial tone I’ve effected drips away as I hold his eyes with mine.
“You do not know what it means to have all taken from you, Bosephus Folan. But if you do not leave my territory, I will gladly show you.”
Uncertainty flicks across his eyes as he hears the dark truth in my words. Then the monster turns his back and shifts into his beast form before stalking away to lick his emotional wounds.
I feel no pity.
For I know what it is like to lose all.
8
Mor
Normally,the sound of my cell phone ringing at six in the morning would wake me up. But that would require me to have fallen asleep. Even though last night was stressful and exhausting, when I finally lay down in bed, sleep evaded me. For the last few hours, I’ve just been staring upward at my skylight, watching the starry sky shift with the earth’s rotation. Even though it’s technically morning, sunrise is more than an hour off.
