“Fuck you.” It was lame, but it was all I had. I was so furious I was trembling, and if I’d had a gun within reach, I would’ve blown his fucking head off.
He was probably old enough to regrow it.
Samael was studying me. “I have something else you may be interested in.”
I bared my teeth. “I don’t want anything from you.”
“Even the dagger?”
I felt the blood drain from my face. I’d forgotten. I was supposed to give him the Mistilteinn Dagger back.
He smiled as he read my mind. “You may keep it.”
I blinked at him. He’d beenfuriouswhen he discovered it missing. Why give it to me now?
My eyes were getting heavy. Next to me, Lia was curled up on one of the huge pillows, purring like a little motor.
“I don’t want any favors from you.”
“Now, now witchling. We both know that is a lie. When you’re feeling better, you’ll thank me for giving you such a valuable artifact.”
“I want to go home.”
Samael smiled at me as if I was being particularly adorable. My eyelids were so heavy I was fighting to keep them open. Fine. I wasn’t going home until I took a nap. But the moment I could walk out of here, I was done with Samael and his bullshit.
I just had one question I needed answered. “How did you get free of the chains?”
Samael shifted closer, pushing a strand of hair away from my face. “The chains are created from a metal so old it dampens even my ability to access my power. But that power can still gather. In time I could snap them, if I gathered enough power. I almost had it when you jumped at me.”
I stared at him and he smiled. “The power of a demon bond is even older than the chains. When you stupidly attempted to sacrifice yourself for me, the bond strengthened, and the chains were no match for it.”
All the spit dried up in my mouth and I swallowed. “You expected me to sacrifice myself for you.”
“No. But your attempted self-sacrifice will be remembered. And rewarded.”
Dread warred with fury in my gut. Every move I had made over the past two weeks had been with the goal of breaking my bond with Samael. And all I had done was succeed in making it stronger.
“Get out.”
Samael lifted a brow. “Excuse me?”
“Get the fuck out.”
His expression turned dangerous. I gave him a hard stare, but my eyes were fluttering shut.
“I will leave you to collect your thoughts.”
My stupid eyes had slid shut and I forced them back open in time to see Samael’s face, mere inches away. He had no business being so fucking compelling. Satisfaction gleamed in his eyes, and why wouldn’t it? He’d gotten everything he wanted.
I glowered at him, but he leaned closer, his lips meeting mine in an achingly gentle kiss. I reached up to push him away but he was already gone.
“Stay the hell away from me.”
“I don’t think so,” he murmured. “I will see you soon, little witch.”
He strolled away and I rolled closer to my cat. Samael had made a mistake tying me to him. For the past two and a half years, every ounce of my focus had gone into finding my mother’s killer. From now on, that was taking a back seat.
Oh, I would still devote as much time as I could to taking down whoever had dared lure her back to Durham to murder her. But I had a much more important task to focus on for the short term. Because Harriette was right. My motherwouldbe disappointed if she knew where I’d ended up.
